Caspar - Chinese track

Why did I choose my programme?
After graduating from high school in Germany, I wanted to gain some international experience abroad. I decided to venture into a culture I had relatively little to do with at the time: Asia. After subsequently completing a two-year dual education program in Hong Kong, a passion was awakened in me, and I decided to further explore Chinese culture and language. The study program International Business in Asia (IBA) at the CBS was ideal for my needs, as it deals intensively with the culture and language of China and the business world in Asia in its 8 semesters.

What do I like the best?
The best aspect about IBA is the atmosphere and size of the program. Unlike the large programs at CBS, IBA offers the opportunity to interact and get to know everyone in the program.  This creates a very pleasant and warm atmosphere, more reminiscent of a family than a study group. The same applies to the interaction with professors for each individual course. The comparatively small course sizes create a much closer relationship with course instructors and teaching content, professors often know their students by name which makes you feel very welcome.

What do I think is difficult?
I entered the program with the expectation that I would be able to quickly build on and expand on my previous knowledge of Mandarin and Asian Business Studies. After the first few weeks of IBA, I realized that my previous study approach worked fine with regards to the business courses, but my technique needed improvement in the immensely challenging Chinese courses. I reckon that many students underestimate the workload of the language part, especially in terms of outside classroom study time.

What would I have liked to have known before starting my programme?
What I would have liked to know before the study is the fact how demanding the combination of language courses and business courses is. It is extremely important to actively participate in the courses from the beginning on and to prepare the material before and after class. Careless work (especially in languages) shows its effect relatively quickly in an overload of subject matter.

What do I want to do after finishing my programme?
After graduation, I am considering going back to Asia to gain more work experience in the region, as well as exercising to speak Chinese at an everyday level. In addition, I can also imagine pursuing a Master's program in International Business in the near future to further deepen my knowledge.

If I could give myself a piece of advice, before starting it would be…  
If I were to give myself a piece of advice before starting my studies, it would have been to better work on my learning techniques for the Chinese language. It’s important not to rely solely on prior knowledge of the language, but to actively improve and review prior knowledge right from the start of your academic studies. I believe that the aspect of efficient language learning is the key element for a joyful and successful IBA life.