EMF2021级国际生Simon：寻梦金融，德国羽毛球选手的中国逐梦之旅 | 同窗
成长于德国西南部的一座小城市，毕业于曼海姆大学商学院的Simon, 还有一个不为人知的身份——德国羽毛球国家队男单选手。商科毕业的他一直对金融有着浓厚的兴趣，曾赴中国集训与交换的日子让他萌生了来中国学习的想法。面对运动生涯与职业兴趣的选择，今年他迈出了人生的重要一步——来到复旦泛海国金精英金融专业硕士（EMF）项目，正式踏上自己的金融征程。
本科学校：University of Mannheim
本科专业：Business Administration
复旦泛海国金EMF 2021级学生
My name is Simon and I graduated last summer from the University of Mannheim in Germany. Growing up in the small town of Ludwigshafen, I started playing Badminton from a young age onwards and moved to a sports high school at the age of 15 in order to pursue a professional sports career alongside my high school education. During that time, I often spent my vacations in China to train with different province teams and the idea of living in China fascinated me ever since. After graduation and playing a year in the men’s singles national team I decided to first focus on my studies and enrolled at the University of Mannheim as one of the leading business schools in Germany.
Thereby, we had an included mandatory exchange semester in our curriculum, and I decided instantly to do my exchange in China as I was always interested in what studying at a top Chinese university is like. I strongly enjoyed my time in China at Peking University, not only because of the impressive culture and exciting daily life but also the interactive teaching style. At that time, I was also initially introduced to job opportunities in the finance world and especially investment banking caught my interest.
After this experience, I did two investment banking internships in my gap year. Since my interests were fully in line with my internship experience, I decided to pursue a finance- focused degree for my master's studies. Given my strong connection to China, I started considering applying for a master’s degree in China instead of Europe, also with the goal to potentially start my career in Asia.
Besides my academic background, I am quite interested in football and entertainment. Given both industries are also highly dynamic in China, I am looking forward to experiencing those interests in a Chinese context during my upcoming time in Shanghai.
Given my background and my goal to study in China, luckily, our admissions manager Abby reached out and introduced the EMF program to me during the first application period. After doing more research and calls I noticed that the program is very interactively driven and offers strong career perspectives. Together with an international focus and an interesting course syllabus I finally decided to choose the EMF program as I believe it offers the perfect platform to further develop myself. Besides my academic reasons also the city of Shanghai is a main factor for me to apply to the EMF program. Having studied in Mannheim, a rather small town in Germany, I wanted to study and live in a major global metropolitan. Shanghai surely lives up to that standing as one of the leading global financial centers, therefore, allowing me to also build strong networks in the finance industry.
Also, this exciting city allows me to further pursue my other interests such as badminton and football as both sports have a major significance in Shanghai.
I initially had a very positive impression of the EMF program. Already at the beginning when I reached out to senior EMF students to talk about their experiences, two students did not hesitate to help me although they were both occupied with work, therefore, I noticed the strong student community of the EMF program. Furthermore, also the organizational process of the application was very structured and everyone involved in the process was very supportive.
Especially at the beginning Abby, our admissions manager and Justin, the head of EMF, took enough time to talk to me individually about my goals and how the program will help in that regard. With a rather small class batch, I noticed that each student is individually supported to achieve their personal goals. After a very smooth interview process and the accepted offer, the EMF officials organized several info events as well as took efforts to connect us in advance. Especially, due to COVID-19 situation which prevents many international students from starting in person in September (including me), it was great to already meet many fellow students beforehand. All students have diverse backgrounds and I think this creates a unique and international student community. So even before the official start, we already managed to create several WeChat groups to chat and support each other, especially with updates regarding the Visa situation. Also, the EMF officials, with our students affairs officer Holly being the main point of contact, provided support and updates in the current uncertain times.
Besides the great organization, the PDC also provided valuable insights for my current summer internship applications. The initial CV check together with individual career consulting sessions helped me to receive a better understanding of the investment banking landscape in Asia. Also in the current ongoing processes, especially Evelyn, our career center manager, is always available for quick questions and provides really helpful information.
Given the smooth processes and organization before the official program start, I am looking forward to the lectures and working with motivated fellow students together on exciting challenges.
My Expectations
I am truly glad and privileged to have this unique opportunity of being part of the EMF community. For the upcoming two years, I expect to meet a lot of bright minds and hope to make long-lasting friendships. Also, I want to enhance my Chinese skills and EMF provides the perfect basis by offering Chinese courses. This will help me to further increase my work suitability in China. In addition, my main goal is to obtain a better understanding of the financial markets in China and to extend my knowledge in an international context. Given a truly international syllabus, I think there will be a perfect environment to achieve this particular goal. Looking at my professional career after my studies, another significant goal is to secure an internship at a major investment bank in Asia and I think PDC provides strong support in achieving this goal.
Even though there are a lot of challenges in the current pandemic situation, especially regarding remote teaching, online recruiting, etc., I am confident that the EMF program will provide innovative solutions for me and my fellow students to feel included and hopefully at the beginning of next year we will be able to enter China and meet each other in person.