Yasmin Hoffmann
Study programmes: Business Studies in Healthcare Management (BA) / Master in Management (MSc) at University of Mannheim
Employer: University of Mannheim
Position: PhD student
Contact: LinkedIn-profile (opens in a new window)
Why did you decide to study at HNU?
Admittedly, my path to HNU was not a classic one at all, but rather a diversion. Funnily enough, my entire academic career so far has been characterised by detours, which makes it all the more interesting to share from my point of view. Since my application for a place to study dentistry after graduating from high school was unsuccessful, I decided on a compromise, namely to get involved in a new subject that was not dentistry, but nevertheless allowed me to connect with the health care system and 'the patients', at least from a business perspective. During my studies of business administration in the health sector at the HNU, I particularly enjoyed those subjects that were related to business accounting. This is certainly due in large part to the very committed professors and lecturers of the Faculty of GM, who made these lectures very interesting.
What tips can you give young people who are looking for the perfect study programme?
Choosing a suitable study programme certainly seems to many - at least it did to me - like looking for a needle in a haystack in today's prevailing range of different degree programmes. Furthermore, this decision should certainly be well thought out and by no means made too quickly, but it is also important to emphasise that the degree programmes themselves also offer a wide range of opportunities to find one's very own professional career path. In other words, and I think this can also be seen in my career, the choice of a certain degree programme does not mean that the further career path is set in stone.
What tips would you give to students of your study programme?
The study programme in Business Studies in Healthcare Management offers students the opportunity to spread their lectures over a wide range of topics, especially in the higher semesters, which I can only recommend. Looking beyond one's own nose is always valuable, even for those who think they already know for sure in which direction they want to go.
What was your first job like and how did you find out about it?
Immediately after completing my Masters in Management at the University of Mannheim, I started my doctorate at the University of Mannheim in autumn 2020, also in business administration. I had already thought about doing a doctorate towards the end of my bachelor's degree in Neu-Ulm and had also talked to professors at HNU about it. But at that time, I thought that it was "still a long way off". During my Master's degree, I was offered a doctorate in Mannheim at the Chair of General Business Administration and Accounting, where I was employed as a student assistant at the time and continue to be employed today. I am still in contact with Prof. Dr. Silvia Straub, who advised me and acted as my mentor when I was deciding and applying for my doctorate.
Please describe your everyday working life. What projects do you work on and what tasks do you particularly appreciate?
I am currently completing the graduate school, which is part of the structured doctoral programme at the University of Mannheim. This means that I continue to attend courses in the first year of my doctorate, just as I did during my studies, and I also take exams in these courses. In this way, you are comprehensively prepared for your later research work. In addition, I work at the department, but this is done to a reduced extent during the graduate school and is not compulsory. Here I am directly involved in teaching and the activities that arise in this context, such as preparing various lecture formats.
How would you complete the following sentence?
HNU... "was the optimal start for me in my academic career and will always remain in my good memory."
