Her path into engineering was practically written in the stars. Like her grandfather and both her parents before her, Cordula attended the TGM – the School of Technology in Vienna. She was tinkering in her grandfather’s workshop from an early age, and because her mother worked in medical technology, it was always normal to her that women could pursue technical careers.
After completing her HTL in electrical engineering with a focus on renewable energies, the plan was actually to start working, but her thirst for knowledge proved stronger. “As I already had some background knowledge of renewable energies from my school days, the Bachelor’s degree programme in Energy and Environmental Management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland was a perfect fit for me,” she explains.
It was the combination of technology and the environment in particular that won her over.
It is not just renewable energy itself, but also the broader issues of sustainability, environmental management and social responsibility that are important to me.
Cordula Kopp, a student on the Bachelor’s degree programme in Energy and Environmental Management at the University of Applied Sciences Burgenland
Alongside her studies, Cordula Kopp is also gaining professional experience. An internship with the "environmental consultants" gave her the opportunity to gain practical insights and to consider her future career path more carefully. In addition, she has been working as an ambassador for FIT – Women in Technology – since the start of the year. She visits schools and works with pupils, sometimes in all-girls groups, sometimes in mixed classes. In her workshops, which she can adapt flexibly, she talks mainly about AI and the many different facets of technology. She wants to encourage girls to have confidence in technology and speaks from her own experience when she says: “You don’t have to be a maths genius to be successful in technology.”
A formative experience during her studies was her semester abroad in Mikkeli, Finland. There, she experienced not only a different higher education system but also a different daily life: snow, long walks, and more students. Academically, the focus was more on environmental engineering than at her home university, which opened up new perspectives for her. Above all, however, the stay gave her valuable life experience and an insight into how different studying and attitudes to life can be in other countries.
Cordula is deliberately keeping her options open as to which direction her career path will take in the future. She can also envisage doing a Master’s degree. One thing seems certain above all: she wants to continue working at the intersection of technology, the environment and education – with enthusiasm, self-confidence and a desire to encourage others to find their own path into technology.
# Gepostet in:
Besondere Stories,
Alumni Stories,
StudentInnen,
Bachelorstudiengang Energie- und Umweltmanagement
