2
Contents
Introductions
3 A word from the Editors 4 Presidential welcome 6 Developing project teams Initiatives for rocking the fall term
Features
9 Pioneers
Hungarian CEMSies discovering the world
14 This is what we have been up to... Memorable events in spring
17 A look back at ‘CEMS V4 Conference 2012
This is how we saw the first regional
conference in Budapest
23 Giving a new look to Mozgolóda Óvoda 31 Running to help in 2011
Interviews
25 Working at McKinsey: Julia Szilvia Stark
„Success, however, for me means
enabling other people to succeed.”
32 Career exploration: András Bencsik
„I am a team player, but not the suit up type”
Tips n’ tricks
24 Tips when applying for the Business Projects
28 Buda Castle, Széchenyi Bath -
Exchange students going further the usual
landmarks
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A word from the Editors
After long months of silence the CEMS Club Budapest Journal is out again. An
exciting and busy semester is behind us... While we are already at the Lake
Balaton in our minds we are reorganizing the communications strategy of the
Club. This newsletter is just a first outcome of our work: the complete redesign is
to be expected in the autumn term.
Indeed, who would have expected so many events before our official CEMS year
starts. From elegant dinners to volunteer event, useful workshops and not to
forget the social outings we have gained a better understanding about the CEMS
spirit. With this newsletter, the Editorial Team wants to share the latest news and
events in Budapest, while focusing on all the stakeholders of the CEMS alliance.
Among the main topics covered in this newsletter you will find many new
initiatives that were started during last year. We are very excited to see these
grow in the coming months and have high hopes of getting them spread on a
global level. These initiatives have the possibility to plant some seeds that, over
the next year, might prosper into interesting projects.
Enjoy the newsletter and look out for opportunities to keep your CEMS
experience up this summer. Looking for suggestions? Why not connect with
fellow CEMSies doing their internship in the same company or city as you? Or
take a trip with the Alumni Association to a nice and sunny destination! Let’s
make the most of the CEMS network!
Editors:
Dóra Bálint Anna Mátyus Péter Oláh Gábor Trefán
FOREWORD
4
WE
Dear Reader,
In the following page, I would like to share with you my views and experiences
regarding the spring semester of 2012, which was a very eventful one for the
CEMS Club Budapest.
The first big event of the year was the Winter Camp in Ceglédfürdő, where
overall more than 50 CEMS students and alumni participated. The majority of
them came from the 2012/2013 class, which - in our opinion - is a special one in
terms of activity, diversity and potential. Then, the rotation dinner gave the
selected students the opportunity to meet 3 corporate partners at an
extraordinary venue: Déryné Bisztró. As spring came the finishing touches kept
us busy organizing the CEMS V4 Conference, the first regional CEMS event held
in Budapest. We have received positive feedback from the 52 Hungarian and
international participants and hopefully this event could add to the reputation of
CC Budapest within the CEMS community as well. Without taking time to lay
back we held a charity event. During the Volunteer Day we repainted the
kindergarten equipment working together on the side of the local community.
Before chilling at Lake Balaton’s shores CEMSies gathered for the Alumni Mixer.
When we were applying for the presidency of 2012, we were aware of the fact
that 2012 would be an extraordinary year for CEMS Club Budapest. However we
were confidently looking forward to the challenges, as we formed a relatively big
team, most of us having already worked together before.
Sára Bihari (Social affairs), Anna Mátyus (SB representative), György Somogyi
(Corporate relations), Zoltán Szoleczki (Alumni relations) and myself made the
CEMS Club Board for the spring semester.
We were lucky to receive well-structured information at the beginning of the
year from the former board, and they are still supporting our work with their
advice and experience. Still, we could not manage organizing all these events
without the contribution of other CEMS students, especially during the V4
Conference.
PRESIDENTIAL
5
LCOME
Our work doesn’t stop here, our main aim for the fall semester is to further
strengthen the CEMS community, our corporate relations, increase the number of
new applicants, and finally, prepare the next board for the takeover. We are
going to work with new members in autumn: Noémi Pallos and Éva Varga will
be responsible for Social Affairs and CSR. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the new
CEMS class, 4 project teams were formed; namely Communication & PR, CSR,
Promotion & Recruiting and Charity Run organizing team.
What else can I say? My first semester as a president was an exceptional
experience for me. It was full of new situations and challenges. We could handle
most of them well, thanks to the support of many helpful people from the CEMS
community. Thank you for that.
Keep up the CEMS spirit! And most importantly have a great summer!
Tamás Sváb, President, 2012
WELCOME
6
PRO
Developing Project teams
Communication and PR team
“What do you know about the CEMS MIM programme? Do you know the CEMS
Club Budapest and its events?”
The aim of the Communication and PR team is to give overall responses to the
questions above by our integrated communication campaign. Our plan for the
autumn semester is mainly based on online communication and consists of three
pillars: homepage, facebook and a trimestrial journal.
A total restructure of the homepage of CEMS Club Budapest is in progress. We
would like to constantly add content to reflect the activity of the Club. It would
catch the attention of the incoming exchange students and would also attract
newcomers from our home university, Corvinus. We believe that we can show
our CEMS spirit by keeping you up to date about our activities and social events.
Facebook site would be the place where the community could share their
comments about the news and events of CEMS Club Budapest.
We hope that you’ll enjoy reading the Journal as a review of each semester.
Promotion and Recruitment team
CEMS emphasizes the rookie recruitment in order to meet the best matches for
the MIM programme. The new members should not only have definite ideas
about their future education, but should also be open to new people, cultures and
experiences while they are putting effort into a close cooperation between the
other fellow members.
The team consists of the President of the CEMS Club Budapest and some newly
accepted participants. Our aim is to increase awareness of the programme. One of
our many programs will be held in June. A great opportunity was given to the
club organizing a 3-day-long Sport Event during the Year Closing Festival of the
Corvinus University of Budapest.
By the beginning of the new semester info days, Summer Camps, Charity events
are organized to inform the new candidates why and how to apply.
