cems club budapest journal / 2014 spring

C E M S C l u b B u d a p e s t

JOURNAL

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO PAGE #5

MICROSOFT HUNGARYTHROUGH THE EYES OF INTERNSPAGE #18

OUR NEW ACADEMIC DIRECTORINTERVIEW WITH RICHÁRD SZÁNTÓPAGE #7

CEMS TO BCGINTERVIEW WITH BÁLINT BALÁZSPAGE #12

HELLO TOURIST!LONDON, MILAN, LISBON, BARCELONAPAGE #22

PIG SLAUGHTERTHE AMAZING LIFE OF BUDAPEST CEMS STUDENTSPAGE #10

Spring 2014

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DEAR READER,

It is a great honour for me taking over the edition of the Budapest CEMS Journal. I would like to take the opportunity and thank everyone who has worked on the previous issues and brought this Journal alive in the form as you see it today. During my CEMS semester I understood that it is a very unique way for us,“Budapesters” to communicate in such a delicate form about our strategic corporate partners’ activities, the opportunities offered by them and also about our precious university life. We worked together with many current CEMS students alongside with our corporate partners in order to create a delighting issue of the Journal for this summer.

You will find valuable information which might help you in the big decision on your further career path. Thanks to the time and the energy sacrificed by our great alumni and partners, the Journal provides insight on the everyday life and tasks at such companies as BCG, IFUA, Microsoft and Vodafone. With the new year not only the CEMS Club changed its members, but what is more important we welcome on board our new academic director, Richárd Szántó. From the interview with him we understand in what direction the Hungarian CEMS Program is heading and what are our specialities we should be proud of.

In regard of the hot summer we are facing soon, we wanted to make it sure you find some refreshing articles on our favourite European cities. We provide you some useful tips what not to miss out on once traveling to these exciting capitals.

I hope you will find interesting and helpful our Spring/Summer Issue of the Journal. I wish you an amazing summer!

Zsófia Zepkó

Published byCEMS Club Budapest

Hungary

EditorsDániel Drácz

Nelli GyöngyösiNándor Hajdu

Dóra KacskovicsÉva Kadocsa

Petra Éva KovácsZsolt KovácsTamás RacskóLászló SzékelyAnna VargaKlaudia VasZsófia Zepkó

Graphic DesignPéter Oláh

Gábor Trefán Zsófia Zepkó

Email:[email protected]

© CEMS Club Budapest2014 June

EDITORIAL

PhotosMembers of the CEMS Club

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EDITORIAL

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO INSIGHTS ON THE CAREER PLANS OF OUR ALUMNI AND CURRENT CEMS STUDENTS

WELCOME TO OUR NEW ACADEMIC DIRECTOR INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD SZANTO

CEMS CLUB BUDAPESTSPRING 2014

WORKSHOP IN PARIS BCG’S CORPORATE FINANCE UNLIMITED WORKSHOP

ABOUT PAST, PRESENT & FUTUREINTERVIEW WITH ZSUZSA KRISTA

IFUAHEAD OF THE CARERR PROGRAM, INTERVIEW WITH DÁNIEL CSÓTI

MICROSOFT HUNGARYTHROUGH THE EYES OF INTERNS

CEMSIES AT VODAFONEALL ABOUT THE DISCOVERY PROGRAM

ALUMNI INSIGHT FROM CEMS TO BCG

22-25 HELLO TOURIST!FIND YOUR WAY AROUND IN LISBON, BARCELONA,LONDON &MILAN

26 OUR LIFE IN PICTURES


SHOULD I STAY?OR SHOULD I GO? INSIGHTS ON THE CAREER PLANS OF OUR ALUMNI AND CURRENT CEMS STUDENTSBy Éva Kadocsa

When joining the CEMS community a whole new world opens up for us! International environment, cross-cultural experiences, adventures and challenges on a daily basis. Starting a CEMS semester abroad brings new air into our lives, indeed! Getting to know new people from all around the world, overcoming cultural differences and acquiring world-class professional knowledge are all behind us by the end of the programme. But upon graduation, after all these eye-opening experience a new dilemma appears on the horizon: Should I stay or should I go? Should I finally settle down and start my career in Hungary, where my home and all my friends are around or should I still conquer the unknown, seek opportunities and find my dream job anywhere in the world? It’s a tough dilemma most of us faces when getting closer to the end of our carefree student life. But how do we, Hungarian CEMSies cope with this dilemma? Where do we imagine our future? What do we consider when making this decision? I was searching for the answer to these questions among local CEMSies: freshmen who are just about to start the program, graduating CEMSies who are busy with job-hunting and alumni, who already made the decision.It seems that openness, flexibility and the ‘don’t miss out

on the opportunity’ attitude very much supports us, CEMS students to start a career abroad in order to gain experience. However, after completing this adventure coming back home is a priority. This is the case with Stefi, who just joint the CEMS program this semester: ‘Ideally, after finishing university I would like to go abroad for a couple of years to get good professional experience. But I would definitely like to come back and start my own family here, in Hungary. Of course, I’m very much open to change this concept I built up and stay longer if something keeps me there, such as a dream job or my future husband. But I think in general, you definitely need international working experience! It wouldn’t decrease your chances in Hungary if you miss

this opportunity but you would definitely lose a lot of experience! Invaluable experience.’ Ádám T., who is graduating from CEMS this year and is just about to start as Talent Supply Manager in Warsaw also thinks that this is the best time to start working abroad. ‘I have already planned to try myself abroad. It’s a good opportunity to gain experience or to improve your language skills. Now I’ll start to learn Polish for example and I’m sure it’ll be a huge, but super challenge. I believe that you need to take this opportunity now, as you are much more flexible as a young man. I am more open now to try my limits, explore the world and new cultures as well. I encourage every future CEMSies to go working abroad and start an international career because behind getting to know a new culture you also better learn yourself. Of course, it’s harder than an exchange semester, as you don’t have any community like Erasmus or CEMS waiting for you, neither have your relatives there, but I believe it’s a challenge by which you can deeply develop your personality and benefit from on the long run.However, other CEMSies believe that you can only prosper professionally abroad working for prestigious companies. Tamás, who just joined the program, would like to experience how a truly global company operates and no matter where it is, he is ready to move. ‘I don’t feel limited by our country’s borders and I don’t think that I necessarily need to work in Hungary. Instead, I focus on the positions and I follow my dream job, wherever it is. I think multinational companies are smaller in Hungary, that’s why I would like to go abroad

and experience how a big and truly global company operates on a daily basis. It’s a good opportunity however I would definitely miss Budapest and my Mom’s dishes.’Laci also shares this opinion. ‘I will definitely work abroad, as in Hungary there aren’t as many and challenging opportunities as in other countries. My desire is to work in


