Often in life, it comes differently than thought. The same goes for Martina Decurtins. After a commercial apprenticeship and an accompanying professional baccalaureate (BMS) at Weisse Arena, she wanted to study theatre pedagogy in Zurich. Influenced by tourism from her native village Falera and some conversations with a good colleague she decided to study Tourism at the FHGR and chose the specialization Sustainability in Tourism. Due to the manageable size of the FHGR, a close relationship was established, both among the students and with the lecturers.
During an internship, she discovered her passion for event management, another subject area in the bachelor's programme in tourism. After her successful graduation and a longer trip to Southeast Asia, she completed another internship in event management at Swiss International Air Lines. «The airline environment has always fascinated me», says Martina Decurtins, «I was now involved in completely different events and was able to apply what I had learned in a new environment every day.» Unfortunately, the internship was of limited duration. Nevertheless, she had sniffed enough kerosene until then; she decided to work in the air and was trained as a flight attendant for several months. The wide world became her workplace.
In the meantime, Martina Decurtins has moved back to the Swiss event division, a vacancy was filled and it worked out. «Today I am working as Event Manager at Swiss and am in charge of various projects for the activation of the new Boeing 777 of Swiss.» She is convinced that the broadly diversified contents of the studies form the necessary basis to have the security that one has the necessary equipment in the professional activity in a company. «Today I even work together with former fellow students, not on a 'case', but in 'real life'», Martina Decurtins explains today's activities. During her studies, great emphasis was also placed on the English language, which is essential for working in an international environment.
The final question, to whom she would recommend this bachelor's programme in tourism, is already summarised by the spectrum of the course: «An ideal course for everyone with a fascination for tourism, including airlines, but also event management, sustainability, alpine tourism, ... - from economic topics to cultural diversity! »
November 2015
More information to the study as Bachelor of Science - Tourism
The bachelor of Science - Tourism of the FHGR attaches importance to a holistic tourism education, with the focus on international tourism and leisure management. Several parallel classes are held in German (from the second year of study in German-English) and English. The study concept is designed to provide students with vocational training. The overall goal is the development of leadership and in-depth professional competence with regard to demanding professional tasks at home and abroad.