Name:  Michelle Benesch

Education:

After completing my Bachelor’s in Sociology at the University of Salzburg, and a semester abroad studying Management of International Social Challenges at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, I recently graduated from the Master’s program Media Studies – Digitalization, Surveillance and Societies at the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Working experience:

By starting my traineeship at HBI, I’m getting in touch with the world of PR & Marketing. Thus, I´m more than excited to have the opportunity to gain some first insights into the world of PR & Marketing and furthermore to build profound knowledge about the diverse technology sector.

What about your CV will surprise us?

How I found my way from Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu to the world of modern technologies such as self-driving cars, Cloud technology, and AI, might not be that clear at first sight. To be honest, this was definitely not clear to me either. When I first studied Sociology and learned about the classical theories by known sociologists and popular social critics, I did not know where my interests would lead me to.

During my studies in Sociology, I learned a lot about socially relevant topics such as the structures integral to the present society, interpersonal interactions and communication, as well as social change.

Over the curse of time, together with my interest in social change, I developed an excitement for topics around the digital transformation of our current society, automation as well as modern technologies and their impact on humans in everyday life. Consequently, my aim was to consolidate these interests within my studies. Luckily, I was able to realize this aim within my semester abroad as well as by completing my master’s degree in Media Studies: Digitalization, Surveillance, and Societies, since these studies allowed me to gain profound knowledge about new technologies and their societal relevance through the lens of media and communication studies. I´m looking forward to further solidifying this knowledge by working at HBI!

What are your expectations for your first months at HBI?

Within my first few months at HBI, I’m hoping to get the opportunity to get to know different clients as well as their products visions and innovations. In addition, I’m very excited to discover all the different tasks and fields of activity linked to the position of a PR consultant.

For me personally, the world of PR and marketing represents completely new and undiscovered grounds. Therefore, I am even more excited about getting increasingly familiar with these (currently) unfamiliar surroundings and growing with each task and challenge within the coming year.

What do you imagine the work as a PR-Consultant to be like?

What makes PR work especially fascinating to me, is that companies get the great and unique opportunity to display their innovations, ideas, and visions and to make them public and thus to inspire other people.

To accompany clients and to provide them with advice throughout this process, is something that I imagine to be overly exciting. Furthermore, I especially appreciate the diversity of tasks and activities which the world of PR and marketing offers. In addition, what I love about the idea of working in PR is, that it is very creative since one can constantly write and create things.

What is your favorite thing to do in Munich?

When the weather is good: getting myself an ice-cold „Spezi “and watch the daring surfers catching some waves at the Eisbach.

When the weather is bad: getting myself a hot cup of tea or coffee and watch the especially daring surfers catching some waves at the Eisbach.

What about the technology industry is especially fascinating for you?

What makes the technology industry especially interesting and fascinating to me, is the rapid speed at which new ideas and innovations get developed and at which novel technologies emerge. Above all, this applies to technologies that facilitate human everyday life as well as the ones that contribute to a safer experience of the digital space.

Are you originally from Munich? Or did you move to ‚Minga‘ ? 😉

I grew up in a small town near Munich (if you can consider 68km to be close enough to call it Munich’s neighborhood), called Rosenheim, to be more specific. However, I am more than happy to call Munich my new home, soon!

Which is your favorite social media platform?

To be honest, among all the known and popular social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram etc. there is no specific platform that I would consider to be my favorite one. However, if I were to choose my most used platform, according to my screen time, Instagram would be the platform I spend the most time on.

What do you prefer: the big city life or being at the countryside?

Even though I‘m living for the hustle and bustle of big cities, there are also moments when I highly appreciate the possibility of finding peace and quiet in nature.  Whenever I’m seeking some time off the big city life, I am going to a lake (or preferably the sea) or reading a book on a flower meadow.

What kind of career did you aim for as a child?

In my childhood, I aimed for different kinds of careers. For example, I wanted to become a professional ballet dancer, a racing driver, or a DJ, just to name a few. Over the course of time, however, I realized that I was neither talented in dancing, or driving a car nor did I have a (good) sense for music. Nonetheless, I do have a strong interest for topics all around modern technologies and the tech industry. Thus, I think that I’m taken good care of at HBI.

What is your favorite source for news? Print or online?

When I want to inform myself about the latest news, most of the time I’m seeking out online sources. However, on the weekend I like to read the newspaper while drinking my first-morning coffee.