Martin Bringmann, a native of Cologne, had already done plenty of travelling before he finished school. When it came to university, he decided to study in Liechtenstein. In his interview, he provides some insights into his student years on the Master’s degree programme in IT and Business Process Management, and talks about his new managerial position at ThyssenKrupp Presta AG.
Martin Bringmann, a native of Cologne, had already done plenty of travelling before he finished school. When it came to university, he decided to study in Liechtenstein. In his interview, he provides some insights into his student years on the Master’s degree programme in IT and Business Process Management, and talks about his new managerial position at ThyssenKrupp Presta AG.
You work as a coordinator in the project management office (PMO) at ThyssenKrupp Presta AG. May I ask what exactly it is that you do?
As a coordinator of the project management office, my responsibilities include the analysis and administration of a department’s project portfolio management and reporting. Alongside analytical tasks, I am also responsible for innovating and enhancing project management methods, standards and tools that allow for project control and progress tracking in day-to-day operations.
My role also includes coaching in project management methods, both here and at locations abroad. This involves devising, organizing and carrying out both internal and external training sessions on project management methods in cooperation with other departments.
Enabling and supporting the professionalization of project management and establishing uniform methods and reporting standards across the international locations are among the aims of my work.
What drew you to Liechtenstein? In your CV, it states that you have spent extended periods in Istanbul and Barcelona, among other places. Have far-off places lost some of their allure?
I gained my first real experience of this wonderful Rhine Valley region through the Networking Day at the University of Liechtenstein. At that time, I was on the lookout for a new challenge, and found it in the Master’s degree programme in IT and Business Process Management and in the tasks carried out at ThyssenKrupp Presta AG in Eschen, where I worked part-time during my studies.
Furthermore, Vorarlberg is still a good launch pad for exploring far-off places. You can be somewhere completely different in a matter of hours. Of course, there are the well-known, popular destinations, but I am currently discovering the delights of Piedmont and Lake Garda.
You decided on the Master’s degree programme in IT and Business Process Management in Liechtenstein. What led to this decision?
At the Networking Day, the course’s content and structure strongly appealed to me, because it allowed me to draw connections between information systems and my practically acquired knowledge of processes and procedures. Prior to this, I hadn’t ever really engaged with information systems, but through my degree I was able to gain an insight. Moreover, the appeal was, and continues to be, in taking business procedures and processes and using greater system support to improve them and make them more seamless.
Another important and for me a decisive factor was the fact that the course is taught in English. The students come here from all corners of the globe, which allowed us to get a real feel of what it is like to work in an international environment while we studied. Also important for me was the fact that the course content included practice-oriented projects carried out in collaboration with businesses located in the Rhine Valley. We worked on these projects in groups before presenting our findings to the companies.
How much do the skills and knowledge you gained during your studies help you in your daily work? I assume that part-time studying makes it easier to begin one’s career.
It is true that part-time studying allows you to take theoretical knowledge, draw on it and apply it directly in practice while also broadening it with the practical experience gained. It is crucial to create a balance between theory and practice, so learning how to optimize time management is also part and parcel of studying part-time. After graduating, the fact that you already know the company, its processes and your colleagues, and are able to fully focus on the challenges of your new position, makes starting the working week a whole lot easier.
And if you think back to your student days, what words do you spontaneously associate with them?
Hiking, Malbun, flashmob, semester papers, posters, new experiences, presentations, fun, challenges, new friends
Martin Bringmann
Born in Cologne
Professional career
- Vocational training as a forwarding agent at Werner Egerland Automobillogistik AG
- Trade fair team manager and promotion (part-time during studies) at Ratiopharm AG
- Trainee head of department in retail with supervisory role at DECATHLON Deutschland GmbH
- Logistics service provider for pallet pooling and account manager for the Baden Württemberg/Bavaria region, responsible for budget and stock, sales and account management at CHEP Deutschland GmbH
- ThyssenKrupp Presta AG, Eschen:
o Project management office (PMO) coordinator, Presta Steering Column organizational unit, from 1 August 2013
Academic career
- Cologne University of Applied Sciences: degree in Business Administration, 2006
- Semester abroad and completion of Diploma of Higher Education at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, 2004
- Internship abroad at Bosch Siemens Haushaltsgeräte (BSH), Istanbul, Turkey, 2006
- University of Liechtenstein: MSc in IT and Business Process Management (part-time), 2012
Interests
Cookery, languages, other cultures, travelling, fitness, hiking