PROJECTS
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JECTS
CSR team
The CEMS MIM encourages social responsibility actively - just take a look at the
CEMS Global Values Statement on cems.org - and we, CEMSies share also the
aim to become responsible leaders, who act ethically. In 2011 the CEMS Club
Budapest created a dedicated CSR team in order to encourage CEMSies how to
give a helping hand as students and on the long-term perspective become
committed to act ethically, sustainably and responsibly.
The team consists of the Vice President for Social Activities and engaged CEMS
MIM students from both the 1st
and 2nd
year. Our aim is to let the CEMSies create
awareness of responsibility and business ethics, enable CEMSies to help NGOs
with their management, marketing knowledge.
So far the CSR team helped with the organization of the Charity run by setting
up and keeping contact with the Foundation of Children Suffering from
Leukemia and Cancer, moreover in the spring the first CEMS volunteer day took
place.
This year the target of the CSR Team is to focus on projects, where we can
leverage our professional knowledge. We know how to gain efficiency in
different organizations, therefore we would like to help foundations and other
social responsible organization to be more efficient on their operational level.
This way they can focus on their core activity, helping society.
„I joined the CSR team because ever since high school I have been
involved in doing volunteer work. I find it useful, rewarding and
sometimes challenging, which also makes it worth the while.
Personally, I am interested in the development of CSR and believe
that it will gain more importance in the future. I hope that with
the CSR team we can use what we have studied of management in
order to work for the greater good of society.”
Anikó Kraft – Corvinus University of Budapest
If you got interested you are welcome to join, we are always looking for helping
hands and new initiatives, just contact Noémi Pallos ([email protected])!
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Charity Run organizing team
On a cold Saturday in November 2011 the first CEMS Charity Run took place,
whereby 29 CEMS students, alumnus and corporate partners ran in order to
collect donations for Children Suffering from Leukemia and Cancer.
The organizing team has once again started working on continuing the concept
and in the fall of 2012 the initiative for creating awareness and raising funds for
a specified Hungarian NGO will return…
The team consists of the Vice President for Corporate Relations and Social
Activities, moreover enthusiastic 1st
year CEMS students joined the group for
creating a successful event. Our main aim is to be active, increase the awareness
of a specified cause and foundation among the Hungarian CEMS Community
and create a tangible impact through the donations raised at the event from both
Corporate Partners and CEMS Students.
Stay tuned, and look for more specified information in your inbox by the end of
summer and start your warm up for 5-10kms in September!
"For me the CEMS Charity Run means ensuring that the chosen organization gets
the help they need. With our contribution we can draw the attention of the
society to a crucial issue, such as children suffering from cancer. Looking at the
initiative from another perspective, it enables us to help by keeping ourselves
healthy, staying fit and doing sports together."
Éva Vica Varga - Corvinus University of Budapest
9
Pioneers of the CEMS Club Budapest By Péter Oláh
It wasn’t until 2008 that the first non-European business schools became
members of the CEMS alliance. Ever since the globalisation strategy implemented
in 2008, the number of eligible institutions has increased significantly. The latest
announcement was the confirmation of Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology which is still to be ratified. Nevertheless the two most recent
additions in China and in Japan are free to discover in the 2012/13 semester.
Fortunately Budapest CEMS Club’s freshly accepted students have the kind of
adventurous spirit it requires to seize the opportunity and be the pioneers of
Corvinus. Furthermore it doesn’t take any less courage to travel to São Paulo
either which even though has been available since 2009/10 was not so
frequented by our CEMSies.
In the following section we talked to Dóra Páles (Tsinghua University School of
Economics & Management), Ágota Pfenning (Keio University) and Dávid Kutasi
(Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo-FGV – 2012 spring smester*)
about the changes.
Could you please tell us about
yourself and the reasons for
choosing exchange university?
What are the prominent
characteristics of your school that
makes it worth going so far from
home?
DP: I’m a finance major. In the past
years I’ve been trying to learn more
about how life is lived in different
countries and I’m glad I have been
able to discover some parts of the
world in a more profound way. The
journey has started when I spent a
year in Germany in the framework
of a high school exchange program.
A couple of years after that I studied
in Antwerp, Belgium (this was an
Erasmus scholarship). Most recently I
studied at a university in Georgia,
US as a Rotary scholar.
Originally I was shooting for
Singapore and Japan but when I was
filling out the online application I
saw China. I was like ‘Wow, that
could be interesting!’ so I added
Tsinghua, which seemed to be
awesome at first glance. It is well
known for finance and economics
and is always ranked as the first or
the second best university in
mainland China. Many outstanding
scholars, most of the active Chinese
PIONEERS
10
PI
statesmen and politicians graduated
there.
ÁP: I have had opportunities to
spend semesters in Europe during
high school as well as during
university. That is why I intended to
apply for a CEMS host university
outside of Europe. And why even
Japan? Actually, I have a friend
there, and I believe I could not meet
with her otherwise.
Keio University is a very well-known
private university in Japan. It offers
me a unique opportunity to gain one
of the world’s most extensive
academic and practical backgrounds
in Management. Although I am an
Accounting master student, I am
aiming to attend Media Design
courses that I could not study at
home.
DK: At first I didn’t even think of
FGV. I spent my first semester in
Sydney. Only later came the
notification that people can apply
for the residual Brazilian and
Canadian places for the spring
semester (spending two semesters
abroad is called Tri-national Track)
and I thought that it would probably
be a great adventure to spend some
months in South America as well.
I don’t think that they would teach
finance, marketing or strategy in a
better way than as they do at
Corvinus. And by that I don’t mean
that CUB is the best university, but
the curriculum is sophisticated and
the same books are used at most of
the places. It’s rather the country
and its culture is what’s interesting
and can be taken as a reason to go.
So as a finance student the courses
relating to my studies weren’t so
serious to me. Nevertheless I took
two interesting courses: Cross
Cultural Management and Doing
Business in & with BRICS countries.
Since there is no information
provided by preceding fellow CEMS
students, how did you manage to
arrange everything? Is there
anything peculiar that overseas
students might encounter during
the organization of the travel?
DP: The largest issue I faced so far is
that at Tsinghua there are only 5
courses available for CEMSies to
choose from and none of these
courses is slightly related to finance.
