Novedades

The journey I embarked on through the Argentine-German Double Degree Master's Program in Administration and Finance was much more than a simple academic program. It was a profound immersion into the intersection of two very different cultures, a significant intellectual challenge and an unbeatable personal growth experience. My name is Agustina Rutenberg, I am 24 years old and this is my testimony.

Among my immediate goals after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Nacional de San Martín were pursuing a Master's degree, specializing in finance, being in contact with the English and German languages and having a life experience in Germany. You may wonder why Germany. In my case, I have many connections to this country. Firstly, my surname is German, and I attended a school where this language was part of the curricula. I had the opportunity to participate in a student exchange when I was 16 years old and, since then, my goal has always been to return.

I realized that the only way I could achieve all these objectives was by doing a Master's degree in Germany. Unfortunately, or fortunately now, I did not have the necessary budget to open a blocked account, which is what the embassy requires to issue a study visa. Thus, after much searching, through my then-boss who was a student in one of the financed programs, I came across the CUAA (Centro Universitario Argentino-Alemán in Spanish or DAHZ in German).

Among its academic offerings, there were several Master's programs and only one fulfilled the focus on finance: the Master's in Administration and Finance at UNL (Universidad Nacional del Litoral) or, equivalently, the International Master in Administration and Finance at Hochschule Kaiserslautern (HSKL) in Germany. After reviewing the program, I thought, "This is perfect, it combines all my objectives." The only drawback was that the classes were held in Santa Fe and I am from Buenos Aires (430 km away). It seemed there was nothing that could stop me from my goals because, without hesitation, I decided to move. This means, I attended classes in Santa Fe through brief moves, overnight buses and a lot of willpower. None of this would have been possible without my personal moving assistant, my mom. I was fortunate to receive support from the company where I worked at the time and I was able to fulfill my job remotely. The classes at UNL were filled with new experiences and knowledge. Beyond the didactic classes, we went on visits with foreign students to the Technological Park to learn about the new projects being developed and we carried out an interesting consultancy program that involved the analysis and feasibility of opening new markets for different companies.

In September 2022, after completing the courses at UNL, I began my journey to Germany along with seven other Argentine students. My stay in Zweibrücken, where the HSKL campus is located, was nice. Although it is a small town, away from the city life I am used to, there were always activities organized among international students to get to know each other, have a good time and exchange about our cultures. The relationships gained in this experience, not only with students but also with professors, are a great benefit of the program.

During my studies at HSKL, I was focused on finding an internship in Germany that suited my interests. I was sure I wanted to do it in an international company, as my experiences up to that point had been in small and medium-sized enterprises. After a few days of searching and interviews, three opportunities arose. I chose Mercedes-Benz in the Digital Sales and Connectivity Controlling area. What caught my attention was not only the company but also the area and activities, which were related to new technologies. A whole new world for me. I remember I had the interview on a Thursday and the next day they called me to offer me the position. So, I moved to Stuttgart. Although the mandatory internship for the Master's program was supposed to be for 6 weeks, I decided to extend it to 6 months to have a more significant impact on my long-term professional development and to understand the values and organizational structure of such a large company. In the second week of the internship, we went on a Team Building trip to the Black Forest and drove first-class cars. A phenomenal experience. The internship at Mercedes-Benz helped me understand the complex network of processes involved in every activity within the company, beyond the daily tasks that involved my position. It was very motivating to know that I was contributing to the company's team effort.

During the final weeks of my internship, I spent a lot of time thinking about my thesis topic, which was not easy. I knew I wanted it to have a quantitative approach, as I enjoy analyzing the information that numbers provide. After considering several topics, I decided to focus on the capital market, more specifically, on sustainable investment. Therefore, I combined two important topics that I had studied in the classes of professors Christian Armbruster and Martín Dutto, my thesis examiners, to arrive at the final topic: Investment funds and optimal portfolio. Combining these topics with European sustainability led to the title of my thesis: "Optimal portfolio of European sustainable investment funds based on mean-variance optimization model." I cannot miss mentioning Tim Colberg, who guided me in the topic search process with great willingness. After completing the internship at Mercedes-Benz, I moved to Karlsruhe to start working as a student in another company. I was able to develop and carry out my thesis consistently, working 18 hours a week. Of course, without my best long-distance advisor, my dad, who is a professor and understands a lot about university life, it would have been more complicated for me.

Once the thesis was bound, my work did not end there. Another important part of the process was the oral defense, for which I had to present my entire thesis. A week before the defense, I was informed that I had to present my main findings. What a challenge it was to adjust my 40-slide presentation to 4! After all, I had to summarize a work that took me almost a year of thoughts and back-and-forth. In February 2024, I finally defended my thesis, where I received very good and positive feedback from the professors. It feels so good to have achieved this goal.

Now I will begin a new stage of my life in Stuttgart, where I will work supporting an international company as an Accounting and Administration Referent. Thanks to the CUAA initiative, I was able to unite and fulfill all my objectives, which would have otherwise been more difficult or unreachable. There is no distress, anxiety or fatigue that is not worth it when there is the satisfaction of having achieved everything one sets out to do. Here's to more growth!