Luiza is one of our alumni and graduated 2020 with the MSc European Urban Studies. Find out more about her interests, experiences and challenges after graduation below.
Master’s degree at BUW: M.Sc. European Urban Studies
Graduation: 2020
Master’s thesis topic: Smart cities and mobility hubs
What are you doing at the moment?
I am currently working as a Coordinator at SYSTRA, a multinational consulting company in the field of transportation. I work in the office located in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which is my home town. I used to work for this company before I started the EUS program, but my position was as an Analyst. Therefore, nowadays I have more responsibilities and I lead a small team. We develop transportation studies for Brazilian cities and metropolitan areas.
How was your transition from being a student to your current position?
After finishing the EUS program, I was hired by a small consulting company in Germany. The experience was ok, but I struggled a lot for being in a new town during the pandemic, as it was hard to make friends and find myself in the city. Moreover, I did not feel like I could give my best in the job, as my German knowledge is still quite limited. Due to all those reasons, I have decided to return to Brazil and look for a job here. As I had previously worked for SYSTRA, my ex-bosses contacted me and offered me a job.
What have you learned during your studies that benefit you now in your working life the most?
Improvement in organization skills, English language, reading, and writing. Moreover, while writing my thesis I did a lot of research on smart mobility, and I am currently able to apply this knowledge in my job.
Do you have any further tips and remarks for current (international) students joining the job market in Germany?
As I had a short experience in the German job market, my recommendation is: learn the German language and practice it as much as you can! I think this is the main challenge for a foreigner that decides to work in Germany. Moreover, before you accept the job, make sure you understand the tasks you will be able to perform and that you like them. Those are lessons that I have learned the hard way. :)
What was the project you were most passionate about in the past years?
Being a tutor for the Bauhaus Summer School in 2019 was a very short project, but still very important for me and I still miss it and all the people I have met during this experience.
Can you tell anything about the most influential parts of your study experience at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (e.g. interests, courses, GRP, extracurricular activities)?
The GRP was of great importance for me! I grew a lot during this period, being proactive, researching on my own, interviewing people that I had never seen before in a strange country. It was a challenge, but the highlight of the program in my opinion! The opportunity to be an Erasmus exchange student and benefit from it (network, scholarship, contacts, uni enrolment) was also great. Concerning the courses, my favorite ones were Urban Sociology, Welcome to Weimar, Research Methods, and the Study Project in Gelsenkirchen.
Which advice would you give your younger student-self if you could?
I would probably tell myself to take the German lessons seriously and to be brave and enjoy this unique opportunity to talk in German with locals as much as possible.
In what ways are you still connected to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and your course peers?
Unfortunately, I am not much connected to anyone anymore - I just follow them on Instagram. However, I would love to know more about how they are doing. Hopefully, we will be able to meet again one day. It was strange and sad finishing the course without seeing any of the classmates or celebrating with anyone.