call download fax letter pdf search x chevron
"jcr:823b61b6-6506-4d3e-bb95-6c00616fadf5" (String)
FS award

Frankfurt am Main, 24.10.2018 12:00:00

Every year, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) awards an international student at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, who not only distinguishes himself by academic excellence, but also by social and intercultural engagement. This year´s winner of the DAAD prize, which is endowed with 1.000 Euro, is  Vaishali Senthil Kumar Parvathi from India. Last winter semester, she started the Master in Management at Frankfurt School. During her time at the business school, she was very engaged within the student community.

Portrait of woman

How have you found your academic experience in Germany and particularly at FS?

My experience here so far has been extremely positive. I have had the privilege of my classes being taught by professors who are incredibly experienced in their respective fields. Additionally, my classroom has a multicultural environment with classmates from varied academic and professional backgrounds. I draw from their vast pool of diverse experience and perspective regularly.

Were you provided with the necessary guidance at the moment of your arrival and throughout your studies for you to be successfully integrated into the university and the city?

Landing in Germany for the first time, I had little knowledge of what to expect. The numerous socializing events FS offered truly helped me create a circle of friends and a network. There were extra-curricular activities that stimulated my interests and helped me assimilate into my new life. FS makes a very strong effort to help students from the international community with all necessary guidance on and off curriculum.

Culturally speaking, how do you like the German society? Has it been more difficult or, on the contrary, easier to adapt than you expected? What positive insights do you take with you from the German society?

My integration into the German society is still a work in progress, but I have really been welcomed by the people I have met on and off campus and they’ve made me feel at home. With so many positive insights to choose from, I think a key learning is the art of work-life balance that Germans have so effortlessly internalized. I would take that with me no matter where I go.

Would you recommend foreign students who wish to continue their education to come to Germany? Could you give them some advice you wished someone had given you at your arrival?

Germany is already becoming a highly sought-after destination for higher studies and rightfully so. The education here is on par with or better than similar institutions across the globe. My advice to an international student coming to Germany would be to interact with people outside your own culture and your comfort zone during the initial stages. And of course, learn German as much as possible!

What are your plans after finishing your master’s degree? Would you like to stay in Germany or do you have plans to go back home or somewhere else?

I plan to work in the digital management field, as technology is something I feel quite passionate about. I would love to be at least a small part of Germany’s digitalization phase. Which is why I definitely see myself working in Germany for at least the next five years. I have come to appreciate Germany and its culture. I also feel that living in a foreign country I learn new things not only about its people but also myself.

I also feel that by living in a foreign country I’ve learned new things not only about its people but also myself.

What was your special moment at FS?

Receiving this honour would rank first of course! But a very close second would be when my classmates organized for the entire class to go to an Eintracht Frankfurt game. The Frankfurters taught us a few of the chants. Sport is built into the German ethos and I felt truly one with the crowd! It was my first European football game and I enjoyed every second of it. The cherry on top of that cake was that Frankfurt won 4-2. 

Contact