I submitted a petition for not being
able to take a mandatory course.
Since there are no finance related
courses to fill in for the mandatory
course-and I would need three of
them- at this moment I’m not totally
positive if I am able to go at all. As
soon as I get an approval I will buy
my plane ticket.
In order to visit China and to study
there you need a visa. I’m still
waiting for the application package
11
ONEERS
of the university to be able to start
the visa process (communication
with the school is just sooooo
sloooow, I guess we just need to be
patient and give them some time to
figure things out). Since it is not
easy to get official answers, a FB
group was created for discussion,
this is a tremendous help. So at least
I don’t feel completely alone.
And I know I need some shots:
vaccination against Hepatitis A, B,
Typhoid fever and also against
Cholera is highly recommended.
ÁP: First, I started gaining
information about Japan with
reading blogs written by Hungarian
housewives living in Japan. Then I
received some contacts to foreign
CEMSies attending Keio. I could also
ask questions from the official CEMS
Office at Keio. A recent piece of
news is that the CEMS Club Tokyo
was founded by 7 non-Japanese
students who are open to answer
questions on FB.
The visa procedure takes 2-3 weeks
only before the journey. But it is
very important to arrange a health
insurance since the Japanese health
care system is quite expensive.
DK: Actually one previous CEMS
student have already been there so I
got in touch with him. But because
of the fact that I did not know much
about the place, it had a bigger
effect on me. Moreover the Brazilian
coordinator seemed to be very
helpful as she always answered all
my questions. She also assisted me
in finding accommodation (there are
no official student dorms in SP).
One needs a visa to stay for such a
long time in Brazil. In the city of
Sao Paulo you don’t need
vaccination, and I myself haven’t
got any. However those who
travelled to the rainforest have got
several inoculations. You have to
register at the Brazilian police
department after arrival. In my case
this prolonged procedure which also
involved the scanning of all my
fingerprints, took two days because
when it was my turn at 3 pm they
just finished working for that day.
All the countries you are travelling
to are completely different
culturally. What do you expect to
be the biggest challenges both from
the social and academic aspect?
DP: My biggest fears are how I’m
going to deal with my food allergies,
and how I’m going to survive with
basically no Chinese knowledge. The
language might not be a problem on
campus but outside of Beijing it will
be more challenging to make myself
understood by the locals. I have
started to learn Chinese right after I
found out about the results and will
continue learning over the summer.
12
About academics, those 5 courses
that are offered do not seem to be
hard to complete (International
Growth Strategy; Strategic Alliance;
Technology Strategy; Consumer
Behavior; Personnel Selection) I’m
disappointed there are no more
courses to choose from, I secretly
hope they will add more.
ÁP: I suppose first of all my biggest
challenges will derive from my poor
Japanese language knowledge.
Although I have been learning
Japanese for 2 months, I will
definitely get in trouble while trying
to make out the underground map,
or recognize the milk in the stores or
just pick one particular type of rice
from hundreds.
I find Japanese people a little
contradictory. On the one hand, they
are a very respectful nation, the
language is slightly different for
men and women, and there are
numerous expressions that serve to
keep enough distance. You cannot
say just “you”, but always say the
first name + ‘san’. On the other
hand, they are living their personal
lives in front of the public, girls
make up on trains, where boys read
porn mangas.
DK: Safety in general is completely
different than in Europe which
makes a big difference and it’s hard
to get used to it. In spite of this the
people are very friendly; the
university students gladly speak and
spend time with foreigners. The
nightlife is unbelievable! In the
origin of Michel Teló’s hit song
“Nosza-Nosza” - where the Brazilian
ladies are trying to get a European
husband for themselves - the parties
with limitless consumption usually
last till dawn.
The population of Bejing, Tokio and
São Paulo range from 13 to 22
millions of people which is as a
matter of fact more than entire
Hungary. What is it like to be an
exchange student there?
DP: I can’t wait to find this out
myself. I’m planning to get a room
in the dorms; rent (or buy) a bike.
China is said to be super safe. I’m
more concerned about smog though.
ÁP: As for the accommodation, I
hope I can stay in a dormitory of
Keio University during the exchange
semester which would be much less
expensive than renting a room. I
only have one concern about the
accommodation, namely there is no
central heating, so I hope my air
conditioning will also be able to
warm up my room in the minuses of
wintertime. In contrast, the public
transport will mean a bigger
problem with all the Japanese signs
and an incredible mass of people. I
am also quite afraid of the
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earthquakes, since I am obviously
not very used to them.
DK: Anywhere you watch you see
buildings which is unusual at first.
Because of the high population the
streets provide home to a lot of
people. Although the police is trying
to maintain security because of the
upcoming football world
championships it could still improve.
The locals say the situation is a lot
better than previously.
Though I did not have any medical
problems, the best hospital of South
America is near the university where
they treated Hugo Chavez and other
regional celebrities. So there would
have been help if I had needed it.
Given that one can rarely travel to
the other side of the world it is
reasonable to discover as much as
you can in the country/continent.
What are your plans regarding this
matter?
DP: I definitely want to travel. I
have been longing to see Guìlín and
that skywalk in the Tianmen
Mountain, Zhangjiajie. I know for
sure I’ll discover Beijing, the Great
Wall, Xi An - which is one of the
oldest cities in China, Tian Jin and
I’m planning to do some hiking
tours. The mountains are said to be
gorgeous especially over the fall.
I have no strict plan, I like to play it
by ear. I’m really excited and can’t
wait to get started.
ÁP: If I had to pick three attractions
of Japan to visit, the first one would
be a sumo contest, the second one
Kyoto with the secrets of geishas and
the third one the setsubun (Japanese
carnival at the end of the winter
season) when according to the
tradition, you should expel the devil
with throwing soybeans in shrines as
well as at your home.
DK: Actually São Paulo is not the
biggest attraction in South America.
Thus we tried to get the most out of
the continent with the other
exchange students. The Carnival in
Rio is amazing, and it’s “just” 6
hours away. Regarding its natural
characteristics Rio de Janeiro is the
most beautiful city I’ve ever seen.
