Pharmacist from Damascus/Syria Studies Management in Leipzig/Germany

[HHL gGmbH - 12.10.2016] Alaa Succer from Syria now holds the Fridtjof Nansen Memorial Scholarship which HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management awarded for the first time. The scholarship, which is in remembrance of Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the international aid to refugees, is available to outstanding, qualified refugees wishing to study at Germany's first business school. Alaa Succer, who comes from Damascus, has been enrolled in the international MBA program at HHL since September.

Now 28 years old, the student had successfully completed a degree in pharmacy before fleeing to Germany in September 2012. Since learning German, Alaa Succer, who also speaks Arabic and English, has done social work in one of Leipzig's major refugee camps. Following this, he took up a position as a project supervisor in analytical development with Mibe, a young, mid-sized pharmaceutical company based in the Leipzig/Halle area.

Ever since obtaining his degree in pharmacy, Alaa Succer has been considering completing a postgraduate program in international management. However, he lacked the financial resources. "As soon as I saw the ad for HHL's scholarship, I immediately applied. HHL is one of the prime business schools. Its graduates have excellent career prospects," explains Alaa Succer.When asked about his initial thoughts on the MBA program which started only a few weeks ago and is taught entirely in English, Alaa Succer says without hesitation, "I was impressed by the friendliness of the HHL professors and staff." He was also very enthusiastic about the program itself, which started off with the topic of financial accounting. "The way in which the knowledge is conveyed to us is great," says the scholarship holder. The Syrian comments on his career goals, "With my academic, linguistic-cultural and professional background, I would like to work for a major multi-national company after my graduation. Right now, I could imagine a position as an internal consultant or regional manager for an international company in an Arabian country."

Handing out the scholarship certificate together with HHL Chancellor Dr. Axel Baisch, and Friends of HHL Board Member Prof. Dr. Stephan Stubner, HHL Dean Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart said, "To us, responsibility is a fundamental principle of our activities and as such, it is deeply anchored in our mission statement. By supporting refugees in various ways, which are coordinated at HHL by the Voice of Hope initiative, we would like to actively contribute to relieving the current humanitarian difficulties. With the Fridtjof Nansen Memorial Scholarship, we enable outstanding refugees to study at Germany's first business school and help them to launch their careers."

About HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management

HHL is a university-level institution and ranks amongst the leading international business schools. The goal of the oldest business school in German-speaking Europe is to educate effective, responsible and entrepreneurially-minded leaders. HHL stands out for its excellent teaching, its clear research focus, its effective knowledge transfer into practice as well as its outstanding student services. The courses of study include full and part-time Master in Management as well as MBA programs, a Doctoral program and Executive Education. According to the Financial Times, HHL ranks first in Germany and fifth globally for its entrepreneurship focus within the M.Sc. and EMBA programs. HHL is accredited by AACSB International. http://www.hhl.de