Meet Olga - first year student in the KBE Master's programme

Olga Bachyla is 27 years old and comes from Belarus. In September 2014 she started studying at the master’s programme Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship at Handelshögskolan in Gothenburg. Before her studies here in Sweden she studied at the Belarusian National Technical University and graduated in year 2009 with the Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. In 2013 she completed her first Master’s programme in International Management at the oldest university in the Baltic States - Vilnius University.

Why did you choose the Master’s programme Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship (KBE)?

I chose the KBE Master’s programme because of its intensive and interesting syllabus. I believe, in order to understand all the mechanisms and specifics of a phenomenon of entrepreneurship, it is important to have a strong theoretical base in a broad range of business topics.

I’ve always been interested in business, both from practical and theoretical sides. I think it is a great adventure and fun to develop an own venture from the sketch. No doubt, it’s a great challenge and responsibility to run a company, but the process of being an entrepreneur gives back a lot. Such as broad experience, freedom in decision-making and precious expertize, which is hard to get elsewhere. In one word, the sky is the limit. The idea of creating value by performing the best of your managerial and leadership abilities – this is what drives me most in business.

Also, we are provided with a lot of practical information and assignments that are correlated with the real-life business issues. Learning-by-doing is a very powerful tool and I am very glad that we, as future professionals, are taught about how to implement knowledge in practice.

How did you find out about the KBE Master’s programme?

The answer is simple, I googled it. There is a very helpful portal www.studyinsweden.se, where it is easy to access and compare all the education alternatives in Sweden.

Why did you want to go to Sweden?

When I had made the decision to continue with my studies, I decided to do so abroad. Main criteria in the process of choosing the "right" country to go were a high level of democracy, freedom of expression and internationally-approved good quality of education.

So, I applied for couple of universities in Sweden and one in the Netherlands. In fact, I got accepted both in Sweden and in the Netherlands. However, the KBE programme looked more interesting to me, and that was the primary reason why I chose Sweden. So far, no regrets no sorrow about that decision. Sweden came up with all my expectations of openness of any kind, and is a nice place to study and live in.

What are your expectations for the KBE Master’s programme?

The biggest expectation is to come out of my comfort zone and to get rid of any patterns and prejudices about business. Pushing personal and professional limits is very important in order to generate innovative ideas, and this is what I anticipate to achieve during my studies.

I also hope to get some inspiration and up-to-date knowledge, which will help me in my future career.

Is there anything in particular that you are looking forward to within the programme? Why?

I am very much looking forward to the coaching sessions, which are designed to help the KBE students to grow own business ideas. Professional feedbacks and guiding, that we will be provided with, is all that any start-up founder could dream about.

Anything else you would like to add?

I would like to add, that I feel very privileged to be a part of the KBE Master’s programme. It relates not only to the education itself, but also to people who make this programme happen. Special appreciation goes to my classmates that are highly motivated and talented individuals. I learn a lot from each and every one of them, and they are the ones who make this programme so unique!

Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Master’s programme Knowledge-based Entrepreneurship is designed and taught by professors and lecturers from the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE), at the Department of Economy and Society. You can learn more about their education and research here, as well as news items about other student activities.