Studies in Germany and then? Future contruction engineer Michel Foka talks about his plans with APD.

APD/Schöne: Mr. Foka, you decided in favour of studies in Germany. Why did you do so? What do you expect from academic studies in Germany?

M. Foka: I decided in favour of studies in Germany because the German universities offer a very good education in a lot of different fields of specialization. The next aspect is the possibility to fund my studies by myself due to jobbing and low study fees per term. The last decisive reason was my brother who studied at the Technical University of Berlin at that time. I think it important to know somebody who gives you some advise if you come to a new town or country.

I expect to benefit from the good reputation of the German universities so that I can go working worldwide being competitive after graduation.

Pondering your professional future and looking for career opportunities: What are you looking for? Which employers are of special interest to you?

I study construction engineering and did in-depth studies in the field of building construction. Therefore, any job would be interesting for me offering constructing tasks for example structural building calculation (static) or blue-print planning. The most interesting and perhaps even ideal employer would have a branch office or would be active in my home country Cameroon or in Africa in general.

Work experiences are important. Have you already gained any work experiences in the course of your studies? What opportunities do you see for yourself  to gain some work experiences after graduation?

In the course of my studies I did internships on a regular basis. I did for example my practical term as an intern with the construction company of Züblin AG Komplettbau in Stuttgart where I worked as the assistant of the site management for the structural work. After that internship I returned to Berlin where I have been working as a temp in the field of material testing since 2006.

After graduation I am going to gain experiences in Germany which I will certainly need once I will have found a suitable job in Cameroon.

Whenever you think about accepting a job in Cameroon: what would be especially important for you? What aspects of such a job would you emphasise?

A lot of the problems in Cameroon are related to the infrastructure. Therefore, I would like to take part in a project immediately improving the quality of people’s life such as the reconstruction or the construction of roads, hospitals etc..

Moreover, what I do find to be attractive about a job in Cameroon is the fact that the colleagues are prepared and patient enough to do their best in a society which is not ideally organised – I think of the legal situation and the slow red tape procedures.

Do you know the program for specialists returning to their home countries? Planning to launch you career in Cameroon what sort of support would you make use of with regard to this program?

Yes, I have learnt about this program. It is a program meant to see people returning home through the planning and the reintegration stages and support them even after their arrival back home.

First of all I would try to get to know people in Cameroon through this program people who went down the same road in order to learn something from their experiences and benefit from their advise.