Lukas Stolberg
Lukas grew up in a small village in southern Germany. Always a curious child, eager to explore and learn about everything around him, he spent a large part of his youth out in nature. That curiosity carried over into his education and work. After a gap year working in New York, he studied Fashion Business in Berlin, completed internships in London and Hong Kong, and went on to work on digital Transformation projects before joining a PropTech startup in their US expansion. As the Strategic Business Development Manager, he helped shape sales-, marketing-, and product strategy and built up the B2B business.
The pandemic offered a great opportunity to pursue a master’s degree, which Lukas did at IE University in Madrid in the Master in Digital Business & Innovation. After graduating he joined a global Strategy Consultancy in the Technology Strategy practice.
"Be proactive in shaping your future. Seek, accept, and trust advice from people around you."
DEFINE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE PROGRAM IN ONE WORD
Collaborative
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU THINK PROGRAM HAS CHANGED YOUR LIFE PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY?
The MDBI program exposed me to diversity in topics and people – two things I was specifically looking for when I was deciding on a master’s program. The studies provided me with insight into various digital topics and taught me tangible, technical skills that sparked interest in further development.
Personally, the program gave me confidence that I was on the right track and had found a direction I was truly interested in.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF YOUR EXPERIENCE?
A big part of the MDBI program is group work. This can be very challenging and sometimes frustrating, but the sense of achievement when collaborative effort bears fruit is even greater. My favorite memory is of my workgroup overcoming differences in open discussion, thinking innovatively, and challenging ourselves to produce outstanding work that we were proud of.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY THIS PROGRAM AT IE?
When choosing a program, it was important to me that it united theoretical and practical experience that was highly relevant to the market and my personal development needs. The MDBI program provided exactly that. Theoretical knowledge really builds value when it is combined with tangible technical experience. Whether it was coding in python, product design, or data analytics, these experiences were what gave me a real sense of accomplishment and a feeling that I had developed truly valuable skills.
Also, Madrid is a great place for a student to live!
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES THAT YOU ENCOUNTERED ON YOUR WAY? HOW DID YOUR MASTER PROGRAM AND IE HELP YOU THROUGH THESE CHALLENGES?
The first and one of my main challenges appeared already during my studies at IE – navigating the job market and applications. Both from the MDBI program and the careers department I learned valuable lessons about personal development and effective job search. When I later started applying, I had the clarity and tools I needed to find a position that was perfectly in line with what I wanted to do.
Once I started working as a strategy consultant, I was hit with a second big challenge – working in ambiguity and with limited access to information. The MDBI program taught me to approach that type of situation with confidence and to anchor myself to knowledge I had developed throughout the program, which turned out to be highly relevant to the topics that some of the leading tech firms in the world are working on.
WHAT IS NETWORKING LIKE IN THE PROGRAM?
Both within my program but also outside of it I built very strong personal and professional relationships, and that during a time where physical contact was challenging due to COVID restrictions. Despite that challenge a lot of effort was made to connect students with each other and help them build a network, that I am now very grateful for. I met many students from extremely interesting backgrounds and more importantly – with exciting paths forward.
