FINISHED STUDIES - WHAT'S NEXT?!

Successful graduates provide insights into their career paths

Once again, four graduates of the master's degree programs in Food Technology & Nutrition and Biotechnology gave exciting insights into their everyday working lives. In addition to their current tasks, they also reported on their studies at MCI and what they took away from their time as particularly helpful. A great opportunity for our students to make contacts and get valuable tips.

Hilal Yamaner kicked off this year's alumni day. She completed both her bachelor's and master's degree in Biotechnology at MCI. Already during her studies she gained first insights into possible professional fields through various internships (e.g. Adler Lacke, Tyrolean Cancer Research Institute, Mondelez International). She is currently working as a project engineer for biotechnological plants at VTU Engineering in Switzerland. Hilal reported enthusiastically about her current position. As a newcomer after graduation, she was immediately given a lot of responsibility, which was of course also a challenge. But dealing with challenging situations, not giving up right away and stepping out of her own comfort zone is something Hilal also learned during her studies. This and not losing sight of the goal is something she would particularly like to recommend to our current students.

Caroline Bachlechner then reported on her journey. Fittingly, she gave her presentation under the motto "The Road Ahead". Caroline came to MCI for the master's in Food Technology & Nutrition. After working for Boehringer Ingelheim and Labor Dr. Theurl, she is now a research associate and doctoral candidate in the field of food technology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna. She also provided valuable insights into her everyday work. In addition to individual freedoms, such as the relatively free scheduling of work, the other side of the coin is a heavy workload. She has particularly fond memories of the seminar on scientific work during her studies at the MCI.

Maximilian Nißlein also came to Innsbruck for his master's degree at MCI. He completed his degree in Biotechnology in 2019. He still enjoys coming back to MCI campus today. After the Alumni day, he still meets up with former fellow students and friends. Maximilian can particularly recommend a semester abroad. For example, he wrote his master's thesis at ITESM Monterrey in Mexico. Maximilian explained to our students his reasons for pursuing an MBA. He completed his MBA at the Collège des Ingénieurs. He currently works for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Berlin. He travels a lot and always gets to know interesting people. He also really enjoys working on different projects. He spends a lot of time with his team, and having dinners with project partners, playing sports together, and celebrating successes are all part of his everyday life. However, good team spirit is also important, as his calendar is mainly determined by work.

Chris Grünberg joined our alumni day online. He always knew that he wanted to study the master's of Food Technology & Nutrition at MCI while working. After completing his apprenticeship as a dairy technologist and his bachelor's degree in Food Technology, he worked in product development at the Meggle company. Studying part-time allowed him to continue working and complete his Master's degree. Of course, there were also very challenging times. However, for Chris it was definitely the right path. What he particularly appreciates about the MCI are the many external lecturers from the field, working in small groups and the MCI's high profile in the industry. Chris recently moved to yfood in Munich, where he is Team Lead in Product Development.

After four motivating and inspiring presentations, the students had time to talk to the speakers. All four of them emphasized the importance of networking. Using platforms such as LinkedIn was a clear recommendation to our students.

Thank you to all four graduates for these exciting insights. We wish you all the best and much success for your future.