Besides I went to Argentina and
Uruguay. These countries are fairly
close and reminded me a lot more of
Europe than São Paulo. Also the
Argentinean steak is an
unforgettable culinary experience.
Furthermore the Iguaçu Falls is a
must see – it is a 2,7 km wide
waterfall on the border of Argentina
and Brazil.
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SPRING
This is what we have been up to...
Winter Camp | 9-11 March, Cegléd
We have kicked off this semester with an
intensive and memorable weekend at Cegléd.
The traditional Winter Camp witnessed a record
number of participants (almost 50) thanks to the
committed newly accepted students and a
bonded group of Alumni. What have you missed
out on? Career development at P&G, a real pub-
quiz afternoon, table soccer championship, 2 awesome parties, a fröccs-relay,
ice-breaking social activities with a professional trainer and lots of fun.
CEMS meets ESN | 29 March, Living Room Budapest
Since we had 9 exchange students with us this term
the challenge of conflicting days with ESN parties
were more and more common. This night was the
first step towards the broader foreign community in
Budapest. A gentle start in the Nagymező street was
followed by a great remake of the Winter Camp
parties at Living Room.
Rotation Dinner | 4 April, Déryné Bisztró
Exclusive setting, mouth-watering menu and the
much awaited discussions with Corporate Partners.
IFUA Horváth & Partners, KPMG and PwC were
present to meet students, introduce themselves and
discuss and share career opportunities, CV and
interview first-hand tips & hints.
SPRING EVENTS
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EVENTS
Volunteer Day | 28 April, Mozgolóda Óvoda Budapest
After last year’s CEMS Humanitarian Week this year we
decided to organise one distinctive event which might
involve more people thanks to its uniqueness. On the
first hot day of spring 26 enthusiastic students and 2
alumni had gathered early in the morning in the garden
of the Mozgolóda Óvoda in Budapest. The nannies gave
us little time to be amazed by the tiny sizes of the
rooms and facilities: 5 minutes after arrival we were
already painting the outside jungle gym. It turned out
to be more tiring than previously thought and the idea
of having a similar volunteer activity accredited as
meaningful Skill Seminar points was born.
CEMS Mixer | 3 May, Szilvakék restaurant Budapest
The second edition of the CEMS Mixer took place at
the Szilvakék restaurant in the beginning of May.
All the tickets were sold out days before the event.
More than half of the 100 participants were alumni
which gave a special spice to this event. It was
surprising to see this big and happy community
together, at the same time and same place:
something which rarely happens in the CEMS world.
Running Dinners | 17 April and 9 May, Budapest
Sounds unusual? This night is all about “running”
all over the city, having fun with fellow CEMSies
and enjoying a delicious 3-course menu. Teams of
two were set up to offer one dish at their home,
and in return they were hosted by other teams
elsewhere in the city. The 2nd
round also
reconfirmed how exciting and fun this dinner can
16
be. Kitchen-savyness should be complemented with logistic and navigational
skills to make sure you are at the place you are supposed to be on time. Be
careful: 3 welcome drinks in one night!
Model UNFCCC: Negotiating the Barcelona Protocol 2012 | 16-18 April
Over sixty CEMS students gathered in
Barcelona for the 4th
annual CEMS Model
UNFCCC. The Climate Change Strategy
Roleplay course involved students from the
University of St Gallen, ESADE Barcelona, the
Warsaw School of Economics, the University
of Cologne and Corvinus University of
Budapest for the first time. We are happy to
inform you that two days of intense
negotiations have come to an end,
culminating in the Barcelona Protocol 2012.
The CUB team of 11 students together with
Prof Zilahy did their best to reach this
agreement in various roles. Thanks to the HSG
media team you can follow up on the event:
http://barcelonaprotocol2012.blogspot.com.es/
17
A look back at ‘CEMS V4 Conference
2012: How to be Europe’s Pioneers?’ in
Budapest By Anna Mátyus
From the 12th
to the 15th
of April 2012 the CEMS Club Budapest brought together
top-notch students mainly from the Central-European region. The first V4
Conference took place last year in Warsaw in order to strengthen the regional
bonds and to better represent the participating schools within the CEMS alliance.
For this second edition of the youngest CEMS regional event, co-financed by the
Visegrad Fund, CEMS SB, Mol Group, MET and P&G, more than 50 students
from 11 universities gathered at the Corvinus University of Budapest in the
Hungarian capital. The aim was threefold: valuable professional programs,
reunion for the CEMS community and further possibilities for students to meet
corporate partners. Furthermore, the conference objective was to provide insights
on the challenges ahead within the region. More precisely, the participants could
choose from 2 parallel workshops: energy infrastructure and human resource
strategy in the CEE region.
A plenary discussion opened the conference honoured by the presence of H.E.
Helena Bambasová, Agata Zajega, Edit Szilágyiné Bátorfi and Metod Špaček
from the respective embassies. After the round-table
discussion MOL Group (the main sponsor of the
event) introduced the hot topics of the energy
infrastructure. In the afternoon, students taking part
in the energy track gained insight on the decisions
and their consequences regarding the profits of the
company, focusing on the upstream segment. They
competed in groups in a highly interactive
simulation game with many rounds and received
comparable result in the end. Their second day was
guided by MOL Energy Trade. In this case study
workshop, the participants had to provide a solution
to the main question of gas trade in the region: the
selection of pipeline directions.
V4 CONFERENCE
18
The Human Resources track was kicked off by Procter&Gamble with an
interactive presentation on transition management. The P&G workshop was built
on the reorganizational process of P&G CEE. Besides providing first-hand insight
on the structural and managerial challenges the company is still facing,
participants were familiarized with the main theoretical frameworks of change
management. The Saturday morning session was held by Hays who armed
students with practical training and tips on CV writing, interviewing techniques
and job search strategies. Participants could participate in a short assessment
centre as well. Academic members from Corvinus held the last session. This
workshop focused on the topic of employee commitment with a highly
inspirational case study. The case drew attention on important, but less discussed
aspects of managerial. Students had to come
up with a solution for a company operating
two factories with different management styles
and different performance results. This
summary would not be complete without
mentioning the various side-events of the
conference. We started the event with
splashing into the River Danube on the unique
RiverRide amphibian to set the spirit level. The
participants had a rotation dinner in Spoon
Lounge&Café with stunning views of the Buda
Castle, followed by a graduation party in the
university building, traditional Czech dinner
with beer-tasting and a copious farewell lunch
on Sunday.
