Arijana Sultanovic

Arijana Sultanovic is the 300th graduate of the master’s program in “Business Administration & Business Psychology” and, as part of the “Alumni.Erzählen.” initiative, shares insights into her experience as a distance learning student at FERNFH.

I decided to pursue a distance learning program—specifically, the FERNFH—because …
… I wanted to earn a master’s degree while balancing my full-time job and personal life, and I had read a lot of positive feedback about the FERNFH. It was also impressive to see that the FERNFH ranked first in the *Industriemagazin* ranking.

My personal situation during my studies … (career, family, free time, etc.)
… Professionally, I have a great deal of responsibility, as I’m the head of marketing for three companies within a holding company. On a personal level, I got married during my studies, and we also moved at that time. It was a very intense but also a very wonderful time—and I was still able to manage my studies well. I really appreciated the flexibility of the program, even though it requires a lot of self-discipline. Of course, I have to mention here that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these successes without the support of my personal circle, especially my husband and my family. 

Looking back, the biggest challenge for me during my distance learning program was …
… The biggest challenge during my studies was juggling everything during the COVID-19 crisis. As I mentioned earlier, there were some wonderful—but also major—events in my personal life; professionally, it was a very stressful time, and keeping track of my exams and course assignments on top of that was very difficult for me personally. I certainly reached my limits—but I have to mention that the FERNFH’s organization worked very well, and all important information was always communicated to us students in a timely manner.

An experience from my college days that I fondly remember …
… It was a particularly wonderful experience when FERNFH reached out to my group and expressed interest in covering our “Soccer Without Borders” project. That naturally made us proud, since we had invested a great deal of time and energy into completing this fantastic, hands-on project. On a personal note, my wedding was the best experience—not just during my time as a student 🙂

Here’s how distance learning has influenced my career and professional situation…
… Of course, I’ve reaped many benefits from the program. I was able to acquire new knowledge, which helped me successfully apply strategic marketing in my professional life, and since I’m also working on rebranding companies, that new knowledge has been a great asset. It also led to me being given more responsibility, which naturally contributed to a stronger personal standing within the company. My greatest success, however, came from my master’s thesis—since I was free to choose my own topic, I was able to delve deeper into the subject area and, as a result, generate tangible benefits for the company.
 

This is what I particularly benefited from through the distance learning program:
I didn’t choose this program just for professional reasons—but also because I was very interested in the subject matter myself. The combination of business psychology approaches with a specialization in marketing was the deciding factor that allowed me to better pursue my passion. 

These skills and abilities are becoming increasingly important in my profession/industry …
… I’ve noticed that it’s becoming more and more important to proactively familiarize myself with other areas as well. It’s not necessary to be an expert in every field, but it’s becoming increasingly important to have at least a basic understanding. This is very helpful for you personally, as it allows you to draw connections across different fields and thereby come up with better ideas that also lead to greater success. A good example is that in marketing, you should definitely maintain close contact with the sales team or the organization, because these people are closest to the customers—this provides you with information for marketing and allows you to launch target-audience-oriented campaigns that can definitely create better customer loyalty and also boost customer acquisition. 

My tips for first-year students and anyone interested in a degree program or course at FERNFH:

• Choose the course that interests you the most. That’s the only way to further build on your strengths and see yourself grow.
• You don't always have to work on your weaknesses—if you want to be successful, you should build on your strengths to be recognized as an expert.
• Ultimately, you should never forget who the people were who always supported you when things got tough for you.
   

I’d like to add one more thing…
I was incredibly satisfied throughout my entire two years at FernFH and am so glad I chose this program and this university. I always had a point of contact who responded very quickly; the overall support was excellent; and my master’s thesis advisor supported me in every way and was very patient and accommodating. I couldn’t have chosen a better program—I pursued what interested me and was always supported along the way.