SHOULD I STAY? the energy sector, but in international settings. There are good positions in this sector in Hungary, that’s true, but

without international aspects and projects. The working language is also Hungarian which I consider as a disadvantage. I would like to improve myself, my language skills and grow personally in multi-cultural environment.’According to our alumni having years of international experience behind them, most of

these expectations seem to become true when starting a career in international settings. Angéla and Máté are currently spending their international internships in Tokyo, Japan. ‘It’s very important to gain international, professional experience after graduation. It’s even better if you choose a completely different culture such as Japan. We learn such things here we would never experience in Europe: unbelievably high level of preciseness, respect for each other and true team-spirit. No

matter where you come from, what degree you have you can achieve anything if you have the talent and the appropriate personality. It’s an amazing culture, we recommend to any CEMSies to try to work in. Working in this multi-cultural environment with 6 English-speaking senior consultants and a French and Dutch-Chinese inters we learn to move out of our comfort zone, improve our self-esteem and shape our attitude towards the world.’ Ádám B. spent 2 years in Switzerland and he also highlights the benefits of working abroad, but only on a short term basis. ‘I was 25 when I got this opportunity and I said yes. I was still flexible without any commitment or relationship and it proved to be a good decision. I gained huge professional experience and also personal advancement and it was benefical financially as well. It gave me a good overview of the global operation of the whole company and I also better lerant myself. I came home with a clear desired career path.’ András, who has worked a few years in London and in the USA and currently

running his own business from Hungary, notes that an international position may give you ample of opportunity to grow both personally and professionally, most likely accompanied by financial security. However this may not be a natural fit to all, ‘I believe that you need to decide first which path to pursue: setting up your own business or working for a multinational company. Both has its pros and could result in invaluable experiences learnt. The latter has more probability of solving your daily cash flow problems and even help you in kicking-off your own business later on. You may grow rapidly with the firm, and if favourable stars, they just send you home to become a regional director or a local partner of the company. But you are always under supervision. Whilst the earlier gives you the opportunity to be super-creative, do what you were born to do and possibly sell your company in a few years time making everyone jealous of your early retirement. This path however usually comes with a lot of sweat…you sacrifice your time, your career progress and limited funds. The majority gives it up in the fraction of a second. As you see, the opportunity cost is huge. I think your ultimate decision should be based on your type of personality and willingness to tolerate risk. That simple.’After reading all these opinions you might think you got the answer to the tough dilemma: I should go! But the picture is not that clear. Inspite all these positive effects of working abroad and the openess CEMSies persue the golden mean seems to be the best solution to the dilemma. Almost all the CEMSies I asked, with or without international working experience behind believe that no place like home. Eszter, a currently graduating CEMSie, spending her last semester in Coppenhagen and has already worked and lived in Germany, always wanted to make an international career, however now she would like to stay in Hungary and work with an international team. ‘I have


international experience both as a student and as an intern from which I learnt a lot.I recommend it to everyone, but now, upon graduation I think I would rather start my career here, in Hungary, where my family lives as well and all the people who are important to me. This is the phase, when the emphasis shifts towards private life. If it takes me abroad, of course I’m happy to move, but it’s not only about persuing your own career anymore. However, I’d be happy to work in an international team in Hungary in the future.’Viki, a current freshman also agrees: ‘Considering an international career you have much more opportunities to choose from. You can grow more rapidly and improve your soft skills

at the same time. That’s why I will definitely work 1 or 2 years abroad, but after this experience I would like to start to focus on my own family and I can only imagine this at home.’ Stefi also thinks that the home country is the best place to start having your own family: ‘After having 3-5 years experience abroad I would like to come back, because I believe this would be the ideal environment for starting my own family and raising up my

children. I don’t agree with the common opinion that you can’t find a challenging or well-paying job in Hungary. This is not an obstacle.’ Ádám B. just returned to Hungary after 2 years and he is very happy about his decision. ‘Working aborad for a longer period of time is very ambigious. You gain a lot of experience, but you are always an outsider there and an invisible friend at home at the same time. Your colleagues don’t make as strong community as the exchange students did when studying abroad. They are not like your friends at home, but you can spend some good time with them. However, you always have the feeling that you are missing your true friends - and missing out some

great events and moments - which is a difficult feeling and it’s hard to balance. So your heart brings you back afterall. Now, I wouldn’t go aborad alone again, only with my future family and in case if it’s benefical for all of us. It’s motivating professionaly, but I’m ready to give up on this for having my real community around.’ ‘Should you feel you want to go, do it until you are young. However remember that money doesn’t necessarily make you happy, not even in the long run. There will be a point in time when you will start revaluing the importance of your family, friends and sentimentally will miss old things, such as a chilled weekend at Lake Balaton. (András) ‘We would like to start our own business and family here. We have already lived more then 2 years abroad and we feel that nothing like home. Moreover, it’d be also nice to contribute to the improvment of the Hungarian GDP by using our own knowledge here.’ – answer Angéla and Máté when asking about their plans after finishing their internships in Tokyo.As we see, the dilemma of staying or going is very complex, indeed! There isn’t a perfect answer, but there seems to be a pattern among CEMSies: conquer the unknown and gain professional experience in international settings after graduation. Take the opportunity, improve yourself, learn and explore, and achieve financial security. But afterall, return back to Hungary, where your family, friends, a new job and all the things you missed are waiting for you.

OR SHOULD I GO ?


NEW YEAR INTERVIEW WITH DR. RICHÁRD SZÁNTÓ, THE NEW ACADEMIC DIRECTOR OF THE CEMS PROGRAMME AT CORVINUSBy Dániel Drácz

PORTRAITGraduated from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration, Richárd Szántó started working at the Department of Business Economics. Throughout the past years, he has been teaching decision theory, decision techniques and computer aided decision making as adjunct professor at the Department of Decision Sciences. He was visiting scholar at the Arizona State University, the University of California Irvine and at the University of Trento. The focus of his research interest is decision making under uncertainty, risk perception and risk attitudes. Apart from teaching and being CEMS academic director, he is responsible for educational affairs as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration.He dedicates his free time to travelling and classical music. Only a handful of people know that he is willing to travel very long distances to see a unique play at some opera house around the globe (he recently visited Paris, Bayreuth and New York for this passion). In the next season Italian discoveries are planned to come with Verona and Milan on the agenda.

“I am not a CEMS alumnus – unfortunately” – this is the first thought that comes to his mind as we start the interview over a coffee at the Dean’s Office. Although Dr. Richárd Szántó, Vice Dean for Educational Affairs at the Faculty of Business Administration is not a former CEMSie, he has been linked to the programme by a thousand ties for more than a decade now. From November last year, he is the newly appointed Academic Director of the CEMS programme at our alma mater.

“My first memories of the programme date back to the mid-2000s. That time Zita Zoltay-Paprika [now Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and member of the CEMS Strategic Board – the Ed.] was responsible for the CEMS course ‘Decision Methods’ and I sometimes stepped in for a couple of lessons. Apart from that, I have been academic advisor of numerous business projects as well. I clearly remember the one with AT Kearney on the strategic moves of the Nyíregyháza Zoo or the Roland Berger one about the development of the Hungarian equitation sports industry. A funny coincidence, a fellow Corvinus professor Gyula Zilahy [former Academic Director and now member

of the Executive Board – the Ed.] once pointed out I was the ‘animal’ advisor with the zoo and horse issues. During the past semester, Ágnes Hofmeister – that time Dean of the Faculty – asked me to take over the responsibilities of the Academic Direction and I was delighted to face the challenge. My formal inauguration took place within the Barcelona Annual Events in November.”

What is the role of an Academic Director? What are your tasks and competences?In a nutshell, the Academic Director is responsible for the educational offer and the training execution at a particular CEMS partner university.

Whereas we determine the mandatory courses in a joint committee on the global level, the elective courses we offer at our university belong to my decision competence. In addition to that, this is the academic direction that determines what block seminars we offer and which corporate partners are entitled to offer business projects. These are mostly the operational tasks. At the same time, I am in the lucky position to intermediate between the university and the students: the one the students’ feedback reach first, based upon which we can intervene to improve the programme.

What are the current hot topics of CEMS at Corvinus? What is your CEMS strategy?There has been a move within the Global Alliance to offer the MIM programme as a stand-alone training – this is already the case at many partner schools like Vienna, Rotterdam or Dublin. We are considering this option at Corvinus as well. There is a fear that this move would diminish the popularity of our other Master’s programmes to a certain extent, however, an exclusive English CEMS Master’s training could attract many students from beyond our borders as well. Whatever decision we take, there will be a transitory phase in order to smoothen the introduction of the


new programme. This is definitively the biggest challenge we face with CEMS at Corvinus. At the same time, we constantly work on improving our educational offer and the attractiveness of our university as a destination within the Alliance.

