Abt has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Applied Sciences, Basel (FHBB), is Head of Corporate Communications for the Zurich-based biotech company Prionics AG. Abt worked for a trading company in Switzerland, taught at the Kiev Economic Institute of Management and worked at Wirz Public Relations, as head of a consulting unit and member of the management. Prior to joining Prionics, he was Head of Communications with sunrise, a Swiss telecommunications provider.

"With a background in business administration, I gained my communications expertise on the job" Abt explained, "and I had considered for some years pursuing a communications education. More recently, I began searching for with a more scientific, research university environment and background than some of the various courses offered by universities of applied sciences. To get a higher-level education was key to me."

Abt knew several MScom alumni, who helped familiarize him with the program before he enrolled.

Seeking the big picture

"My key expectations were from the class lecturers and my fellow students. I wanted to get the latest applied models and to see the big picture of communications because we sometimes become myopic in our work and focus only on the task at hand. It sometimes is a real challenge to take yourself out of that narrow view," he said.

So far, Abt's expectations have been met.

"MScom is instrumental in broadening your skills in strategic communications and corporate communications management," he said. "Moreover, seems to be a good bookmark on a curriculum vitae that can facilitate going through the selection process for some interesting positions. For me, though, the key thing about MScom is being able to take something from the program for myself: to really learn something."

A real challenge

Abt said the combined demands of ongoing professional commitments in parallel to MScom studies make the program a real challenge.

"The time is the biggest thing. The weeks in Lugano are demanding, and then you must consider the demands of the pre-readings and preparing for the tests," he said. "At the same time, MScom was my choice, my investment, and I see it as an opportunity to enrich my skills."

Many benefits

Abt already has gained some important benefits from his MScom education.

 "There are certain topics that are very relevant to my work, like organizational development and what communication can do to progress and organization, and linking one's work to management's expectations," he said.

While MScom encompasses a broad range of topics, it is flexible enough to meet the individual educational needs of the program's participants.

"Which areas of MScom will benefit each individual the most depends a lot on the individual's professional background," Abt explained. "The key thing for me is having this cockpit view of how to develop the business and learning how I can support the process. For example, it's important to gain insight into how my job relates to human resource management, how it supports the strategic development process."

Overall, Abt said, the best thing about MScom8 has been the experience in full. "The greatest highlight for me has been having this window of time to be at the University of Lugano for a week, away from the job and dedicating myself to the learning opportunities," he said. "By being away from Zurich, there are fewer distractions to my education."

MScom has helped Abt refresh his perspectives and broaden his skills.

"My expectations have been met. MScom has made me more confident in my skills by broadening them and giving me the latest scientific and applied models," he said. "I would tell other communication professionals considering MScom to be aware of the stage of development of their professional skills and think about how they want to progress. If want a broad communications education with insight into management, are you ready to invest the time? I'm satisfied with my MScom experience."

Text based on interview carried out in March 2007.