What have we learnt?
When we had our first meeting in March 2011 (!) our objective was to introduce
the very best of the Visegrád 4 region. We expected students, who are curios to
find out how the Polish, the Czech, the Slovakians and the Hungarians have kept
alive a cooperation born in Visegrád dating back to the XIVth century.
Our expectations were very much exceeded and now when we are in the middle
of preparing a Best Practices for regional event organization we can take time
and look back. The tasks now seem to be minuscule however our team had to
19
find the topic, set the date, find sponsoring partners and one of the most
demanding tasks was to apply for the Visegrád Fund grant. Thanks to this
successful application we could set the participation fee as low as possible. And
the countless operational tasks just came after that! An experienced marketing
team was set up and boosted up the application campaign with a viral video of 9
series. We improved a lot in multitasking and problem-solving and excelled our
team-working competences. In case you wonder about the evaluation of the
conference the numbers speak for themselves: 110 applicants, 14 universities,
162 FB followers, 9 videos, 1678 video views in total, to name just a few.
Committed team, early and well-developed preparation were the key success
factors to bring all this to field. This was a demanding year but the nice
memoires do make them forgetful. What stays are the flattering comments, thank
you notes, the evaluation survey results and the common pictures.
Post Conference
The conference was very lively and inspiring for the attendees, who expressed a
strong interest in keeping in touch and cooperating with one another in the
future. The FB group is still active and many photos have been shared. Special
thanks again to Dóra Bálint, Ádám Bereczky, Sára Bihari, CEMS Budapest
Közhasznú Egyesület, CEMS Club Board 2010, Kinga Hóbor, Kinga Jentetics,
Anna Kempf, Bence Komor, Nhim Kovács, Dániel Nagy, Noémi Pallos, Tamás
Sváb, Dávid Széles, Máté Széles, Alíz Szolláth and Gábor Trefán.
We asked some of the participants about their best moment during the
conference. Interesting to see the various take-aways.
Nadya Sheynina - Graduate School of Management, St Petersburg State
University
“V4 was a great experience for me for many reasons. I chose energy
track and it was very interesting to follow the discussion and
argumentation and especially perception of Russia by the other
side. At GSOM we have similar events with oil&gas Russian
companies and strategic issues discussed are completely different
and associated conflicts between parties are viewed differently. The most
valuable conclusion I came to is that everything is so dependent on context and
viewed through different cultural, historical and political lenses.
20
V4
Apart from the business content I enjoyed a lot the organization of activities and
of course the city of Budapest, which cannot leave anybody indifferent. The most
memorable moment for me is waking up early in the morning (sometimes at 4-6
am) with the same students as me and seeing how they manage their studies and
at the same time fully participate in all the activities including going out after
the main seminars. The conference was a great success and was the event where
I met a lot of friends. Thank you, dear organizing team, for everything and wish
you all the best for the future.”
Daniel Uhlemann - University of Cologne
"To me the CEMS V4 conference 2012 in Budapest was an
exceptional experience. The academic program was embedded in a
lot of great group activities. Among others were two extraordinary
tours to get to know Budapest. I will remember the boat and bus
tour of the first evening very well. Not only could we drive through
Budapest by bus, but also the bus transformed into a ship and we
could float along some major sights on the Danube river. The last evening
included an incredible bus tour through Budapest by night. In addition to
passing all the beautifully lid buildings downtown, we reached a viewing point
above the Danube river and could admire stunning views of Budapest at night.
I also had great fun participating in MOL's energy trading workshop during the
first day of the conference. We were able to learn a lot how an energy company
tries to maximize profits from discovering and selling oil and gas fields. The big
upside of the V4 conference in general was that students could participate in a
very active way.
In addition, the dinners will stay in my memory. We experienced some down-to-
earth Czech beer tasting as well as traditional Hungarian cuisine and high-class
adventure gastronomy on a ship on the Danube river.
Summing up all these views, the V4 conference was a great success with an
insightful learning experience as well as cool social events!"
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CONFERENCE
Thomas Henry - Louvain School of Management
“My favourite moment of the V4 Conference was when we gathered
together next to Szabadság-híd before the Corvinus Ball and shared
a bottle of Rézangyal under the yellow light of darkened Budapest.
These are the moments that truly emulate the CEMS spirit of
cultural openness, curiosity, companionship, and reward after a day of effort.”
Martin Strnad – University of Economics, Prague
“I very much enjoyed the workshop organized by the CUB
professors Csaba Kiss and Roland Szilas in the HR part of the V4
forum. I must admit that i expected a lecture and therefore was very
surprised that the workshop turned out to be very interactive and
very much based on the student discussion. It might very well be
the best professor held workshop I ever had.”
22
MOL, The main sponsor of the conference by Judit Kormos and Dóra Szabó
When the idea of V4 Conferences came up in 2010 we were the members of the
CEMS Club Presidency together with Zsigmond Fajth and Kornélia Bodnár.
Therefore we were very proud that our company, MOL Group became the Main
Sponsor of the V4 Conference in Budapest and we could help organizing the
event. The cooperation between MOL and CEMS Club Budapest was coordinated
by the Strategic HR department, while the opening presentation and workshop
were organized by the Strategy Development of MOL Group.
The opening presentation of the conference was held by András Péntek, MOL
Group’s Vice President for Strategy Development who was once a CEMS student
as well. The aim of his speech was to give the participants a general overview
about the main energy supply challenges which are to be faced by the Central-
Eastern European Countries. High dependency on Russian energy supplies is a
major issue which can be solved by supply source and route diversification,
however it requires a high level cooperation in the region.
In the afternoon of the first day together we organized a workshop where the
participants got the chance to manage an imaginary energy company. Their task
was to build a portfolio of oil and gas fields based on global industry and market
trends complicated by the geopolitical environment. The aim of the workshop
was to teach students the major elements of exploration and production, how to
manage risks by portfolio diversification and by acquiring information which
can become a major source of success.
