The dream of an international career

"My mum advised me to do a HAK because you can start a job straight away afterwards," she says. But then the pandemic hit and Viktoria decided she would rather study. She has now been studying for a Bachelor's degree in International Business Relations at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences for two years and has found "exactly what she was looking for".

But for Viktoria, the degree programme also had a personal aspect. In the Bachelor's programme, students choose an Eastern European language and she chose Russian. "My stepmum is Russian, my siblings speak Russian. I can finally understand my siblings when they speak Russian," says Viktoria happily.

The hard-working student works 20 hours a week as a student assistant in marketing in the property and construction management sector. She supports the marketing manager with a wide range of tasks. "I really enjoy it. I can manage 20 hours alongside my studies. I decided to specialise in marketing and sales during my studies, so I already have some knowledge. I also spent six months at OMV in the Public Relations department. I was also very interested in that."

During her time at FH Burgenland, Viktoria also spent six months in Paris, where she studied International Marketing at the university, specialising in Digital Marketing. "As it is currently impossible to study in Russia, Paris was a great substitute. It was an experience and I was able to improve my French."

Another highlight in recent years was the summer college in Innsbruck, where students from Burgenland were able to get to know Ukrainian students. This year, Viktoria's summer school will take place in Poland or Hungary - definitely a highlight she is looking forward to.

Would Viktoria recommend the International Business Relations programme at Burgenland University of Applied Sciences to others? "Definitely for sure! You get a good overview of business administration, but also knowledge in your specialisation in an international sense."