Education is the key

He is also the founder of an organisation that supports young people with a migration background in educational matters.

"My background is not a normal one," is how Omran Almasri begins his extraordinary story. He was 13 years old when he arrived in Austria with his family after a long escape and initially lived in Styria. There, as an exceptional pupil at a secondary school, he did everything he could to learn German as quickly as possible. The legal framework made it impossible for him to finish school with grades. So, now living in Vienna, he looked for a way to continue his education.

School years at the HTL Vienna 10

A transition class was offered at HTL Wien 10 to prepare him for the HTL programme. Omran took advantage of this opportunity and completed the class with honours. He decided to specialise in electrical engineering for the rest of his time at the HTL. During his time at school, he reached the final of the multilingual speech competition "Sag's Multi" twice, and at the HTL he was year speaker for five years and also department speaker. For two years, he was a recipient of the state scholarship, a scholarship programme for people with a migrant background that is run throughout Austria. Naturally (😉), he was also the scholarship speaker there. After completing his A-levels, he started a job at the lift company KONE, where he still works today.

A career in modernisation

Omran is responsible for the modernisation of lift systems. His oldest lift to date dates back to 1954, and the job is fun because no two days are the same. Nevertheless, he soon realised that his journey of learning was not over yet. One of his HTL teachers had studied at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences himself and recommended that he study Energy and Environmental Management. Omran applied to several universities, was accepted to all of them and decided to study in Pinkafeld. The part-time study model was one of the deciding factors in his choice. "I wanted to continue working in order to obtain the engineering degree and I also wanted to develop my career," he explains. Sustainable energy management was already his favourite subject at school.

"Now I understand maths too"

In his first year of study, he can already say that combining studies, job and family is not easy. But: "Part-time is not just a marketing term at Burgenland University of Applied Sciences, it's a way of life. We students are given the opportunity to master this challenge."

In terms of content, his highlight so far has surprisingly been maths.

Omran does not have a five-year plan for his life, but a three-year plan. "In three years, I will have achieved a lot of what I imagined. I will have completed my studies, after three years of working, I will have obtained the title of engineer and Austrian citizenship."

He would like to continue his professional development either with his current employer or fulfil his dream of becoming self-employed in the field of renewable energies.

How, one wonders, did Omran Almasri manage all this in just 10 years? "My family, especially my mum, always believed in me and supported me. At the new secondary school in Styria, I was told by teachers that I wouldn't get anywhere either. But my mum always supported me in my desire for education. Even in Syria, she always put money aside for my education. After I fled, that was all gone. Nevertheless, my dream was made possible." His faith also always gave him support in difficult times.

And Omran also wants to pass on his enthusiasm for education to other young people with a migrant background. Together with others, he founded the SOHBA (Arabic for friendship) organisation in Vienna. The organisation helps young people, regardless of their religion, to find an apprenticeship, get on better at school or speak better German.