For all of us it was an exciting opportunity standing on the other side of the
lecture hall, becoming teachers from apprentices and giving the participants an
insight about what we do in MOL Group. During the workshop and the rotation
dinner we could meet open-minded and resourceful students. It was good to
splash in the CEMS spirit for a day.
Congratulations for the organizers of the conference!
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Giving a new look to Mozgolóda Óvoda By Péter Oláh
Corporate Social Responsibility projects are flourishing among all kinds of for-
and non-profit organizations these days. Budapest CEMS Club is also committed
to gradually establish a team focusing intensely on helping our beloved city’s
worthy communities. Not only is it a future strategic goal of the organization,
but it was also a great opportunity to mingle and get to know the freshly
accepted CEMSies. In this semester we went to the Mozgolóda kindergarten to
repaint its outdoor facilities. Spending a day together to create a more colourful
environment for the kiddies - also enjoying one of the first shiny days of the
spring - definitely got us closer together.
The kindergarten is situated in Buda, in the
eleventh district providing daily activities
for many children from the neighbourhood.
With its wide courtyard there is plenty of
jungle gyms and other facilities to play
with (my personal favourite was the soon
to be inaugurated little soccer/basketball
field sized properly to its little users).
However, many of them, despite having stood the test of time, needed
renovation. The enthusiastic team of 28 CEMSies and the employees began to
work in the morning. After hours of painting, chatting as well as more and more
paint on ourselves, the court turned from its rubbed outlook to yellow, green, red
or simply a freshly painted shade of brown. Before the finish we received a
wonderful and much appreciated meal from the pre-school teachers. After saying
goodbye to the grateful employees of the lovely kindergarten, our day was not
completely over as we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon together. We
headed to the nearest park at Kopaszi gát to play Frisbee – or simply to sunbathe
in the case of some girls – which was just the perfect ending to our day.
We wish all the best for the future projects of Mozgolóda Óvoda and would like
to say that we are also thankful for the chance to have helped! Special thanks to
the organizer who made it happen: Sára Bihari, hopefully there will be similar
events in the upcoming semesters as well!
VOLUNTEER DAY
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Tips for CEMSies when applying for their
Business Projects By Dóra Bálint
As everybody knows CEMSies have to carry out a Business Project during their
Term 2. It is also well known that the execution of solving a real business
problem can be challenging, requiring a great deal of dedication and
determination, making it all time consuming.
Talking to students who have just finished their projects we have decided to
gather some useful suggestions when it comes to the choice of project, and most
importantly the company behind it:
Most importantly choose a company where you might consider working
later, because if you think about it the business project is a 12-week long
job interview. If all goes well, you’ll learn a lot, and maybe receive an
internship offer at the end of it.
Choice of company is very subjective. It can be based on industry,
activity, market position, or reputation.
It is probably wiser to choose the project because of the company offering
it rather than the topic of the project, because the project lets you have an
insight into the company’s everyday operations.
Keep in mind though that you will benefit the most if the topic interests
you.
Team composition is very important as this will also leave a mark on the
quality of work you deliver.
All in all this opportunity will let you get a taste of employee involvement;
development of communications skills (e.g. how to say ‘no’ to unachievable
requests, negotiate when setting deadlines, successfully prepare the acceptance of
ideas).
BUSINESS PROJECTS
25
Working at McKinsey By Dóra Bálint and Anna Mátyus
Steep development curve, challenging
projects, multiple-round selection process,
attractive package and questionable work-life
balance…These are the most common words
coming up when we think about consulting.
But what else do we know about consultants’
life? The career path of a consultant seems
fascinating to most of the CEMS students lately. We have asked Julia Stark,
Associate at McKinsey, to share with us her experience and advice.
Your major was in accounting at
Corvinus. Was it your CEMS MIM
participation which made you apply to
a consultancy firm? Not quite...(laugh). I worked for one
year at KPMG during my university
studies in financial advisory which
reassured me about my strengths
and preferences. Having an
analytical mindset complemented
with willingness to deliver value led
me to ABN AMRO in Holland where
I was offered an internal-auditor
position which was more of a
process engineering type of role than
anything else. Before taking this role
I participated at the McKinsey
company presentation at Corvinus.
Interestingly, even after this
presentation I was still not
convinced that consultancy could be
my future. What played the most
important role in my choice was
rather the fact that I met particularly
smart colleagues: I saw they have to
excel at providing valuable solutions
to assist high-profile clients to take
strategic decisions. This perspective
was so different from what a
traditional accounting degree could
offer: the necessity to translate and
implement the theoretical models
into tailored and feasible real life
practices requires leaders of a
different kind – flexible and open-
minded. This also implies that work
for the drawer happens rarely. This
was the real trigger for me.
It is interesting to see how committed
you are nowadays knowing that your
application was not a conscious
preparation. I grew to love this job and I knew
from the second round interviews
that this is what I really want to do.
Nevertheless, I realized quite quickly
that common sense is the most
CONSULTING CAREER
26
CON
useful skill to have, which combined
with knowledge and structuring
skills are the key to solving most
problems.
What advice would you give for the
new CEMSies? First, you should never be afraid of
asking for help. For example from
the Alumni. I am not the only
alumna being a mentor, but the first
step has to be done by the student.
Second, to ace the interview,
preparation is essential. A good way
to prepare is taking courses
dedicated to case studies and
participating in case study
competitions also prove to be
beneficial. Furthermore, it is during
different internships (and not
necessarily in consulting) where you
can learn the most. Take any
opportunity during your studies, it
will pay back in the long run. Your
mindset matters the most.
Were there any challenges in the
beginning of your career? As a fresh hire everything just
seemed incredibly fast and difficult
to digest. You have to be able to
cope with short deadlines and to
structure complex problems, not
only numerical ones. Also, it wasn’t
always easy to make yourself taken
seriously in front of the Hungarian
middle-and top management as a
fresh graduate. Being a woman
makes the case a bit more delicate.
However, with an appropriate and
professional business attitude you
can overcome these challenges.
