Graduates of the culture and management degree program talk about their entry into the professional world and how studying at the HSZG helped them.
Author: Lisa Martin
Toni Jährig started studying for a Bachelor's degree in culture and management at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in 2013 and added a Master's degree in the same subject in 2021. As he is a very practical person, he has always worked in the professional world alongside his studies. During his Bachelor's degree, he was a music teacher and organized small concerts and cultural events himself. Alongside his Master's degree, he then worked for the European Choir Academy, the Upper Lausitz-Lower Silesia Cultural Region and the Lausitz Festival.
The Lausitz Festival is a cross-border, annual, multidisciplinary festival that takes place in Upper Lausitz in Saxony and Lower Lausitz in Brandenburg. The aim of the festival is to make a productive and cultural contribution to the transformation process in Lausitz. To this end, international and artistic events and projects from the musical, visual and performing arts are presented.
"As part of the festival, I am primarily responsible for bringing together the program items with the venues, scouting and supervising the venues and being responsible for our cooperation partners. As a Lusatian, I am particularly pleased to accompany the structural change and to bring the artists into contact with the beauty and uniqueness of Lausitz."
Toni Jährig's studies at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences have provided him with a broad foundation for his working life. Even though he is more of a practitioner, the basics and background knowledge are essential.
"Projects need to be understood in terms of content and carefully prepared, implemented and followed up with regard to schedules and budgets," says Toni from experience.
His studies also gave him other necessary skills along the way:
"One of the things I learned was to listen. I like to talk, but at the right moments you just have to be able to listen and learn from each other. Above all, I learned a lot about scientific work and the complex and thorough examination of a wide range of topics. It is crucial for all event formats/projects and especially when working with artists to deal with the details, content, background etc. in advance."
... the alumni gives this advice to current Cultural Management students, as he himself realized that he wanted to gain more input and knowledge from other areas during his studies - and that this is also necessary. Part-time jobs and voluntary internships offer the appropriate opportunities to work in areas that interest you, gain valuable experience and acquire further skills.
Finally, Toni Jährig shares with us a memory from his studies - one of the things he enjoyed the most and which may give some of you the impetus to take the opportunity to spend a semester abroad:
"I spent my internship semester at the university in Pécs (Hungary). On the one hand, it was great fun. I got to meet great people with whom I am still in contact today and experienced unforgettable moments. Not to forget: the delicious homemade pálinka from our neighbor. On the other hand, it brought me back down to earth a few times. For example, since then I have come to appreciate our "self-evidence" and the wide range of opportunities to promote art and culture in Germany."
There are numerous career opportunities with a degree in culture and management. In addition to Toni Jährig, other graduates from different years spoke about their careers after graduation as part of a series of lectures. This made it clear that the prospects after graduation are diverse:
... reported Brit Knop in her presentation. She found the practical and interdisciplinary content, which conveyed both basic knowledge of cultural studies and management methods, particularly good.
She still has positive memories of the practical application opportunities in Görlitz and the international orientation of the university. She was able to gain a lot of experience through these opportunities, such as through her involvement in the Focus Festival or as a team member in the Visions of the Future. It was only through the opportunities for excursions abroad and supra-regional collaborations that she was able to find her current job. But it wasn't just the connection to students and creative artists that inspired her. Above all, the close exchange and networking among each other has brought her several advantages during her studies.
