Name: Hannah-Luise Klingner
Home Country: Germany
Bachelor's degree: BSc in Business Administration from Hamburg School of Business Administration, Germany
Study programme: MSc in Finance
The beginning…
For my bachelor's degree, I moved from Hannover to Hamburg for three years. I experienced the beauty of a diverse and vibrant city while making the first baby steps toward my professional career as a cooperative student at Deloitte.
Quickly I realized two things: First, I am a person who enjoys math rather than marketing.
Second, I love to work in an international firm and learn from a global network. This was amplified through my exchange semester at BI, in which I absolutely fell in love with Norway. I am a huge winter sports fan, and being close to Holmenkollen, with its various winter sports events, was an absolute dream. Additionally, I liked the learning environment at BI and the beautiful campus.
After working two years full-time after my bachelor's degree, I faced the questions many of my peers came across: What now? Keep on working, pursue a professional degree, or join a master's program?
The decision…
Since I really wanted to improve my education further, I could imagine going for a master's degree. However, I had a clear vision of what kind of program I wanted to go for. It should clearly focus on finance and quantitative skills, and it should be taught in English. Through my work, I experienced first-hand how important it is in today's business world to speak it fluently and to feel confident to express yourself in English.
I searched for programs in Europe that fit my vision while always having BI in the back of my head. Since I missed Norway and its beautiful nature, I decided to apply for the MSc in Finance program, and in 2022 I got an early Christmas present: a few days before Christmas Eve I got accepted into the program.
How it’s going…
I have to say, the beginning of the study program was a bit of a shock. I was used to working full-time, and returning to a full-time study program took some time for me to adjust.
By the end of the first exam period, I was quite exhausted, but I had the feeling that I was learning a lot of new things and actually applying them to real-life examples. Additionally, I found an awesome study group that always lifts each other up.
At the start of the second semester, I already knew what would come, and it was a lot easier for me to allocate my time more efficiently and wisely.
And then, my personal highlight of the year: I was a volunteer at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival and could watch the different winter sports events. I was even able to practice my Norwegian skills a bit.
Overall, studying at BI offers me an academically recognized degree while living in the beautiful city of Oslo. I have the feeling that BI is preparing me for a professional career in finance, and I can’t wait to pursue my professional career, maybe even here in Oslo.