What do you think are the distinctive features of Corvinus within this 29-school global conglomerate?First of all, the city itself has its own appeal, Corvinus as a typical downtown university can be very attractive for a foreign student wishing to be part of the everyday life of a lively capital. On an academic level it is much more difficult to distinguish these distinctive qualities. Some years ago, there was a very strong move towards conveying practice oriented knowledge regarding transition economies and CEE-related business issues, recently it has become less attractive for an incoming student. It is indeed a challenging topic to find these distinctive characteristics we could build upon in the future to attract more incoming students.

The power of the Global Alliance is in the joint commitment of its members. Which are the main fields of cooperation between the universities and how do you see your own role in this process?In addition to the CEMS Annual Events, the Academic Committee has its own an annual meeting which is the major platform for discussion between the academic directors. This year it is in Saint Petersburg, in Russia. On these occasions topics having academic relevance for all the member schools are elaborated. However, personal connections between certain schools and academic directors can be exploited when setting up a bilateral project. Traditionally, we have very good relations with our partners in Vienna and at the Central European schools. In terms of joint academic projects, our teachers work closely together with colleagues from Copenhagen, Bocconi in Milan and HEC in Paris. In many cases these date back to personal connections of the professors.

The Alliance is much more than a joint degree between schools, there are 60 global partners as well in the game. What are the latest tendencies on the corporate side?In general, every partner school needs to add two corporate partners to the Alliance, we have MOL from the Hungary at the moment. However, the lessons of the financial crisis made it clear that some companies are no longer in the position to provide the financial contribution necessary to remain a global corporate partner. To improve the situation, the Head Office is working on a brand new corporate campaign to attract potential companies – we support this initiative on the local level with our network. There are many challenges on this field for the months to come, we keep on working hard to accomplish these to further extend and improve the Global Alliance we are so proud to be part of at Corvinus.

Dr. Szántó, thank you very much for your insights.

NEW CHALLENGES


RESPONSIBLE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SEMINARBefore starting the spring semester the CEMS class spent a wonderful 2-day-period at Szentendre. It was a bonding event, why some of us only saw each other for the first time, but it was also a professional seminar with lectures and simulations. The goal of the seminar was to help students gain an understanding of concept of corporate social responsibility and the current trends in this area. Invited corporate speakers provided valuable insight into the practical aspects of CSR management. We could also gain hands-on experience thanks to a series of case studies and exercises focusing on some of the most important issues in CSR across a range of industries. After arriving, checking-in and listening to the introduction we headed to the conference room to learn about responsible leadership, its key concepts, as well as rationale, global trends and practices. After a lunch break Ms. Szilvia Gärtner, European CSR coordinator at DENSO talked about CSR activities at DENSO Corporation. After a coffee break we received an exercise about managing employment restructuring in a responsible way. At the end of the day we enjoyed a fantastic dinner with wine tasting. Getting up early was a really hard task for the group on Friday. After breakfast Mr. István Szabó, CSR manager of KPMG gave us a rather complex outlook on Monitoring and Evaluation of a CSR program. We had a short coffee break and after that we gave group presentations on the importance of CSR in the telecommunications sector for which we had the night to prepare for. An exercise about Interpreting the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard followed the fine lunch, and after that we solved case study (Changing expectations on environmental responsibility – lessons from the Exxon Valdez and the Deepwater Horizon oil spills) and did a simulation about the hard work of negotiating with different stakeholders. To sum it all up, this event turned out to be a perfect social and academic experience for us all.

ACADEMIC KICK-OFFIt was only the second week of the semester but the spring MIM class was already on the right way to become a truly great community, when the Faculty of Business Administration, Corvinus CEMS Office and CEMS Club Budapest organized The Dean's Welcome & Spring Semester Info Session. Catering was provided by the generous contribution of the Dean Office and the session was in Lecture Room E. 3001. Prof. Zita Zoltay-Paprika, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration dedicated some time to get to know us individually and the CEMS class as a whole community. After that, Prof. Richárd Szántó, Zsuzsanna Horváthné Krista and members of the CEMS Strategic Board welcomed the 12 incoming and 16 home students on the occasion of the academic kick-off and the CEMS Board gave a brief presentation on the upcoming academic events of the semester and provided some insight into the activities of CEMS Club Budapest. Foreign exchange students could see, how much the university admires being part of the CEMS program.

RUNNING DINNERIn early February we organized a running dinner. Each participant was allocated to a cooking team. Each team had to prepare a dish (starter, main course or dessert) and host 2 other teams. Then everybody had to change locations and have the next course at a different team's house who cooked for two other teams. In the end of the evening, one participant has shared a meal and conversation with 6 other teams (15 different people). The rule was that host teams also provide drinks for every round. All Cemsies made a fantastic work and performed well in kitchen. In the end the group spend the night together enjoying night life in Budapest.

PIG SLAUGHTEROn Sunday, 23rd February, we had a chance to participate in one of the most authentic Hungarian countryside traditions - the pig slaughter. For people living on the countryside, this is a big festival, where family, friends and neighbours come together to ensure fresh meat for the coming months. For us it was a perfect opportunity to get to know each other better and to familiarize foreign exchange students with Hungarian culture. A generous contribution of CEMS Club made it possible to participate in this event at a reasonable price.Our host was the Rókusfalvy Winery in Etyek, which we could reach after a half an hour bus ride from Budapest. Given that pig slaughters usually start in the early morning, we arrived by 7 pm at Etyek. Upon arrival we watched the pig die

CEMS SPRING AT CORVINUSBy Zsolt Kovács

CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST


and after that, we assisted the various work phases. Our hosts set up a remarkable menu for us. As a welcome present we warmed up ourselves with a shot of Rókusfalvy pálinka. After killing the pig we ate our breakfast (omlette, blood with onion and pickled cucumber). During the day we had the chance to taste various fresh pork products (roast joint, etc.) and

we will had unlimited mulled wine and hot tea during the day. For a lunch a typical pig slaughter meal was be offered: homemade “orjaleves”, a bowl of “disznótoros”, cabbage and dessert. At the end we got a package of fresh-made sausages and "hurka" which we could bring home with us with good feelings and memories.

WINTER CAMPOur legendary winter camp took place in Szigetmonostor on 14-16 March 2014. The first special attraction was a ferryboat, which had to be used by everyone to reach the island. New Cemsies arrived on Friday afternoon and checked in immediately. Dinner was followed by a somewhat untraditional event: every participant had to send a childhood photo and he/she introduced himself/herself with the photo in the background. The guys and girls then had to form group and play a pretty hard quiz game. We played a duel of wine to warm up. The crowning moment of the night was the theme party commemorating the Revolution and Independence War in 1848-49: everyone had to wear something traditional: self-made beard/moustache, hat, etc. We started Saturday with a Microsoft presentation and a short simulation. In the afternoon we played some games and participated a team-building training. We closed the day by a duel of wine and a huge karaoke party. On Sunday we went home early in the morning. Everyone was a little bit tired, but nobody left without kind memories.

ROTATION DINNEROur Spring Rotation Dinner event took place on the 26th and 27th March. This was a unique opportunity for all CEMS students to network and have a nice chat with our partner firms in a relaxed and cosy atmosphere. Hemingway Étterem was our host and participants could choose from three different menu selections. All meals were fine and tasty.Students had to send their CVs and corporate partners selected who they want to meet. In the evening of 26th, students could meet our partners from Microsoft, IFUA Horváth & Partners, MET (Mol Energy Trade) and Deloitte. On the next day four new corporate partners was our guest. Cemsies had a chance to get to know PricewaterhouseCoopers, L'Oréal, Vodafone and The Boston Consulting Group better. All in all this was a fine event from both corporate and student perspective.

