Albin

Why did I choose my programme (and CBS)?
I've always been a proud generalist, and I felt like SOL would give me a broad and holistic education in a lot of the topics I think are interesting. I believe that the intersection of business strategy, organisational administration and leadership is at the core of management, and that's what I wanted to learn about. I chose to study at CBS because I've lived in Copenhagen for a while now, and I love the city. I know several people that had gone here before, and they all loved it.

What do I like the best?
I like that the courses leave you a lot of freedom to apply things to your own life or experiences. We discuss a lot in class and share our different perspectives, and that makes for a really holistic look on the topics we cover. I feel like I'm learning a way of thinking and approaching situations that I can apply to anything. It's really cool to see everyone in class engage as well, and because it's an international class, you get a lot of really interesting perspectives and ideas.

How do I experience the difference in academic level between my bachelor and master programme?
The master’s level is definitely more application focused. There's some repetition of some things that I had in the bachelor’s, but I guess that's necessary for everyone to be on the same level. The difference is that we move on from defining a concept to using it much faster. In my bachelor’s I felt like I was taught the basic tools that you need for working in business, and now I feel like I'm learning how to apply them and use them together with each other. It is a great build-up.

What are the biggest challenges in my study programme?
The biggest challenge is in a way the same as the biggest benefit. It's a broad, holistic and general programme so if you don’t spend the time and focus on applying things by yourself, it can feel a bit overwhelming or disconnected at times. I know people that feel like the programme is too theory based and too conceptual, and I've definitely felt like that as well. It's important to stay grounded, or sometimes it feels like you're going to take off. You do get used to it though.

What would I have liked to have known before starting my programme?
That this education is very much what you make of it. Don’t go in, thinking you can get away with passively absorbing things that someone tells you. Think actively and conscientiously about the things you learn. If I knew that going in, I might have set more clear intentions and maybe focused more on defining what I want to take these things and apply them to. It could have been good to go through the course catalogue some more and look for the connections and themes.

What do I want to do after finishing my programme?
After this programme, I feel like I have the freedom to move into almost every sector. I have always loved to solve problems and work in a fast-paced environment, so I’m looking to go into consultancy. I believe that this programme will give me a really good baseline of tools for approaching all kinds of situations. Because you get this generalist perspective of things, it feels like you can be yourself in any situation and sort of figure it out, and that's a really good feeling.

If I could give myself a piece of advice, before starting it would be…
Be smart about how you read! Don't try to memorise every word, just try to understand the core concepts of every course, and then take that to a larger perspective. Try to understand the connections, rather than just the theories. I have worked on reading and processing text in a way that lets me digest things much easier and faster than reading whole chapters or articles. When you learn to separate the important bits, you can start to put it all together much more intuitively.