Now back on South African soil, third-year BBA student Lundi has shared this experience of a lifetime in Switzerland. Interestingly, this story almost didn’t happen. Lundi was almost not able to make the interview with Credit Suisse due to a family crisis.
Recently returning to South African soil, third-year BBA student Lundi (Bill) Mkosi shares his internship experience in Zurich, Switzerland. TSiBA’s unique curriculum includes a mandatory work internship as one of the last steps leading up to graduation. This ensures that TSiBA graduates are able to hit the ground running when they start their first jobs. Final-year BBA students at TSiBA are required to complete an Independent Project Plan (IPJ) for a duration of 15 weeks before they graduate. The capstone project and post-presentation determines if the student graduates or not.
Interestingly, this story almost didn’t happen as Lundi almost didn’t make the interview with Credit Suisse. Tragically, the day before the interview, his mother lost her battle with cancer. “I didn’t know what to do at the time, I was questioning whether there was even any point in applying,” Lundi said. But Lundi drew upon his leadership value of resilience and went to the interview. A few weeks later he was accepted into the programme.
“I was so grateful for the opportunity; I knew I would make my mother proud. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived in Switzerland - it was my first time flying overseas and I experienced a bit of culture shock! In the beginning it was blistering cold and there was copious amounts of strange cheeses everywhere. My host family was extremely welcoming, I felt comfortable in their home and we had a great cultural exchange. I’ve learnt so many things about the Swiss culture - whilst they were fascinated by my stories of South Africa,” Lundi recalls.
Lundi knew that his time at Credit Suisse was an opportunity to learn as much as he possibly could. He was responsible for investment solutions and the classification of clients and their investment portfolios. “Besides the skills acquired at Credit Suisse, my characteristics were sharpened. I learnt the importance of punctuality, being prepared, how to be articulate and to stand out from the crowd. I got great opportunities to practice the art of networking and engaging with other people,” Lundi added.
During his time at TSiBA Lundi said he was taught invaluable life skills that he could apply to his work at Credit Suisse. “At TSiBA our values we learnt focused on leadership, taking responsibility and the importance of communication.”
Born and bred in Langa, Cape Town, Lundi came to TSiBA in 2013 wanting to study within the field of business. With little or no funds available to apply to a university, Lundi did not have many options at his disposal. “TSiBA came to our high school in 2012 and told us about scholarship opportunities. My principal nominated me as a candidate as he also knew that I had good marks and I knew that I had the potential to become something more,” Lundi said.
Lundi plans on pursuing his Postgraduate in Management after he graduates with his TSiBA degree. In the future, he would like to complete his MBA and establish himself as an entrepreneur in social developments.