OTHER PROGRAMSThe CEMS Club is always eager to organize social and bonding events for old, current and new Cemsies. We went for a social drink welcoming foreign exchange student at the end of January and congratulating to new Cemsies in the end of February. Trying to enjoy the winter while it lasted we went for ice-skating in January. Additionally, we are always proud of being socially and environmentally sensitive students: we gave blood together during the blood giving event at Corvinus University of Budapest.


On a cloudy Saturday afternoon I made an interview with Bálint Balázs, a CEMS alumnus and a Senior Associate at our distinguished corporate partner, the Boston Consulting Group’s Budapest Office. In the fascinating office we covered different topics including Bálint’s educational background, CEMS experiences, carrier choice and carrier track at BCG. Join us for the journey and read on!

Please tell us something about your educational background! How did you get to know the CEMS programme and what remarkable memories did you have during your CEMS studies?I studied Finance at Corvinus University of Budapest, with a specialization in Investment Analysis and Risk Management. I participated in the DSG programme, however at some point of time I realised that I wanted something different. One day I bumped into the CEMS MIM programme poster, with the list of the prestigious partner universities. The first thing that came to my mind: that’s what I want! I put Stockholm (SSE) as my first choice and got admitted to CEMS in my 3rd year. I spent the spring semester of my 4th year abroad, however the CEMS experience already started in the previous summer with a Block Seminar at the Copenhagen Business School. My most remarkable CEMS experience was undoubtedly the travelling part. I felt that the world opened up to me: I visited countries I had never been before, including Denmark, Sweden and Norway. I did my Block Seminar in Copenhagen, I took part in the Nordic Forum in Bergen, and during the exchange semester I visited Lapland and travelled through Sweden thanks to my Business Project in Gothenburg. With German, Swiss and Polish fellow students I worked on a potential

introduction of the dynamic pricing model for a clothing retailer company. The topic was rather unusual, highly challenging and very-very interesting. That’s why I also choose that one.The CEMS program also played an essential role in my professional development. Since I was a student at the Economics department of Corvinus, I had little business and management knowledge, but with the one year program of the CEMS MIM I acquired the most relevant business knowledge and skills that a business student needs.

Why did you apply for a job in consulting and why did you choose BCG?As I was approaching the end of my studies, I had to decide where to begin my career. At that time (year of 2010) the Hungarian financial sector did not offer an attractive career perspective, so I saw two paths in front of me: one as starting a career in finance via a Graduate Programme in a European financial hub, or staying in Hungary and also stay close to the financial sector via management consulting. I got to know BCG via a workshop. I was in the final semester of my studies when BCG first organised the Europe wide Corporate Finance workshop for graduate students. Once again, I had the strong feeling that this is what I want to do, thus I applied and secured a place for the 2-day case solving workshop. I was very much impressed by the people I met there, the broad range of industries and types of projects BCG covers and immediately felt I would love to be part of this inspiring community!

Before finishing my final year of studies I applied to the Budapest BCG office as a Visiting Associate and also to graduate programmes of leading European financial institutions. After I

completed my 12-week long Visiting Associate internship I received a full-time offer from the firm that I accepted. Do you think that participating in the Corporate Finance workshop played any role in your later offer from the firm?Yes, definitely. Firstly, I built valuable relationships within the firm and got into contact with the Recruiting Team. Secondly, I learned that one can apply for an internship at the BCG Budapest office (that time it was not promoted that much), and also had the chance to present my profile and qualifications during the workshop application process.

What kind of projects have you had so far?Budapest office works mainly in the field of Banking, Energy and Telecommunications. Although the Telco sector was out of scope for me (I did not know much about that), my first task as a full time employee was related to Telco business development and also my first project was in the Telecommunications industry. In overall, in my first 18 months I was involved in multiple industries and functional areas that helped to gain relevant experience rapidly.With 1-1.5 year experience at the firm I was consistently involved in Telco related topics and did more and more projects with Péter Soós, Partner and Managing Director at the BCG Budapest office responsible for the Telecommunication industry, both in the Hungarian market and regionally. In spite of my initial doubts of my fit with the Telco sector, I must admit that I really enjoy my current industry focus and the diversity of projects I experience in the field of fixed line and mobile network Telecommunications.

How does the role of a junior colleague evolve?

ALUMNI INSIGHT FROM CEMS TO BCGBy Nándor Hajdu


In your very first project at BCG you often start as a “shadow” team member, providing support for either senior consultants or the Project Leader. Thereafter very soon, you become a full member of the project team, with full responsibilities for your own tasks and module. Initially, you mainly do analytical work, dealing with big bunch of data. Client interactions are also a part of the work of an Associate, but in the beginning more on the operational level of the client organization. As you develop, the scope of your work shifts from analysis to developing recommendations for the senior management. You will be entirely responsible for your project module which also means change in the client interaction: you are expected to discuss the results of your analysis and the resulting recommendations with the mid-management in an independent manner.

Currently you are a member of BCG’s TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunication) Practice Area and you work on regional Telco projects too. How did you achieve this?In the past years I worked in multiple fixed line and mobile telecommunication projects, both in Hungary and the Central Eastern European region. The opportunity to work on international projects is given at BCG, since the firm is not split into standalone offices, but organized along so-called Practice Areas which cooperate and work together across countries, even continents. This basically means that in the Budapest Office we work in close cooperation with colleagues from all over Europe and also from the Middle East. By working with foreign Consultants, Project Leaders and Partners you immediately become part of the international network and once you are there, you will be easily selected to further international projects.One of my most memorable experiences is also related to an international project. A regional team was pitching

for a project at a client HQ when we were selected for the second round of proposal presentation, but this time the actual operational team (that would be on the ground once the project starts) had to be present. A week before this presentation Peter Soós approached me and asked whether I would be willing to present the key points from one of our previous projects that were highly relevant for this case. So I joined the proposal team already consisting of two other consultants and a Project Leader. We did multiple rounds of rehearsals – in the last one even the European TMT head was involved – and finally presented our approach to client Board Members. After a very good discussion with multiple questions testing our preparedness, the team received good feedback and in the end won the project. This example shows that already after a few years one gains such relevant experience that can be leveraged in other countries/clients and can even be a decisive factor in taut situations.

What do you plan in the short and medium term career?I am currently at the end my Senior Associate curriculum. Most likely I will continue my BCG career and will continue supporting our clients in the Telco industry. My short/medium term plans include application to a top tier MBA programme in the USA. I believe a leading MBA program provides great opportunity to structure the accumulated knowledge and further develop some key skills and capabilities while narrowing down your area of interest. Nevertheless, attending an MBA programme requires very thorough assessment from the applicant and has to be a well grounded decision.

How does the company support the MBA studies of its employees?I personally think that the most important support is non-financial, meaning that you have access to a wide range of business school alumni

who help you through the thinking process and the preparation for the application. In the Budapest office we have multiple alumni from Berkeley-Haas, Wharton, Columbia, INSEAD and an other colleague has just started his MBA studies at Harvard Business School. From financial perspective the firm also supports its MBA students on a case-by-case decision.

At the end of the interview, what carrier advice would you give for the current CEMS students?I believe current graduates also face the same question I raised myself after graduation: should I stay in Hungary or go abroad? I would suggest taking your time and think it through a few times. Try to find out what drives and interests you; what would you like to do as a second step in your professional career. One should not forget that it is more important that you like what do (work) than for whom you do it (i.e., which company). This might mean that you have to go abroad in case you are interested in a specific industry (e.g. Investment Banking), however I reckon that you can also find challenging positions at great firms currently present in Hungary.

