DA alumna Lisa Butzenlechner on her career since graduating from ETIA 07 in 2015

After passing the A-Préalable and joining the BMEIA in September 2017, I am now in training for the diplomatic service. Therefore, departments and responsibilities are regularly changed in order to gain the broadest possible insight into the work of the diplomatic service. Currently, I am working in the Department for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), where I am, among others portfolios involved in the preparation of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) for the Federal Minister Dr. Karin Kneissl, but also for cross-sectional coordination of Coreper II, but also on other cross-cutting foreign policy issues, such as the preparation of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee. At the same time, I am preparing for my first assignment in Qatar, where I will be working at the Austrian Embassy in Doha for 7.5 months during the Austrian Presidency (in the absence of an EU delegation, the rotating member states take over the EU coordination).

I decided to study ETIA after completing my two Bachelor degrees in Spanish Language and at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, as I wanted to combine my interests in international relations, but also in environmental and technological issues. I was also able to combine these interests in my master's thesis, where I compared the agricultural development in Latin America in a statistical analysis after spending three months in Mexico. At the end of my studies, I was awarded the ARA Best Study Award, which is why I would like to express special thanks to the ARA and CEO Dr. Scharff for the support of the ETIA study program. Even if I did not land directly in the environmental / technology field, the knowledge I gained during the course of the ETIA study provides a very important knowledge base for my current work.

[From ClubDA News 1/2018]