27.01.2025Isabelle Waser, CAS in General Management

Isabelle Waser, 48, lives with her family in Zurich. She works as Head of Marketing & Communications for Mediapulse AG for media research. She studied sociology, journalism and constitutional law at the University of Zurich. She has worked in media research ever since and now has over 30 years of research experience. Isabelle Waser began her career at Swiss Radio DRS and Swiss Television (SF) - the predecessors of today's SRF - before joining Mediapulse, where she built up the online research department, among other things. She has now been Head of Marketing & Communications for six months and is in the middle of the transition from research to management. With the CAS in General Management, which she is completing alongside her job, she is creating a knowledge base for the new tasks that her role entails.

In my career to date, I have managed extensive projects, which has gradually moved me away from pure research work. Research has changed a lot over the years, which has led me to move further and further away from data analysis. I can still have a well-founded say and understand the various methods, but practical implementation is no longer my focus. Through my experience in project management, I have now realized that I am particularly good at controlling complex processes and managing different requirements. This has prompted me to continue on my path towards management.

I had already completed a further education course in “Statistics for Social Sciences” at the University of Zurich. It was therefore obvious for me to research suitable further education courses there again. I then compared these with other providers. It was important to me that the place of study was close to where I live, as I am very busy at work and have two children.

I already have a connection to the University of Zurich through my studies. I was also very impressed by the degree program itself. I find it particularly attractive that it consists of core modules and offers the flexibility to select additional relevant topics as required. I also like the pragmatic approach of the program, as it allows me to gain the knowledge I need quickly and efficiently.

In my first course, Strategic Management, I was particularly struck by the balance between theory and practice. This mixture seemed to me to be extremely sensible and suitable for our group of participants. We received valuable input from theoretical models at the beginning before quickly moving on to concrete use cases. As a result, I quickly realized that what we had learned was very useful. This approach made a lasting impression on me and this impression continued in the following modules.

It was most tangible for me in the area of marketing. Although I still remembered a lot of it from my studies, I particularly appreciate the fact that I now have a comprehensive reference work to fall back on. The course offered a broad spectrum of models and approaches so that you know exactly where to look the next time you need something. You have an idea of which model can be used in which situation. I now have valuable resources to guide me in my day-to-day work.

Yes, I can see many concrete applications and have already used the new knowledge. I recently had to give a presentation and used information from the Marketing course directly.

I really appreciate receiving input again instead of having to constantly produce it myself. It's also refreshing to immerse myself in a completely new group of people, far removed from my usual environment. What I find particularly fascinating is that all the participants are at a similar point: They have already gained a lot of experience and now want to develop further. In terms of content, I particularly enjoyed working on the case study in Strategic Management. It was exciting to get to grips with the case study on the American online drug distributor “Cost Plus Drugs” in a short space of time. What I also like is the sequential structure of the program. You dedicate yourself intensively to a topic and can also complete it in a timely manner.

Our cohort is very diverse, which I find extremely exciting. There are participants with very different backgrounds who bring interesting perspectives and topics that I have never come into contact with before. This often leads to fruitful discussions. What's more, everyone is extremely committed and highly motivated, which is noticeable. You can tell that these are people who want to make progress and behave accordingly. Even when working in groups with people you've never met before, collaboration always works smoothly.

My professional development is already running in parallel with this further training, it goes hand in hand. And personally, the knowledge I have gained has given me a lot of self-confidence. I now have an understanding of these new subject areas and know how to navigate them and where to find the information I need. The specialist vocabulary that I have acquired is also very helpful.

For me, it's a challenge to find time for the exams alongside work and family. I also had a lot of respect for the exams at the beginning. I'm used to writing papers and giving presentations, but I hadn't written an exam for ages. Fortunately, that has now changed. The financial topics were an additional challenge for me, as I had hardly had any contact with them before, neither in my studies nor in my professional life. But even though this area is not my top priority, it is still important for me to understand this world to some extent.

I am now looking forward to topics such as Leadership and Communication, which I can apply very specifically in my work. I am therefore hoping for a direct benefit for my professional activity. I am also looking forward to the Digital Transformation module. In my research career, I have always contributed the digitized part of research and pushed this area forward - I have brought digital transformation to our dataset, so to speak. Now I'm excited to find out what that looks like in theory.

Yes, I have already inspired some people around me to find out more. This CAS is suitable for anyone who needs to combine work and family life, as it works very well in this context. The course is very pragmatically structured and the content can be implemented directly. The cost-benefit ratio is also right. In addition, the management content appeals to a large target group and the CAS offers plenty of scope for personal focus.

(Here you can find more information about the CAS in General Management.)

Text: Linda Betschart