(Interview from 2023)

Dagmar Möbius

While still taking her secondary school exams, Daniela Bohn announced to her mentor that she wanted to become a manager. During her Bachelor's degree in “Business and Languages” at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, a professor recommended that she complete a Master's degree in “International Management” at IHI Zittau. She successfully completed the program in 2021. She is now working for Deutsche Bahn and is enthusiastic about the careers that are open to women in the company.

“I wanted to learn how companies work and how to run a business properly,” Daniela Bohn explains her choice of degree. However, pure business administration seemed too dull to her. Since she was born in Riesa and has Slovakian roots, but did not grow up bilingual, she wanted to learn another foreign language in addition to English when she started her Bachelor's degree in 2015 – Czech was an obvious choice. Looking back, she says: “The Czech/English specialization was a good balance. We got a taste of many subject areas. I also spent half a year studying in Plzeň, in the Czech Republic.” She completed her Bachelor's degree in 2019, giving her a solid foundation in business administration, economics and law (civil law, criminal law, commercial agency law), a good basic knowledge of Czech and very good language skills in English. However, the young woman did not feel truly fulfilled: “I was hungry for knowledge and wanted more than to work as a professional translator." A recommendation from a professor drew her attention to the Master's degree program in “International Management” at the IHI.

Learning how companies can operate sustainably

Is it even possible for companies to operate sustainably? That's something that was already being discussed back in 2019. “However, I found it hard to imagine that social and ecological activities could be well combined with economic activities and wanted to know more about it,” says Daniela Bohn. She thus enrolled in the Master's program in Zittau. She was able to build on her language skills there. “And I was aware that having a Master's degree from a University of Excellence like TUD in my CV would be highly recognized by companies,” she laughs. She was determined to succeed. She also was attracted by the possibility of a double degree, although she didn't take it up for personal reasons. Due to the Covid pandemic, stays abroad in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary could not be realized. Even her Master's thesis turned out differently than planned due to the restrictions and became a systematic literature review on the state of research. The topic: “Challenges in leading virtual teams in corporate settings.” Daniela Bohn already had an idea of how the results would help her and many managers.

Questioning processes helps to optimize them

“I like to take on challenges,” says the 26-year-old. The demands of the Master's program at the IHI were “even higher than at the university of applied sciences,” she says. It required independent thinking and a lot of independent study. She didn't find the workload too difficult: I've learned to always question the activities of companies and the people who work there, and to always go above and beyond.” She raises questions “that others wouldn't have asked in the first place because 'it's always been that way.'” That helps to optimize processes. In addition, Daniela Bohn finds it easier to work with different cultures. She says: “I am more open, tolerant and understanding than before. And I can better put myself in my colleagues' positions.”

Entering her career

Thanks to her elective modules in project management, CSR management and environmental management, she acquired the technical and methodological background knowledge and skills she needs today as a commercial project manager at Deutsche Bahn. The position is her second professional assignment. Immediately after completing her Master's degree, she worked as a trainee at DREBERIS, a medium-sized company in Dresden. ”I expected a lot from my future employer and didn't want to join a big corporation right away,” she says. ”My boss was Polish, and the Slavic chemistry was there right from the start, it was a very good time,” laughs Daniela Bohn. And yet she had a lot of curiosity about other structures.

For accessible and more customer-friendly train stations

“Deutsche Bahn is making changes,” she is convinced, spontaneously naming the key points: Digitalization, sustainability and societal aspects. “In my first job interview, there were four women. The proportion of women is increasing,” she is pleased to say. Since January 2023, Daniela Bohn has been employed at the Regional Division West of DB InfraGO, based in Düsseldorf. She works predominantly remotely from Dresden. “Our task is to modernize train stations. We want them to be accessible and more customer-friendly,” she says. The entire commercial team of the Regional Division West comprises about 40 employees, and it continues to grow. Each commercial project manager oversees a certain number of projects in collaboration with the technical project managers. One of the current projects is to redesign Paderborn's main train station. Daniela Bohn is in charge of controlling for this project. “My tasks include checking whether the financial resources are adequate, helping to draw up and finalize the cost plan, controlling the planned costs for this year and for future years, and later giving the go-ahead for commissioning the construction companies,” she explains. She adds that she is settling into her new job well, thanks in particular to the expertise and experience of her colleagues. “I'm very happy that I've been received so well here and that my team is there to support me with a lot of issues.” For her, this also includes looking at how to act in an environmentally friendly way and ensuring good social relations. “Fortunately, I've never had to violate ethical and moral principles like we've heard from the diesel exhaust scandal.”

Respected manager

Daniela Bohn has realized her high school career aspirations and become a manager. She is only at the beginning of her career, but she has committed herself: “I want to become a manager who doesn't make you roll your eyes when she writes you an email or causes staff to suddenly fall silent or whisper. I want to show that a manager can also act in the interests of the staff.”

Contact:
Daniela Bohn

daniela_bohn@yahoo.de

www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-bohn-9118a920a