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Internships abroad are available in the International Business Administration degree (symbol image)
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Anyone who has studied International Business Administration (IBWL) then works, for example, in companies, consultancies or banks that operate worldwide. In our globalized world, graduates are in great demand on the job market. During their studies, they had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience abroad and therefore mostly speak several languages.
Jonas Herbst, 24, studied international business administration as a bachelor at the Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. There he is now also completing his master’s degree. He explains why the "international" in IBWL can be misunderstood, why he spent his year abroad in
Siberia
and why he enjoys the economics courses more than he thought.
The decision to study
"With my studies I wanted to be as broad and international as possible."
“In a seminar at school back then, we tried to find out where our strengths were and what we wanted to do after school. My result: I didn't stand out in any particular ability, but I wasn't particularly bad anywhere either. So that didn't help me at first when choosing a course of study. But I knew one thing: I wanted my studies to be as broad and international as possible. Part of the time I grew up abroad and learned German, English, French and a little Spanish. A degree such as law or medicine seemed too special to me - in contrast to international business administration. That was my choice.
At the university in Bamberg, we have to learn two foreign languages. In addition to English, I also chose Russian.
It was assumed that we already speak the languages at B1 level - even B2 for English.
At many universities you have to prove this with a certificate.
So if you are toying with the course, you should familiarize yourself with the entry requirements of the universities and register for language courses or exams. "
Content and structure of the course
"The timetables can be designed individually."
“The bachelor's degree in Bamberg lasts eight semesters, two of which are completed abroad - at least that's how it was before the pandemic.
There was no specific order in which we had to take the courses.
Very few built on each other.
The timetables can therefore be designed individually.
However, it was compulsory to take a certain number of courses in the fields of business administration and economics. In business administration these were, for example, statistics, fundamentals of business mathematics or accounting, in economics microeconomics 1 and macroeconomics 1. So you shouldn't study IBWL if you are not halfway numerical. In both areas there is also a compulsory elective area, from which another two to three courses have to be chosen. This results in a small focus. "
“From school I was used to learning a lot by heart. That is not enough in the course of study - especially in the economics courses. Rather, it is about being able to apply the models that have been learned. There are tutorials and exercises for almost all courses, so it doesn't matter if you don't understand everything immediately in the lectures. Most events also have Facebook groups where you can ask for solutions.
The name 'International' is a bit misleading. We actually had all of the courses with the business graduates. We only had to study an extra year, go abroad and do a six-month mandatory internship. Almost all of the courses were in German, with the exception of the two foreign business languages - I thought that was a shame. If languages are particularly important to you, you should consider this when choosing a university. "
»For my two semesters abroad, I wanted to go somewhere where I wouldn't run into lots of other German students.
I decided on Siberia - and at the beginning I was really the only German there.
The year was great for my Russian, to get to know the other culture and to experience a completely different view of the political world situation.
My tip: think about what exactly you expect from the semester abroad beforehand.
Do you want to go to a top university?
Is the cultural exchange important to you?
Do you want to travel a lot locally?
I was mainly interested in the language. "
Career prospects after graduation
"With a good degree in IBWL you don't have to worry about your professional future."
»I did my compulsory internship during the semester break.
I went to a management consultancy, to a start-up in the field of health management and in the field of supply chain management of a company for two months each.
The department ensures that products are in the right place at the right time.
Anyone who, unlike me, spends the entire six months in just one company may have a better chance of getting a job there later.
I wanted to get to know different companies and thus potential employers.
I find business ethics super interesting. That's why I signed up for another semester in philosophy. Depending on how things go, I would like to do a doctorate in business ethics or add a full bachelor's degree in philosophy. Or I start my professional life, then I would like to start in a management consultancy. With a good degree in IBWL you don't have to worry about your professional future. "