IB&M behind the scenes

Jakob Summer is currently studying in the 3rd semester of the master program "International Business & Management". We have talked to him to give you more insights on what studying this master degree as a part-time student is like.

Please tell us briefly who you are, what you study and how you came to MCI.

Hi, everyone. My name is Jakob, I am 28 years old and come from Munich, Germany. I am currently enrolled in the third semester of the International Business and Management Masters program at the MCI. Since a good friend of mine was studying at the MCI during the same time that I did my Bachelor’s degree in Munich, I visited Innsbruck a few times. I particularly liked the city during my visits. In addition, the MCI and in particular the International Business and Management degree program were recommended to me by many students there, which led me to apply for a Master's degree at the MCI after all.

In which company are you currently working?

After working as a consultant at Retail Performance Company in Munich, I recently joined the sales and business development team at Slack Technologies.

Which fields of the curriculum do you like best so far or which one helped you most in your current job?

So far, I have particularly enjoyed the modules of my chosen specialization “Digital Business”. I considered their content to be highly relevant in today's professional life. I liked the mix of theory and applied practice during the courses. Since many modules were held partly or completely by guest teachers from companies such as Swarovski, Plansee or PricewaterhouseCoopers, it was possible to gain insights into the practical implementation of topics in addition to the theoretical content of the courses.

As I was responsible for some knowledge management projects at the company I was working at, the input from lectures such as "Marketing Research and Intelligence" or "Digital Transformation and Organization" was particularly helpful for me. Furthermore, the discussion of emerging technologies and their importance for companies helped me to better understand economic contexts in general.

Where did you plan to complete your international studies? Why did you choose this destination?

Since I come from Munich and still live there, my studies in Innsbruck can almost be considered as studying abroad :). After completing my Bachelor's degree, I already spent a gap year in Australia and South-East Asia, where I was able to gain intercultural experience. Although I find the wide range of international partner universities of the MCI very appealing, I decided not to take a semester abroad.

Do you see any benefit of studying part-time? If so, which one/s is/are they?

I really like the block courses of the part-time study program. Since the lessons are not spread over several days during the week, I can plan and use the rest of the week more effectively. In addition, the part-time study program allows me to test and apply the contents of the lectures directly in practice. In particular, I find the aspect the I gain both practical and theoretical experience during my part-time studies to be an advantage.