Philipp Kunze, who lives in Hamburg, completed his degree in business administration at the HSZG in 2009 - even though he never actually wanted to study. It was only in the ninth grade that he decided to do his Abitur at all. No sooner said than done: during his vocational baccalaureate in economics, Philipp Kunze got the urge to study and applied to various locations to begin an academic career.

He finally came to Zittau, where he learned to appreciate the personal environment of the university.

It was precisely this atmosphere that made it possible to provide students with intensive support and ensure the high quality of the content taught during their studies. Above all, this helped the HSZG alumnus to cope with the first particularly strenuous semesters of his studies. In general, this was "no walk in the park" for Philipp Kunze, but he "fought his way through" - with success, because in the end he completed his Diplom degree course as the best in his year, having never actually wanted to study.

After completing an internship following his degree, Philipp Kunze moved to the big city. In Hamburg, he started working for a market research institute for several years. Although he enjoyed his work there, at some point his desire for new challenges and personal development became so great that he decided to change direction. Today, he works for New Work SE, a company he feels very good about and thinks back fondly to his student days. "Sometimes I even look at my documents from back then - it's really cool," says the HSZG alumni.

In the full interview, Victoria Hohlfeld and Philipp Kunze talk about stays abroad, student life in Zittau and lifelong learning.

Text: Kilian Buchmann