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 David Mudge
General MBA, GISMA Business School
University previously attended Adelaide University, Australia
Degree obtained BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Country of origin Australia
Age 34 years
After working in research with the Department of Defence and as a software engineering manager for Motorola in Australia and the USA, David Mudge decided to study for his MBA at GISMA Business School in Germany. Today, he works as a business development manager with Infineon Technologies in Munich, Germany.
?Combining the best of an American MBA and a European focus was the right choice for me.?
Getting a world-class American MBA in Germany
I chose to study for an MBA because I felt I had reached a certain level in my career where not having an MBA or a higher degree would be a disadvantage for me compared to my peers, many of whom were studying an MBA or had already received one. I chose the GISMA MBA programme for a combination of reasons. First, it is affiliated with Purdue University in the USA, which is regularly ranked as one of the world?s top 25 MBA programmes. The degree received at the end of the course is a Purdue degree. Secondly, the course is a ?fast-track? 11-month course, meaning I only needed to be out of the workforce (and without a salary!) for a year. And last, but not least, the opportunity to live in Europe for a year and pick up some German was a strong draw.
Since my arrival, some other important characteristics of the School have become apparent. The class sizes are quite small compared to what I am used to back home. With only 58 students in the full-time class, access to professors is quite easy and, in the classroom, everyone has a chance (and is expected) to participate in business discussions. Contact with the School administration is also frequent, and I can?t imagine too many schools back home where you can chat with the Dean over your morning coffee. . .
A day in the GISMA world
A day in my life at GISMA begins at 8.30am. I arrive and check my e-mails, using the School?s wireless network, before class at 9.00am. Classes
take one-and-a-half hours each in a very modern lecture hall. Depending on the day, I could have as many as three classes, but, on most days, only
two. If two classes are scheduled for the morning, those classes are completed by 12.30pm. There are a couple of nearby cafeterias for lunch, after which I could have a class at 1.30pm. If not, I meet with my five study team members to discuss or work on group assignments. The study teams are built to provide you with exposure to working with classmates from a variety of backgrounds. (For example, my study team consisted of six students from six different countries with different academic backgrounds.)
Once that is done, I usually head home and either complete my own personal assignments for the night or work on group assignments. Although the course is quite intensive, there is still time to socialise and, with more than 50 classmates coming from all around the world who are also new to Hannover, there is never a shortage of people organising things to do. There are plenty of nightclubs, bars and beer gardens in Hannover, as well as cinemas showing English-language films. For a day out, there are some quaint old villages close by or the big cities of Hamburg and Berlin, both less than two hours away by train. Germany has much to offer and the rest of Europe is on your doorstep!
A concept that works
During the programme, GISMA?s career centre supported us with very helpful courses on how to bring your best qualifications into a CV or how to present yourself in a job interview. During the whole year, we had at least one contact per week with an international company. Very helpful for me was the annual MBA Career Fair, organised by GISMA, where we could have a closer look at potential future employers. This is how I got into contact with Infineon Technologies in Munich, where I work as a business development manager in its Marketing Department today. You can see that GISMA was the right choice for me.
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