What was your most exciting project
in your career so far? I cannot tell you much, but as my
passion is healthcare and life
sciences, the dream project was
related to a health system reform.
Regardless of the project, it is very
rewarding when you see that your
work makes a difference. In the
consulting world you get to work on
some really life changing projects.
What is the most difficult part of your
job? Deadlines, what else? (laugh) Putting
the obvious aside, I would say it’s
learning to master the helicopter
view, the ability to see the big
picture without losing sight of the
details and their implications.
Implementing this ability to your
everyday work makes you an
outstanding leader and strategist.
This competency comes with time
and requires patience.
If you could restart your career is
there anything that you would do
differently? Yes, I would like to think that I
would be more conscious when it
comes to planning my career path.
But who knows, maybe even then I
27
SULTING
would have ended up here, in the
same position. Another thing I
would recommend for students is to
do their Mater’s abroad. Doing so
you can master English at a
proficient level. This is the only way
you will think and dream in English,
which is exactly what is required of
you in this type of work, especially
when you work abroad.
Could you name any inspirational
teachers in your life who influenced
you? My father, without doubt. His
unbreakable integrity is something I
look and try to live up to. Not only
that, but I find his ‘home-made’
management frameworks and tools
way more practical than anything I
came across with. I find practical
and pragmatic people the most
inspiring in general. I met some
clients who are like that as well.
In 2010 you did your MBA at INSEAD,
Singapore. Could you name the
biggest advantage, added value of
completing the programme? It opened my eyes regarding how
much we can all learn from each
other. The diversity at INSEAD is
just amazing, even for me who ‘grew
up’ in CEMS and McKinsey. Another
valuable piece was that compared to
the classic Hungarian
methodological and theoretical
teaching paradigm we were finally
taught the value of practical and
independent thinking. In teams we
got to work on some exciting
projects, which otherwise would
have been inaccessible for us. To
mention one of the funniest ones, we
had to work on the market launch of
a sperm test device. With this little
appliance men can test their fertility
from the comfort of their homes,
similar to a pregnancy test. Very
easy product but there are some
severe mental and psychological
barriers to break down. Mostly on
the men’s side for whom taking such
a test equals to losing their pride, so
you can imagine that it posed some
challenges when it came to working
in a team and to get the boys to take
the task seriously. In the end we
really felt it was our own product
and we had some serious debates
about market entry approach. This
was also a good example of what I
think the MBA gives you most: an
entrepreneurial spirit.
What does success mean to you? Being productive and still have the
energy to cook, hang out with
friends and be like a normal person
– that’s an achievement. Naturally I
am happy when I perform a task
well or pass and important
milestone. Success, however, for me
means enabling other people to
succeed. That’s when I really feel I
did something great.
28
Buda Castle, Széchenyi Bath…exchange
students going further the usual
landmarks
The Budapest CEMS community has never had so many exchange students as
this semester. 8 students studied with us coming from Germany, Austria, Russia,
Switzerland, Portugal and Poland to broaden their perspectives. We asked them
about their experiences in Hungary…Let’s get a better picture about our “value
proposition” thanks to their different way of thinking.
Name Eva Lukacova Tu Le
From Slovakia Germany
Home university WU Wien University of Cologne
Major CEMS International
Management Finance
Why did you choose Budapest?
TO broaden my CE
experience.
Because everyone who has
been to the city only told
me good things about it.
Haven't been too much in
CEE before so I thought it
would be the perfect
location to explore the
region. Nightlife should be
good as well.
Do you plan to stay longer/come back?
Until the end of
September I work here For another trip for sure.
EXCHANGE
29
Eva Lukacova Tu Le
What was the main difference at CUB
compared to your uni? Less CEMS students :(
The business school
approach with mandatory
attendance and case studies
and presentations
throughout the semester.
Hungarian words you know
A LOT OF :) I have taken
few private classes.
Kössinem (sepen), szia,
egeszegedre :)
What did you do on a free night or weekend?
I travelled home :D at the
weekend and studied in
the night.
Party, eating out, travelling,
exploring the city
What advice would you give to a new arrival in
Budapest?
Learn some Hungarian.
And prepare for the shock
of Budapest metro. And do
not expect to easily find
metro station signs on the
streets.
Try to experience as many
new things/impressions as
possible. Don't only hang
with the international crowd.
Go to Matthias Church to
have an amazing view over
the city.
The first place you would recommend your friend?
Castle - sunset and night. Matthias church on Buda
side
What are the best things about an exchange in
Budapest?
The atmosphere of the city,
new cultural experience,
traditional market places.
Nice and helpful people,
amazing city, good prices,
good nightlife
What’s the worst thing about Hungary?
I can tell just about
Budapest - a lot of
homeless.
Food
QUICK HITS
Buda or Pest? Pest Pest
Favorite Hungarian word Nincs :D kössi
Unicum or Pálinka? Unicum! Pálinka
Favorite Hungarian food Paprikás Goulash
Favorite restaurant/bar Fakanál Szimpla
Hungarians: hot or not? sorry - usually not. but
those few who are, are
very much :)
hot!
Hot Bath or Coffee House? Hot Bath Hot Bath
STUDENTS
30
Running to help in 2011
It is curious how things develop
from a seed of an idea to a full---
blown event and program.
It was during a brainstorming
session in our Fall Camp that a
visiting CEMSie from Portugal
mentioned that at home they
organize Charity Runs.
The idea became very popular and so in two hours an informal working group
had been formed that spent the next three hours planning Budapest’s Charity
Run.
The basic idea was the following: we would ask our Corporate Partners to offer a
donation for each kilometer our volunteer CEMSies would run on a drizzly
November morning.
The Charity Run's working group therefore had three main tasks to complete: to
engage Corporate Partners, to find a suitable organization to support, and to
involve fellow CEMSies and Alumni to participate in the run!
The CEMS community in Budapest had chosen the National Association for
Children with Leukemia to support from the donations by from our Professors
CHARITY RUN
31
and CEMS Students and from our Corporate Partners Deloitte, IFUA Horváth &
Partners, Nestlé and Sony (with product donations).
Together we “ran” almost 500.000 HUF worth of donations which was the
necessary amount still needed for the Association to buy a new ambulance bus.