FROM CEMS TO BCG


WORKSHOP IN PARIS By Nándor Hajdu

BCG’S CORPORATE FINANCE UNLIMITED WORKSHOP

The 4th edition of BCG’s Corporate Finance Unlimited workshop took place on 22 – 23 March, 2014 in France. I spotted the ad in the University in mid-February and applied with a CV and cover letter through the Budapest office. As I found out later by BCG the competition was fierce, but at the end I was chosen and had the chance to spend a weekend with BCG consultants and top European students. The event gave me the opportunity to take a closer look at BCG by solving a real-life case, to build networks and develop both professionally and personally.As for the participants, BCG consultants from European offices and more than 50 students from top European universities got together. Different educational backgrounds were represented including Finance, Law, Engineering, Management and Mathematics, however, most of the students had some educational or professional experience in Finance.

The event was organized at a charming place near Paris called Chateau des Prés d’Ecoublay, a first class venue that serves as home for various meetings and seminars. The atmosphere of the venue was breathtaking, with lots of green fields, sport facilities and spa. The event started with a lunch on Saturday. After the kick-off presentation, Luc de Brabandére, BCG fellow and Senior Advisor in the Strategy Practice, gave a lecture on thinking and creativity. Students learned that thinking equals simplifying, and we think in boxes also when we are unaware of it. In the real world everything is complicated and so we always use simplifications, so-called boxes, in our thinking. In order to boost creativity we have to “think in new boxes” (for more information, see the book authored by Luc de Brabandére & Alan Iny (2013): Thinking in new boxes).

In the afternoon a BCG consultant introduced a real-life case on an animal healthcare portfolio acquisition from 2009. Participants were split up into teams of 5-6 and had roughly four hours to crack the case by conducting a strategic assessment, creating a business plan, a discounted cash flow and multiples valuation, and give recommendations for the bidding tactics.Teams were more or less formed by members of the same nationality or region. As the only Hungarian participant of the event I was allocated to the UK team – group members included students from the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. Every team had a BCG consultant as a mentor, for my team it was a Project Leader from the London office. The group work was very intense, we had vivid

discussions with our mentor, and finally we managed to come up with a reasonable solution.

On Sunday we enjoyed a short lecture on the successful partnership of BCG and Private Equity firms, and then it was followed by the group presentations of case study results. Having had the opportunity to present in front of Jérome Hervé, the Senior Partner and Managing Director of the Paris office will undoubtedly be a lifelong memory. To sum up, I spent a wonderful weekend together with top students and consultants, and experienced BCG in an authentic case context. I did develop not only professionally but also personally, and I can truly recommend and encourage everyone interested in strategic management consulting and/or corporate finance to apply for the event next year.


ABOUT PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

INTERVIEW WITH ZSUZSA KRISTA, CEMS ACADEMIC COORDINATORBy Dániel Drácz

What do you think is the distinctive character of CEMS, what are the biggest advantages for Hungarian students?

What I consider the biggest plus in the programme is the

proactive and direct co-operation with the companies,

the practice-oriented training and the internationally

recognised degree. On the top of that, what I believe really

makes the difference is the life-long lasting network and the

fantastic community.

How would you draw the picture of a typical Hungarian

CEMSie? What are those key competencies you seek for in a

prospective CEMSies candidate?

Those prospective students who apply for the programme

have – without any exception – an excellent academic

record. In the phases of the admission process – especially

during the interviews – what we seek the most is to

select those candidates who are indeed committed to the

programme, think responsably and act accordingly for the

sake of their narrower and broader community. Each year

we invite the representatives of our distinguished corporate

partners to the selection committee who take part actively

in the screening of the candidates. We highly treasure their

opinion as sooner or later they will become the employers

of our CEMSie graduates.

You have been CEMS Academic Coordinator at Corvinus for

quite a long time. How did you get into it? What was the

most interesting or funny story you have had throughout

the years?

The university became full member of the CEMS Alliance

in 1996. Back in those years I was changing positions and

what really caught my attention was the innovative profile

of the programme. In addition to that, I really liked the idea

to get part of something completely new, to contribute to the

establishment of a previously not existing programme from

the very beginning. That time working together with foreign

colleagues meant something entirely different as well.

As one of the loveliest stories of my CEMS career I would

mention a Christmas Ball a couple of years ago. On the

ceremony there were professional dancers performing a

show, and – to my greatest surprise – one of them came

to me to invite me to the dance floor to dance with him.

It was quite a big challenge for me as I had not been

used to these dances – especially not in front of such a

big audience. However, it was a fantastic experience

and a very kind surprise from the students as well.

How do you think could be ensured that more and more

prospective students apply for the programme in the future?

I am quite certain that the most influential factor on

prospective students is the opinion of other CEMSies. Their

information, positive insights and commitment is much more

appreciated. We should organise definitely more forum with

the participation of current CEMSies and alumni who could

make a remarkable impression on the potential candidates.


Please tell us about your university years!I graduated from Corvinus University in 2008, from the Controlling specialisation of the faculty of Management & Leadership. During my university years I spent half a year at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), and another half at the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall Business School in Los Angeles. In addition to my studies, I worked as a financial intern at General Electric, and took part as an analyst intern of the ’Best Employers’ research at AON Hewitt.

Why is being a consultant a desirable job for you?The most important factor is the diverse work that a consultant does. We work with various clients, in a wide range of industries. It is very exciting and varied job; for instance one project you develop strategy, next you design a controlling concept, or re-engineer a business process, or introduce an IT system. What has also attracted me was the result-oriented, problem solving, success reaching attitude. As a consultant, there is a lot of opportunity to succeed and it is also important that the work is measurable and tangible through the introduction and presentation of the solution of a project. The client relationship is another significant factor, as I am always glad to work with clients who recognize the work we have done. Furthermore, consulting provides the unique opportunity of working together with top management of organisations from the beginning of one’s career.

Which area do you specialize in? What exact projects did you work on?Every year there are approximately 3-5 projects that we work on, depending on the length of the projects. I started working at IFUA 6 years ago, this means that I have worked on approximately 25 projects so far. I work in the Strategy, Innovation & Sales Competence Center, I’ve worked mostly on strategic projects: strategy development, strategy

review, introduction of a Balanced Scorecard, developing business plans and sales strategies. There are classic strategy development projects, like the strategic review of an insurance company or the creation of an incentive system at an industrial company. This is what I concentrate on; this is the field where I’ve become a specialist. In addition, I have also worked in BPR (business process reengineering) and organizational development projects. Under the remit of this BPR project we reorganised the processes, responsibilities and authorities at a significant department at one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Hungary. We worked intensely on this large project for over a year. I also worked on a bakery project, where we had to determine the cost of the products with the post-cost calculation method. It was a really interesting controlling task to understand how the cost of a bread is structured. This was from the methodology side. In terms of industry side, my first project was at a natural gas trader from the energy sector and I have also worked on several automotive projects. The financial sector is the third one which is decisive in my portfolio through working at insurance companies.

Did you work abroad?Yes, I worked in Ethiopia for 5 months at the biggest state-owned industrial company of the country that employs more than 15 000 employees. We broke down the corporation’s strategy using a Balanced Scorecard, we redesigned the entire organisational structure and we re-engineered the core strategic, financial, controlling, logistic, sales and HR processes within the organisation. Our team – consisted of 6 people – brought great success to the project; the applied modern management best practises were extremely useful for our client. The customer was very satisfied and both sides are looking forward for further cooperation in the future.

