Organised by Senior Lecturer Nick Myers, the alumni network in Athens played a critical role in hosting students throughout the visit. The week kicked off on Monday with Marina Drania (MSc Human Resource Management 2020) welcoming the group to Minerva Marine, where students gained hands-on experience with their training facilities after a presentation from Marina.
Tuesday included an engaging session at the Green Fund and an enlightening talk from Neil Swain, Commercial Attaché at the Embassy of Canada. On Wednesday the group visited the Romanian Embassy, followed by an exciting afternoon touring the facilities at Skaramangas Shipyard. This visit was organised by alum Dimitris Exadaktylos (MSc Accounting and Finance 2011) and the students were hosted by Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Managing Director of the shipyard, along with his team.
On Wednesday evening, an alumni event was hosted by Eilidh Campbell, Alumni Relations Manager. The students were joined by over 20 alumni, providing a valuable opportunity to hone their networking skills with a warm and friendly group. It also provided a chance to find out about different career paths by interacting with professionals from the private and public sector. Thank you to alum Milena Panagiotopoulou (MSc International Business and Emerging Markets 2010) for organising the venue.
I really enjoyed the alumni networking event, and not only to speak with the alumni. It also made me realise that the other students on the trek ARE my future professional network, and it made me think about how important those connections can be. In addition, all of the alumni were so open and honest about their career paths, which made me consider how many directions I could go in my career.Casey Maryyanek, International Business student
Thursday was all about the ‘Big Four’ with visits to both Deloitte and EY. Students delved into the soft skills essential for job applications at Deloitte and collaborated on designing customer prototypes at EY.
Special thanks to alum Aikaterini Tzovairi (MSc Finance and Investment 2012) for facilitating the Deloitte visit, and to alumni Alexandra Antonopoulou and Eleni Zarkada, who both graduated from MSc International Human Resource Management in 2019, for the insightful EY experience.
The trip concluded with an all-day visit with TGS Hellas, arranged by alum Christos Seferis (BCom 1982) and his business partner Aristotelis Androutsopoulos.
After an interactive Q&A in their offices, they kindly arranged a tour of the Acropolis Museum followed by a wonderful dinner overlooking the Acropolis.
Beyond the technical discussion on auditing, I was most impressed by their commitment to a culture centred on ethics and integrity. In an industry as fast-paced as finance, seeing how TGS Hellas prioritises these values was truly inspiring and gave me a new perspective on the human side of auditing.Kate Doggett, Business with Marketing student
Thanks to the generous support of the Greek alumni community, students came back to Edinburgh more confident, with a greater knowledge of international careers and an expanded network of professional contacts through the UEBS alumni network.
The students were accompanied on the visit by Brad Cotton, Lecturer; Angela Mbivii-Kelly, Student Services Manager; and Andra Paun, Student Development Manager.
Interested in getting involved?
If you are a UEBS alum and interested in supporting the student experience, please get in touch with the Alumni Team on alumni@business-school.ed.ac.uk