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

3

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 (noemipallos@gmail.com)!

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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

13

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.

14

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

15

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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