IFUA HEAD OF THE CAREER PROGRAM

INTERVIEW WITH DÁNIEL CSÓTI By László Székely

All CEMS students are on the verge of starting their career.

Dániel Csóti joined IFUA Horváth & Partners in 2008, and now,

as the Head of the Career Program, he tells us how the first one

and a half years look like as a junior consultant at one of the top

consulting firms in Hungary. This interview gives us a relevant

and clear picture of what is important to know as a prospective

management consultant.


You have mentioned that you are part of the Strategy, Innovation & Sales Competence Center (SI&S CC). How did you get into this CC?I started my career in SI&S CC on my first day at IFUA in the fall of 2008. Each and every new consultant in IFUA is assigned to one of the CCs. This way you get a professional orientation, as well as a micro community. Apart from the professional and social contribution, every CC is a knowledge base that is intended to maintain and renew the existing knowledge, promote knowledge sharing and support colleagues in the projects from the technical side. As for me, I was really interested in strategy and sales, so the SI&S CC was a really good match.

What other Competence Centers are there at IFUA?There are functional and industrial CCs at IFUA, this way the company operates in a matrix structure. Every project requires an expert from both sides. In terms of functional competences, there are the Strategic, Innovation & Sales CC, the Operation & Organization CC, the Controlling & Finance CC incorporating the Business Intelligence CC, and finally the CIO & Project Advisory CC. On the industrial side, there are the Financial Industries CC (involving banks, insurance and leasing companies), the Consumer & Industrial Goods CC (involving manufacturer, agricultural and retail companies), the Public Management CC (involving central public institutions, health and educational organizations), the Chemical, Oil & Pharmaceutical CC, the Utilities CC, and finally the Media & Telecommunication CC.

Please tell me a bit about the Career Program (CP)!This program encompass the first 1,5 years of every new junior consultant. As you start your career at IFUA, you have to be part of a Competence Center and sit together with your CC peers, but you are also part of the Career Program. The CP has 5 pillars: Management by objectives / the Mentoring program, Capacity Management, Rotation, Trainings, and Community Building.MbO/ Mentoring program: The CC leaders and I set goals for the new colleague for the upcoming year. There is a review after every half year where we evaluate the previous term. It is very important to collect feedback from senior colleagues about junior colleagues so that they become aware of their strengths and areas that need further improvement.Capacity Management: I am the one who is in charge of the allocation of projects for the junior colleagues. I discuss with the project manager their project team requirements and then I match up the young colleagues based on their availabilities and preferences. I bring together the demand and the supply sides. Rotation: Becoming familiar with more types of projects is essential to help the junior consultants in choosing their future specialization. A junior colleague in the first 1,5 years should experience various types of projects from the industrial and from the functional side as well.

Trainings: There are a lot of skill seminars, methodological and communication trainings. During the 1,5 years of the Career Program there is about 20 training days. More specifically, there are IT trainings (Excel, Ppt), communication trainings (argumentation, public speech), and professional trainings where the IFUA colleagues share knowledge with each other. As IFUA is a knowledge based company, the inner ‘knowledge sharing days’ are really important. We have to share our 25 years of experience with the junior consultants.Community Building: It is really - really important to create a strong, happy community. Thankfully, this is being achieved at the Career Program; our fresh consultants like to belong to this fellowship. Apart from the traditional CP Santa Claus, CP Christmas and the CP Yearly Carnival, there are several optional team building activities on a monthly basis like paintball, curling, pub crawls or anything that brings the community together. It is also important to mention that the Career Program community organises the IFUA Case Study Competition every year, and it is a good opportunity to test yourself as a consultant before applying. This year it will be on the 17th of October.

How does the application procedure look like at IFUA?There are 3 rounds. The first is the CV round, where we filter and select the best applicants, whom we invite for an HR interview. This 2nd round interview with our HR manager is quite long, approximately 1- 1,5 hours. This is unusually long, but for us, it is really important to get to know a prospective colleague right at the beginning. If you succeed, we invite you for the 3rd round, which is an Assessment Center that consists of 3 stages: a presentation in front of senior consultants, a case solving interview, and a situational exercise.

Who are you looking for?Most of all, we are looking for people who would like to meet new and diverse challenges, industries and methods at the first stage of their career. Apart from diversity, we are looking for the consultant attitude in terms of presentation skills, demeanour and client orientation. If you have these skills, you are an ideal candidate for IFUA. The job is a hard one, so you have to work hard, and there are always tasks that you may feel are impossible to solve, but with a strong will and desire for solving the challenges and with other colleagues’ support, you can manage them. If you also want to belong to a close community, than you would be a perfect colleague, as ‘IFUA is more than a workplace’. We believe this, and we also act like this, there are good relationships, friendships and partnerships within the company. The organization is flat, we have an informal relationship with even the managing directors. We have a really caring and helpful relationship with everyone at the firm.


As a multinational company, it is also present in Hungary. It is located in Graphisoft Park, Budapest, which is essentially created for gathering and supporting talents and innovation, hence it is a perfect match for the company. Microsoft Hungary, since its local establishment, has been awarded more times as the “Best Workplace” in the country. Whereas it is not an easy task to gain insight about a company’s operations, its culture, one of the best ways to get to know it is to ask those who are still at the beginning of their careers and are much more critical towards the world than other employees, the interns. In the followings we introduce what it is like to be an intern at Microsoft Hungary and why it is a huge advantage professionally and also in everyday life through two interviews with Zsófia Temleitner and József Schwarcz. Zsófia is an HR intern at Microsoft for 7 months, studies International Business (BA) at Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She has experience in the corporate world as she worked at MOL Group. József works as a marketing intern at the marketing department of Windows for one and a half year. He is a student of the Óbuda University, where he studies Computer Science and Engineering (BSc). What did you think of Microsoft before you applied for an internship, why did you choose it? Zs: I thought of it as a general brand that is very similar to Google, especially because there is a slide in the office. I imagined that every day must be fun and everybody is very open. After my internship at MOL, I was looking for an other company that has a multinational environment. I went through many different evaluation researches about companies in Budapest, trying to find the one that mostly

suits my expectations. This is how I decided to apply for an HR internship at Microsoft. J: Before I’ve come here, I thought, on the one hand, that it must be very American, where people are loose and easy-going, but on the other hand, I had a kind of fear that there would be men in suits, driving big cars and what they would think of me as an intern, what I should wear. The decision was very easy for me, because I was still in kindergarten, using Windows 3.1, when I knew that I wanted to come to Microsoft, so I applied as soon as I could. What is Microsoft Hungary really like?Zs: The environment of the office is very good and inspiring. Everyone has the opportunity to improve themselves and everybody is there to help each other in that process. Thanks to the open office layout, there are no barriers between an intern and a manager, which facilitates

MICROSOFT HUNGARY THROUGH THE EYES OF INTERNS

If you asked anyone on the streets of

Budapest whether he or she has ever heard

about Microsoft, 9 out of 10 would say yes.

If you asked what they knew about it, they

would probably connect it to IT or at least to

computers. It is not a surprise as Microsoft is

the world’s second most valuable brand and

dominates the market of operating systems

with a market share of 91%.

