Gaining valuable experience during my professional career allowed me to explore the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and innovation management more broadly and assess a wide range of opportunities that these areas offer. In addition, through participation in the program on the specifics of international business, I got acquainted with many modern approaches and practices of entrepreneurial activities globally, thereby acquiring the skills of critical evaluation and analysis. Between May 2018 and June 2018, I worked in Madrid, Spain, and was employed by Louis Vuitton as one of the specialists involved in a project to market the brand’s new line of fragrances. I was able to develop teamwork and communication skills in a dynamic environment. Moreover, through my professional curiosity and interest in new knowledge, I studied the peculiarities of the financial and marketing departments of the company to get an idea of how this world-famous corporation conducted its market activities. Responsible planning of the event format and sites for it helped me gain colleagues’ trust and strengthen my interest in tasks that required a combination of available knowledge for productive decision-making.
In February-March 2017, I was engaged in the Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain, where I took part in the marketing and logistics planning of a large-scale sporting event. This activity helped me to better understand the specifics of innovative marketing strategies, which, as Skala (2019) notes, often shape the backbone of the most successful business startups. Later, in May 2019, I was an ambassador in the NGO “Project Niger.” This experience became extremely important for me since I honed my leadership skills while working as a coordinator. Despite individual challenges associated with the need to stimulate each participant’s productivity and monitor performance constantly, I learned many crucial aspects of entrepreneurship in the context of social responsibility. Communication with representatives of distinctive cultures allowed me to look at various world problems differently and understand that my role in resolving severe economic or social crises could be useful. I gained the necessary experience in teamwork and developed open-mindedness and problem-solving skills. Thus, I came to the conclusion that my work in the field of innovation management and international business might be an effective catalyst on the way to building individual capabilities.
Reference
Skala, A. (2019). Digital startups in transition economies: Challenges for management, entrepreneurship and education. Springer International Publishing.