Accept the challenge and win lifelong experiences – Dorottya Kápli became president of CEMS Club

Eventful, international, good atmosphere This is the CEMS Club, which is building a community for one of the most prestigious programs of the world. A community which supports, helps, where one may find both friends and mentors, and all this under the leadership of Dorottya Kápli. Have you ever dreamt of becoming the president of a student organisation? So that you could help a truly international team? Now you can learn about the life of a president, the largest challenges and the most rewarding duties!

What is the CEMS Club?

A part of the CEMS program is that all partner universities have their own CEMS Clubs. This is important because in this way a very strong community is also created. The duty of the Club is to build a community, organise professional and non-professional events, as well as to carry our career-building networking. In addition, we help the integration of foreign students.

Which are the most popular programs?

I would highlight the mentorship program from among the programs organised together with the alumni. This is a half-year program which begins with an open night, where students can meet the mentor nominees and then they may apply for the program with their Cvs. The alumni often represent a corporate partner as well, which is an especially good combination since the alumni may help the students not only in the CEMS life but with career advice and in networking as well.

Camps are usually have the most success among the non-professional events, since a team can truly come together there. Our last camp was in February, and it was a great success, and in my opinion, not only the students but also the management came together.

The most professional programs include the Rotation Dinner (you may read more about this in a previous article), and we organise a career day in the camps as well, which are visited by both alumni and corporate partners.

And Charity Run is on the top of the list, a special event which by now has become a tradition, where everybody joins together for a good cause. Alumni, corporate partners and active students can all participate. This year the Charity Run was organised online, however, it was still an enormous success and we achieved one and a half times of what we set as a goal.

What did CEMS give you?

I remember my semester abroad, which I spent in Stockholm, the most fondly. It was an eventful semester full of challenged, where I had the chance to learn about a new educational system, a new culture and I could be an integral part of a truly international community.

The other was the first one and a half months of my presidential term, when we got to work very intensively: we planned strategy, organised a winter camp, came up with an event for each week and we thought that this would be our year. Although this virus has interrupted it slightly, I am still very proud of my team and our achievements.

What skills did you obtain during your time in CEMS?

I elevated my English skills to a higher level. Since all CEMS subjects are taught in English, it elevates the English skills of the students to an unbelievably high level. In addition, the international environment gives a certain plus to the CEMS students, since so many people, cultures and languages are mixed, which most likely would not happen in a general masters program.

How did you become the president of the CEMS Club?

In my first semester I found myself in the thick of CEMS life straight away, and I moved to Stockholm. Due to organising the trip I just missed the application deadline for the CEMS Club Stockholm Board, however, I could help the Stockholm team with communication. During the November application I looked into the places open for application, and I had the president position in mind, and I asked myself the question: “Do I dare to apply for the CEMS Club president position? Will I have enough capacity to do the work with the energy and enthusiasm I want to? And I decided that I will. The CEMS life gave me confidence and spirit which prepared me for this. I made a motivational video (which was not as easy as it seems), and the active members appreciated so much that after one interview I suddenly became the president of the CEMS Club.

What does a day in your life look like? What duties do you have?

My most important duty is to help and coordinate my own team. Although we are a small team, from the time of the application I have always understood the position of president as providing the maximum help possible to anybody who needs it for an assignment. During the COVID pandemic the greatest difficulty was finding the motivation. During the gray daily routine of lockdown life it was very difficult to provide motivation and enthusiasm to my team, therefore I researched and read about this topic a lot. In an ordinary semester I am responsibility for the success of all the events and I maintain contact with the university as well. I would say that being the president of the CEMS Club is stressful, however, it is a very rewarding task and I feel lucky that I can fulfil this position.

What did CEMS presidency give you?

This is a very management-intensive duty. Right from the start, when we developed the strategy the objective was to provide the members with a professionally exceptional semester full of experience. I wanted to have a strong team spirit, I wanted to provide constant motivation, therefore during my presidency I gained experience and skills which I could not have found in anywhere else. Now, when we are getting to the end I am very happy that I overcame my initial fears and was able to take a risk, since I was the 100 percent winner in this game.