MICROSOFT HUNGARY THROUGH THE EYES OF INTERNS By Dóra Kacskovics


the communication between them. I think what best describes how I feel about the company is the fact, that I started to work here in 30 hours per week but after a very short time I increased it to 40 hours per week and I still like it. J: On the very first day of my internship it was surprising how friendly and directly everybody behaves not only with each other but also with me. The open office layout enables that even interns can sit next to a manager and you can ask anyone for help, which creates in a very good atmosphere. Tell us about your internship, what kind of tasks and responsibilities do you have? What did you learn at Microsoft?Zs: I usually receive tasks in three main fields: administration, recruitment and event management. Of course, the most entertaining and challenging ones are in the last two categories. In recruitment inter alia I’m responsible for the pre-screening of the applicants and I’m present on interviews. Regarding event management, I participate in organizing internal and external corporate events such as the “Company Day” and international conferences. The company is literally striving for excellence and due to that my colleagues have high expectations that I would like to meet. I’ve learned what quality and efficient work means, I’ve become much more precise, and my communication skills developed a lot. I gained insight about the operation of the whole company through the cooperation of different departments. There are always new opportunities to improve yourself. J: At the beginning I had more diverse tasks related to

admin i s t r a t i on and logistics but since the number of devices that I was responsible for grew from about 40 to 100, my tasks are basically connected to devices - technical support within and outside the o r g a n i z a t i o n , and application marketing – promotion of a p p l i c a t i o n s on different platforms, such as windows.com. During my time at Microsoft I experienced an incredibly huge

improvement. This is mainly because I wanted to measure up to the requirements of my job and secondly because I have a boss with whom we put an emphasis on self-management and who I can always turn to if I need help with anything, for example last time he helped me in how to manage efficiently my time. I’ve become much more self-confident, and I can much more easily open towards new people, even though I’m rather an introvert type of person. Microsoft has many useful software, programs and applications. Does it mean any advantage to you? What are your favorite programs or applications?Zs: Before I’ve come to Microsoft I wasn’t very good at using technical devices. I was familiar only with the basic programs and applications that private life, university, and previous jobs required. I still don’t think of myself as an expert but I learned a lot of useful tips and tricks that help my everyday work. As I am a fan of To-Do lists, for me the most helpful tool is OneNote, which is an application where I can take notes that are synced with all my devices. It is one of the best feelings to mark a task as done. The other application that I use on a daily basis is OneDrive, which saves my documents in a cloud and I can get access to it from any kind of device that has internet connection. The main advantage of working at Microsoft from a technical point of view is that the company has an internal communication system which makes it possible to contact anyone, including experts, any time from all over the world, if I need a tip with any kind of program, application or device of Microsoft. Besides there are many online trainings organized for employees that I can also take part in.J: For me one of the greatest advantages that Microsoft provides is that I can get an access sooner to the latest updates and applications than other users and that I can help other people how to use some applications that would make their life a little easier. Since I’ve got a tablet from the company my favorite tool is OneDrive. I no longer use any exercise books at the university, because I can take notes on this device and what I write in there will be automatically accessible from my notebook and Windows Phone as well. When I forget to take any devices to the lesson, I can log in on a PC at the university and continue my notes where I’ve finished. The other reason for why OneDrive is a very useful tool for me is that if I have teamwork to do for a subject, my teammates and I can edit the text or presentation at the same time even if we are 100 kilometers far away from each other. I’ve also started to use OneNote where I have different folders for notes connected to work, school and private life. Notes of the “work” folder are shared with my boss, so that he can see what I’m currently working on, what tasks I have already finished and he can add things to the list, which makes my work fluent.


CEMSIES AT THE VODAFONE DISCOVER PROGRAM

GETTING IN CONTACT WITH CEMSBoth Ádám and Ági heard about the CEMS Programme during their BSc studies, through recommendation. During the last year at Budapest University of Technology and Economics Ági had a former CEMSie professor who recommended the program to her. Similarly Ádám got to know CEMS through a teacher at the Environmental Management specialization at Corvinus University of Budapest.

EXCHANGE SEMESTERThey spent their exchange semester at WU in Vienna, which was the business project semester for both of them: Ádám worked with Henkel in 2012?, Ági with Unicredit Bank Austria in 2011. Ádám spent an Erasmus semester in Antwerp before, but the CEMS exchange was more professional, with a lot of interesting guest lectures and speakers from the real business.

ADVANTAGES OF THE CEMS PROGRAMME

International experience, teamwork and networking are the key benefits of the CEMS programme for them. It was challenging to work efficiently together with 12-20 people coming from different countries and cultures. What is missing from other degree programs is the practice-oriented education, which has a crucial role during the CEMS studies: Ádám highlighted the importance of guest lectures, e.g. the director of the luxury division of L’Oréal.

CEMS MEMORIESThe best memory for Ádám was when he had the chance to travel Barcelona in the framework of a CEMS course called Model UNFCCC - CEMS Climate Change Strategy Role-Play supervised by Gyula Zilahy. Ági mentioned that the first semester was both the best and worst memory during the programme, because they had a great community and a lot of group events with the Hungarian CEMSies, although it was hard to manage those 60 credits which the Hungarian students had to fulfill because of the double degree.

VODAFONE Both Ági and Ádám got in contact with Vodafone Hungary through different players of the telecommunications industry: Ági won the Huawei Scholarship in 2011 and she was lucky to win a trip to China as well. It was really an amazing experience both professionally and personally for her. The company helped her to finish her Master’s thesis by organizing in-depth interviews with Huawei managers. One of those company representatives was András Fülep, Key

Account Manager for Vodafone.Ádám did an internship at Magyar Telekom, so he was aware of Vodafone’s market behavior. He was impressed by the company’s market challenger approach, which made him interested in Vodafone. So after graduation he applied to the Discover Program immediately.

DISCOVER PROGRAMAlthough they worked in various sectors during their university studies, they wanted to find the most suitable area. As they had experience in the telco sector and motivation to discover this field, the rotation structure of the program allowed them to accomplish this. Furthermore, Vodafone had an appealing image to them. Discover best program if you have multiple interests and not 100% sure about the track you want to follow.

DISCOVER PROGRAM - APPLICATION PROCESS

They claimed that it was not easy, but overall a good experience. After the submission of the application, there was a phone interview, followed by online numerical, verbal and logical reasoning tests. The next step was a one-day long assessment centre. They were given individual and collaborative tasks during the whole day.

ROTATIONS IN THE DISCOVER PROGRAMÁdám started in September 2013 as a Discover Graduate. By now, he has just finished the Customer Facing rotations. He had different tasks in the Customer Care function, for example testing and creating training materials regarding Vodafone’s selfcare solutions. During the rotation in a Vodafone store he worked in close cooperation with the store manager e.g. interviewing students, organizing trainings, preparing monthly performance reports and so forth. After the Customer Facing rotations, Ági worked nearly one year at the Enterprise Marketing team including portfolio management, planning and strategy. Currently, they work at the Technology Department, which is a unique opportunity for non-engineers to gain complementary knowledge that will be useful in their future business managerial positions.

CURRENT CHALLENGESThe biggest challenge for them in the present is to find their final role within their wide range of interests. They hope that the Technology rotation will help them to figure this out. Besides that, Ági faces challenges to cope with the doctoral studies while working full-time.


KEY SUCCESSES Similarily to Ági, Ádám has been selected recently as Huawei’s Innovative Leader of Tomorrow 2013. Ági was involved in the introduction of „ Business Red” package, which was a huge work and a great success.

CEMS GRADUATIONWhile Ági graduated in December 2013, Ádám still needs to accomplish the international internship requirement. Vodafone supports Ádám to find an empty role in one of the company’s operating countries for this internship period.

INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIPÁgi spent the majority of the internship in Vienna. Vodafone also helped her to complete the CEMS program, because they supported her absence from the company for three months.

PLANS IN THE LONG-RUNBoth of them would like to stay in the telecommunications industry as they enjoy this fast-paced environment. They are also open to be an expat within the Columbus Program, which is a possible exit from Vodafone’ s Discover Program. On the long run, they want to start their own business. Ági started the doctoral programme from personal motivation that could be an added-value to the service elimination filed. From a professional point-of view ,postgraduate studies are also required for higher positions.

