Twenty-six-year-old Philipp Schanz was part of Coloplast's 2009 Master Thesis Programme. Now he works for usPhilipp Schanz was a student at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) when he learned about Coloplast's Master's Thesis Programme. A native of Stuttgart, Germany, he'd already studied in the United States of America before moving to Denmark and CBS. He talked to us about his experience on the Programme. When did you start at Coloplast?
I joined the Master Thesis Programme in January 2009, finishing my thesís in August the same year. I then interviewed for, and got, a job at Coloplast in September. How did you hear about the Master Thesis Programme?
The Careers Center at CBS emailed students to say there was an opportunity to work on our theses in a business environment. There was also publicity material at the School. Coloplast was offering to help students with their master's theses by providing a dedicated workspace, a laptop, and access to key decision-makers to the successful applicants. I thought it was a very good idea. How did you apply?
It's common in Denmark to work on master's theses in groups. My colleague and I prepared what we hoped was well written two-page document outlining our interests, and emailed them with our CVs and a cover letter one Friday afternoon. We got an acknowledgement that night, and the invitation to visit Coloplast arrived on the Monday. Their response was very impressive and encouraging. We met them soon after and worked out a way forward. What would you say to someone thinking of applying to the Programme?
Take it seriously, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Be aware of the commitment from both sides: in return for your efforts you get treated like an employee rather than a student. It is important that you take advantage of the opportunity to sit and work at the company - to feel the commercial pulse of the business and its culture. What were the best things about the Programme?
Getting the experience of working on important projects in a real life business environment. You're not sitting in a university where it's all theoretical. You actually get to see business being applied. We were told we'd get access to senior management and we did. They gave their time very easily and were very open, so promises were definitely kept. Describe a typical day for someone on the Programme
A lot of writing and researching. Lots of meetings. At the start, my colleague and I were spending about three days a week at Coloplast, talking to people and gathering information. Near the end, it was more like one day a week as we fine-tuned our thesis.
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