Alumni Highlight: Stephan Schaeper

Name: Stephan Schaeper
Graduation Year: 2014
Degree(s): BSc(Management and Economics), MSc (Management Information Systems)
Hometown: Satteins, Austria
Study Abroad location: Omaha, Nebraska
Current position/title: International IT Project Manager at Blum Furniture Inc., Hoechst, Austria

How do you think studying abroad helped shape your future career?

When I started applying for jobs, I realized pretty early how important international experience is to get the job I wanted. Especially in Europe, employers within international companies expect you to have international experience in order to being able to do an outstanding job in the setting of an international team. So, in Omaha I gained a lot of intercultural experience as I meet people from all over the world: We lived next to people from the U.S., Norway, Brazil, and China and had classmates from the Middle East as well as local students from Omaha. Working with these people in group projects helped me to understand their culture from a professional perspective.

How do you think it enhanced your educational experience?

I did my Bachelor's and the first 2 semesters of my Master's in Innsbruck, Austria. I liked it a lot, but in Europe the study programs focus way more on research and theoretical topics than the classes I had at UNO. So, for me it was, first of all, very important to see the hands-on mentality of an American university without forgetting the basic theoretical knowledge. Secondly, I also saw that the University of Innsbruck provided me with a very high international standard of knowledge in order to being able to finish my classes abroad with extraordinary grades. So, for me the combination of both systems was a unique chance I would highly recommend everybody to experience by him/herself.

What was your favorite memory from studying abroad?

I have so many good memories that it is really hard for me to pick a single one. I would say it was the hospitality I experienced from the first moment we arrived at the airport. Everybody was supportive and helped us to get settled in the first days. Furthermore, a friend and I were invited to Thanksgiving at a friend’s house. Getting the chance as a non-family member to celebrate such an important holiday in the U.S. was an amazing experience I will never forget.

Do you have any advice for students that want to study abroad?

Just do it. Do not hesitate and try not to think about it too much in advance. I had never even heard of Omaha before, and I had the best time of my life there, both from an educational and private perspective. I fell in love with the Midwest.

And yes, not everything will be easy, and not everything will be better than at home, but that is part of the experience. After 5 months or more abroad, you will value the things you have back home even more and you will miss the things you had abroad as well. The time abroad changes the way you are, the way you see things, and especially the way you think.

Today, more than 2 years after my semester abroad, I am still talking about it with my friends and all of us come to the same conclusion: It is the best time of your life and nobody regrets the decision to go abroad.

What IS&T class and/or professor had the biggest impact on you in guiding your future career?

This is a very hard question for me to answer, but I would say during my first semester in Innsbruck I took a class called Introduction into Management Information Systems and Professor Ronald Maier inspired me with the way he held his lecture. He was very motivated and after the first lecture I knew, that I would focus on Management Information Systems after I had finished my Bachelor's degree.

What’s the biggest misconception you think is out there about careers in IT?

I still think that nowadays people have the impression that people in IT are connecting a printer to a computer, doing first-level support, and writing code 24/7. The concept of the nerdy computer freak is still out there, but I can tell you that is simply not the way it is. IT drives innovation, IT drives the business, and in order to do so, IT is about business processes, innovation, and people. In my daily job, I am in contact with people from all over the world in order to discuss new concepts and strategies and to help them to become more efficient within their processes.

Why are you happy with your choice to pursue a degree in IT?

I am happy with my choice because I gained knowledge in both IT and business, and that helped me to find a job in an international company within six weeks. I realized pretty quickly that IT is the way to go in the future, because without IT, no business can be successful anymore. Now I have an interesting, challenging job that gives me the opportunity to change things in my company, and I can meet people from all over the world. I am not sure if I could do that in any other field at the age of 26.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I would like to thank the associate dean Dr. Deepak Khazanchi for his support. He enabled me and my colleagues to study abroad at UNO, and he was always there for us, whenever we had a question. He understands that a good relationship between a professor and his students is the key to their success, and I am really thankful that I met him. I hope that other students follow my lead and try to study abroad. Furthermore, I would like to say that I am still inspired and impressed by the people in Omaha. The people are extremely friendly and open minded, and after my time here, I came back three more times, and every time I arrive at the airport with a smile on my face, reminding me how awesome this place in the Midwest is. To me, Omaha became my second home.