We would like to thank all the CEMSies and the runners from Deloitte and IFUA
who joined us on Margit--‐ sziget Saturday, November 12th and ran at least 5, if
not 10 km to collect donations for the children!
It was a wonderful experience to see the passion, generosity and determination
that was needed from all CEMSies involved in making this little idea--‐ seed
become a reality that actually makes a change in people's lives.
32
Career exploration - Andras Bencsik
„I am a team player, but not the suit up type”
Being part of a community we, CEMSies have a
lot in common; international openness, critical
thinking, strong desire to achieve, and we tend to
find challenges irresistible. After graduation
however we all take different career paths.
Andras Bencsik so far has led a very exceptional
career story. One that is interesting because of the
career choices it includes and because it
demonstrates the path in finding where your
interest lies.
Let’s start from the beginning...
THE ALMA MATER
I realized the importance of my university education way beyond graduation.
When one is employed it immediately becomes apparent what he should have
focused on. It is easy to blame the Hungarian education system, but I do believe
that you can set off with reliable basics in case of frequent attendance to classes.
Controversially, lots of the students in my time and I guess this is still the case
are already working besides uni (and sometimes it’s a case of a full-time
commitment). Corvinus does give you the inevitable theoretical knowledge. What
I’d rather missed is the entrepreneurial approach/spirit. Needless to say, the
challenges of teaching it. But a good start could be showing students that there
are other opportunities beyond large corporates.
THE CEMS ERA
When I applied to CEMS in 2003 there was a very different milieu around the
CEMS MIM programme. It was neither as well known nor that prestigious as it is
considered today. At that time going abroad was an option I was considering, so
it was a straight decision.
CAREER
33
During my exchange term at RSM I had come across many surprises. First I
learnt that practical experience is essential complementary of the theoretical
studies. Secondly I was faced with the very sad truth that my English language
skills were not as good as perceived. The continuous hand-ins required from all
of us turned the semester into a great challenge.
CEMS also brought me my first full-time job at ExxonMobil through one of the
rotation dinners. Started as a Controller I managed to secure 4 months work-
shadowing in London, hence also satisfying the Programme’s internship
requirement.
FIRST EXPERIENCE
Another opportunity soon came into my way; I was one of the lucky guys, who
could spend a year working in New York through the HAESF Programme. Being
rotated between risk management and private banking I got a good taste of
banking, a sector where I remained for 3 more years post-internship. Meanwhile
I started and later completed the CFA studies, another stage where I realized I
should have concentrated more at the uni. Sadly this period was accompanied by
the credit crisis, where there was a massive hiring freeze globally. I saw no
further opportunity in personal development, my merits were harvested by the
superiors, so I decided to endeavour somewhere else. Wearing a suit every day
was not something I was fond of anyway.
Key takeaway here is that if someone is into a banking carrier, choose a Master’s
in finance and get the most out of the uni as possible. In addition I see a great
need for fresh grads experienced in financial modeling and programming. If I
would start again these are the two factors I would concentrate on.
So after all these experiences I took a step back and decided to take some time
off and try to use wisely to reconsider my future. And I was lucky again. Back in
2009 with one of my university mates we founded a small software company
delivering mostly gaming solutions. One of our contractors presented an idea,
which I started believing in. This start-up, called Webee grew at a remarkable
pace over the next year and being the CEO of it I managed to get the first sweet
taste of the real entrepreneurial life.
34
SUCCESS STORY
And my story continues with Antavo. Having met them at the Venture
Accelerator Course (organized by EEF) last fall I joined the team at the beginning
of this year. Currently I am accountable for business development, investor
relations, legals and not surprisingly for financial modeling. However by the
definition of a start-up there are no strict boundaries between roles, I am just as
involved in marketing as in product development. My life for a short term was
split between Szeged and Pest, as the company was co-founded by professionals
from a Szeged-based web agency.
Antavo is a marketing software for small businesses and agencies to build
intelligent online promotions. This B2B tool is to efficiently increase sales and to
engage customers at the fraction of the cost of an average market solution.
The team applied and got invited to Seedcamp Tel Aviv, a start-up competition
organized by Seedcamp, Europe’s best mentoring and seed investment program.
Their pitch proved to be worth of investing (the first Hungarian investment of
Seedcamp) and 3 of the team of 7 moved to Europe’s start-up capital, London to
expand their network and business further. Even within London it wasn’t just
anywhere, they work in one of the Google’s office for indefinite time. Currently
they are seeking for the next capital injection, while working hard on
championing the area on the world stage.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Based on these experiences I believe that building a career restricts you, it is not
equivalent to reaching self-transcendence. Unless your aim is to become a
director at a larger company.
Contrary to the corporate world in a start-up you build your own way, you reach
out to an extensive network and come across many different life examples. How
good is to meet successful Hungarian companies, such as Prezi or to engage with
the VP Product of Google+?
The downside surely is that you may need to give up financial security. To be
able to live like that you have to have a certain personality and attitude.
35
I have learnt along the way that it is extremely important to know what you
want and why you want it at the very beginning. This will help you deepen your
knowledge within that field. Even during your studies it is advised to get to
know yourself and set goals, this will help you to succeed. Being prepared
ensures you get the most out of your ride. So if you can afford it, take your time
to find the career path that suits you the most.
In London for example education takes place in a more rational way, next to a
strong theoretical base, they make sure all is put into practice. Students spend a
lot of time acquiring IT skills, so post-graduation they are able to meet all
expectations. Specialization starts early resulting in a well-paid, secure job.
However, keep in mind that all this leads to professionalism and a strong
competition.
Maybe one more thing to mention: I am still in good terms with my CEMS peers.
Business-wise it is difficult to keep in touch due to the various career paths, but
we occasionally meet for a few drinks and the best is, you have free
accommodation all over the world!
36
The Student Alumni Mentorship Program
(SAMP) is launched to make sure that you
get all the information you want from
CEMS Alumni about starting, building and
developing your career!
Find your mentor who can help you with
advice on studies, internships, exchange
semesters, applications or career choices.
You have become part of the network - it
is time to take advantage of it!
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