Study abroad to improve your skills

WISH LIST: SKILLS THAT GRADUATES NEED MOST FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
Times Higher Education

The WISH LIST above shows skills and qualities considered to be important for us. Furthermore it
shows that those expectations are not met. The illustration aims to create awareness and points out
skills that we might not regarded as important. Some of the skills such as communication, initiative
and leadership can be improved. Others such as creativity are not easily acquired or improves. The
first step has to be the identification of strengths and weaknesses regarding the skills and qualities
illustrated above as well as their influence. This is a challenging task but of great importance. Being
aware of the importance allows us to intentionally utilise our strengths. We can even benefit from
skills we might not emphasised otherwise. On the other hand this allows us to deal with weaknesses
we might have and narrow consequences.

A semester abroad has become an integral part of economic and business studies. Eventhough
nobody is surprised by the fact that a semester abroad is less about studying and more about living
many companies include the demand for international experience in their job description. By having
studied abroad we show that we have been confronted with circumstances that require skills and
qualities included in the WISH LIST. What may first strike ones eye in this context is cultural
awareness. As a German I did not have some kind of a cultural shock or had to get used to a foreign
culture when living in Catalunya but other students found themselves confronted with customs they
had to get used to. Nonetheless cultural awareness is needed when interacting with students from
different cultures which also implies social awareness. Being aware of cultural differences and
social competencies are not enough when it comes to living in foreign country or interacting with
people from a foreign country. This requires Emotional Intelligence and empathy referring to the
ability to assess feelings of others, trying to understand actions or statements we perceive as strange
as and ultimately prevent misunderstandings and conflicts from emerging. This also requires
adaptability which has often been demanded as a quality by the study participants. A new city, a
new accommodation, a different university and new people all of these factors require
adaptability. Many of had problems with the accommodations. Some flats were in a bad conditions
while others had to arrange with landlords and flatmates. A lot has been different and it is not about
getting used to a new surrounding but about being able to react, hence being able to adapt to given
circumstances to live in a foreign country and gather experience.

Projects, presentations and papers required collaboration, communication as well as problem

solving and critical thinking. Often the communication had to be done in an other language and
other platforms than we have been used to before. In my experience initiative was one of the main
issues to consider when reflecting my semester abroad. Initiative and was not taken by many which
also implied less responsibility. Tasks took longer than they should and often the work was done by
the same persons over and over again. Often they were not able or did not want to act as leaders and
divide the assignments. Keeping this in mind it also required resilience to meet deadlines especially
those of group assignments. Some of the professors tried to encourage curiosity and emphasised
creativity which is on of the biggest differences comparing the educational approaches during my
semester abroad to my home university.

Ultimately we showed initiative by going abroad during our studies. Considering all these aspects
what really counts is not what we have learned during our semester abroad but skills we improved
even unconsciously. The skills and qualities forming the WISH LIST are linked among one another
and sometimes we just have to get aware of the fact that we use them on a daily bases. Using this
awareness we are able to identify and benefit from our strengths as well as our weaknesses and
improve personally. This is attractive to companies and that is why international experience is
considered to be so important.

Antonia Schmitt