Advancing big ideas: Why TD Cowen promotes the Deutschlandstipendium

THE DEUTSCHLANDSTIPENDIUM IS AIMED AT EXCELLENT STUDENTS WITH EXCEPTIONAL IDEA. IT IS USED TO TAKE THE FIRST STEPS IN THEIR STUDIES OR TO EMBARK ON A NEW CAREER PATH. THIS STORY MAKES IT CLEAR WHY TD COWEN PROMOTES THE SCHOLARSHIP.

“What do you actually do in your office all day?”, this innocent question from one of his patients has triggered a major change in Cedric Carl’s professional career. Cedric Carl is a trained doctor, radiologist and oncologist. He comes from a family of doctors and has decided to follow the same path. But he notices early on that the German health system puts many obstacles in the way of doctors. So one day late in the evening he steps out of his office into the hospital corridor, which is lit by neon tubes and lined with linoleum. There, the patient asks him the question that was to steer his career path in a new direction.

Bringing about change in the economy

But why is that? “The answer, of course, is bureaucracy,” Cedric Carl says today. He is an eloquent and charismatic person with whom it is easy to strike up a conversation. He put his heart and soul into looking after the well-being of his patients, but there is less and less time for that because of the overflowing bureaucracy. This increasingly frustrated the passionate physician: “At some point, bureaucracy took up more space in my job than working with patients. Many people in my profession feel that way. That’s why, according to a member survey by the doctors’ union Marburger Bund, around a quarter of German hospital doctors are now thinking about changing professions. It can’t go on like this!” To change that, he wants to tackle the problem from the head. He wants to bring about change by working as a manager in the hospital sector or by founding a special company that relieves the bureaucracy in the health sector. But for that he needs an additional qualification – ideally an MBA.

Germany Scholarship Enables Second Career Path

For people like Cedric Carl, the Deutschlandstipendium is made for them. It enables a career change and helps to at least partially compensate for potential loss of earnings. At the same time, it connects students with the business world and expands personal networks through customised events. Of course, the scholarship is also aimed at young professionals with excellent performance and great motivation. Supporting talent, no matter where they are in their career, is also our goal. This is precisely why we have entered into a partnership with WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. Within this framework, we have been supporting students at WHU since 2020 as part of the Deutschlandstipendium scholarship. However, the selection is made by the university, not by us. In this way, the support remains independent of the company and the careers of many different students with different focuses can be promoted.

Supporting the start of a career

Cedric Carl is not one of our scholarship holders, but he illustrates the potential of the Deutschlandstipendium. The doctor is now in the final stages of his MBA studies and will soon be entering the business world with a changed profile. He has already built up a good network and has been in contact with a wide variety of companies and start-ups. He sees a lot of scope for the digitalisation of the health sector, from improving internal communication in hospitals to virtual doctor visits. Whether the next career step is in management or in his own company, Cedric Carl does not yet know. But his own development from doctor to a business position where he can move the big levers of the health sector has already begun.

Leon Sagrati, our scholarship holder this year, is at the very beginning of his professional life. He is currently completing his Master’s in Management at WHU. After internships at Bosch or Porsche with a focus on transformation and business development and his degree at WHU, he also wants to bring about change in his everyday professional life. He has set his sights on the automotive industry. Leon Sagrati not only comes from an automotive region, but also sees the transformation potential of the industry. The Deutschlandstipendium helps him to focus on building his profile for the industry and to be able to network.

For us at TD Cowen, it is important to promote the various talents in the finance sector so that they can fully develop their potential and profile and thus make a difference in the economy of tomorrow. The Deutschlandstipendium is an important building block here.

You can find more information about the scholarship at: https://www.deutschlandstipendium.de/

• Images
  Portrait 1: Cedric Carl
  Portrait 2: Leon Sagrati