CEMS ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONÁgi is a member already, and Ádám is planning to be one after his CEMS graduation.

TAKEAWAYS

It would be obvious to say that try anything that makes you curious and excited about a certain role, at least you can figure out what you don’t want to do. Be proactive; don’t be afraid from professional people and experts of different business areas. It is a great advantage that the CEMS corporate partners are the biggest multinationals interested in young talents.

And remember, you cannot develop without making mistakes. After years you will see that those failures had reasons to happen, they made you find new paths and new opportunities.

ÁGNES SOMOSI• Participating in the Vodafone’s Discover Program for the past two years• Did her BSc. In International Business at Budapest University of Technology and Economics• MSc. In Marketing at Corvinus • Hobbies: has four dogs, loves swimming. She keeps herself busy by doing a lots of things all the time.

ÁDÁM MADÁCSI• Started the Discover Program last September• Already finished two compulsory rotations in customer care and retail sales, now heading towards the technology department of the company• Did his BSc. In Business Administration at Corvinus before moving on to the Marketing Master’s in English• Loves travelling, this year he visited Thailand and Bali


HELLO TOURIST!

BARCELONA BEYOND THE HIGHLIGHTS

SEE EVERYTHING AT ONCEIf you were ever wondering where those famous aerial pictures of Barcelona were taken, go to Búnkers del

Carmel. These anti-aircraft bunkers were built during the civil war and look over the city from above, with

better views and less tourists than Montjuïc. Ideal for groups or couples, wine or picnic. Sunset is majestic.

EAT FRESHThe marisquería (sea-food restaurant) La Paradeta is a self-service restaurant chain serving fish and seafood almost directly off the boat. The tuna steak is not to be missed!

EAT SPANISHThe restaurant La Fonda is just off the Las Ramblas, however, is yet to be discovered by tourists. Serves good Spanish food at

a very reasonable price. This is the place I would take my weekend visitors to try paella. A line is to be expected in rush hours.

Barcelona is Barcelona. You cannot take any bad choices in terms of drinking and partying. Really.

However, if you had your share of cocktails and would try something more laid back, where you can

actually find a table for a bigger group, try one of the two La Oveja Negra. You can get your own tap

of sangria on your table. La Oveja Negra de Poblenou is the place to predrink before Razzmatazz opens.

GRAB A GLASSBarcelona is Barcelona. You cannot take any bad choices in terms of drinking and partying. Really.

However, if you had your share of cocktails and would try something more laid back, where you can

actually find a table for a bigger group, try one of the two La Oveja Negra. You can get your own tap

of sangria on your table. La Oveja Negra de Poblenou is the place to predrink before Razzmatazz opens.

SHORT INTRODUCTIONS TO SOME OF OUR FAVORITE CEMS CITIES Thanks to: Nelli Gyöngyösi, Petra Éva Kovács. Tamás Racskó, Klaudia Vas, Zsófia Zepkó


LISBON APPETIT!

LX FACTORY

“An urban fragment, kept hidden for years, is now

returned to the city in the form of LXFactory.” (http://

www.lxfactory.com/EN/lxfactory/) The old factory area

that became a creative island is giving space to several

happenings related to arts, music, fashion, publicity,

architecture, etc. Among the residents you can find

cafés, restaurants, bookshops, galleries and offices of

enterprises as well. This place is definitely a must-

see among the coolest non regular sights of Lisbon.

PENSAO AMORPink Street is one of the most popular gathering

places to start a Lisbon night out. But some

decades ago it was the area full of brothels, very

much favoured by the sailors, conveniently

located just a few hundred meters away from

the docks. Pensao Amor is the queen of Pink

Street which is able to reflect the exciting vibe

of those old days and provide a sophisticatedly

extraordinary environment at the same time.

Nightlife adventurers - regardless of age and

gender - cannot miss out on this experience!

MUSEU BERARDO

The Museu Colecção Berardo is a museological space of reference

in Lisbon, where the visitor can enjoy the best of modern and

contemporary art. In this museum it is possible to find, both in the

permanent presentation of the Berardo Collection and in the vast

array of temporary exhibitions, works by artists like Marcel Duchamp,

Pablo Picasso. Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon who

come from diverse cultural backgrounds and contexts, and through

a multitude of expressions, built the art history of the last century.


HELLO TOURIST !

LONDON, BABY!

TAKE IN ALL THE FAMOUS LANDMARKS To see all the major landmarks of London without traveling around the city, just go to Primrose Hill. It offers a

spectacular view of Central London and the City. It pays to be an early bird for a day to see the sun rise above London!

So get up and start sharing those “no filter” Instagrams!

EAT BRITISHWhile the British are not too famous for their cuisine, the full traditional English

breakfast is not to be missed. You can get good deals at places like The Old

Ivy Pub. For lunch, go to Camden Market where you can choose from a large

selection of food from all over the world. After lunch, take a stroll on the bank

of the small canal while browsing through the offerings of the small stalls on

the streets.

TEA TIME"When the clock strikes four, everything stops for tea" – goes the English song. If you want do like the British do

and enjoy a “cuppa”, but don’t quite have the budget for the legendary Ritz afternoon tea, I suggest you visit Bea’s

of Bloomsbury to indulge in their afternoon tea menu complete with cake and scones. If you prefer coffee, the tuck-

away Fleet River Café is your place (special flavours every day!). Don’t forget to try their muffins, they are divine!

DRINK UPPubs are fundamental to the British culture, and in London, your options are almost unlimited. If you want to try

the English ale in a Victorian-style setting, go to the Knights Templar Pub on Chancery Lane. From here, you can

continue your night in Shoreditch, which is swarming with great places such as the Book Club (where books are the

last thing you’ll find).


THE CITY OF FASHION VICTIMS: MILAN

COVA

A “Pasticceria” how Italians call confectioneries which has been serving the from shopping got exhausted elite since 1950, in the most stylish and at the same time most expensive street of Milan, at Via Montenapoleone. It is not surprising that there had been a long competition for this shop location between top-tier fashion brands such as Prada or Louis Vuitton in the last years. In the end how this fierce competition ended is more astonishing; the shop stays and not only, but will spread to other cities. Louis Vuitton bought the majority stake in. Bernard Arnault felt sorry for the customers of LVMH brands, who had to compromise with Starbucks coffees when got tired from shopping, so invented the solution of spreading Milanese café break in the face of Cova, providing luxury consumers luxury rest between two shops. The same service will be provided by waiters who had been first trained in Milan for a month, while the atmosphere by the same unimportant, yellow tablecloths which characterize Cova at the moment. Don’t miss out once being in Milan trying the first Café owned by LVMH ,the parent of the upcoming chain!! Amazing cappuccino and panettone!

COLONNE DI SAN LORENZO

Colonne is the local “Gödör” for Milanese youngsters. As soon as Milanese nights get warmer Colonne and its surroundings get super loaded by the fashionable university people of Milan - who just wanna’ have fun. Colonne is a small square, surrounded by the cheapest pubs of the city, these bars are very small, so you take your drink and enjoy it in the middle of the square with your new hippy friends. If you would accidently feel hungry during the long night hours, in Colonne this could be never a problem, you might even enjoy a full Italian menu, all kind of street food from “pizetta”-s through pancakes are present, and in case you would fancy a tasty icecream in the middle of the night, no need to panic, you will have a range of “gelataria”s to choose from!


YEAR 2014

Board 2014

Winter Camp

Global Run

Pig Slaughter

Ice skating at Városliget


“Heroes, Mentors, Friends. I’ll always have great people around me.”Discover ProgramHow will you shape your world?

Vodafone.com/careers to discover more.

VodafonePower to you

cems club budapest journal / 2014 spring

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