Posted on 19/01/2017
From left: Gabriela Stefanini, Olivia Jeup, Eveline Bürkli and Timo Kaufmann at Dick’s Last Resort in Boston – taking it on the chin.
Olivia in Boston with connectUS in 2012: We went to a restaurant called Dick’s Last Resort which is a place where the waiters are intentionally obnoxious to customers; like they really insult you. It brought up loads of our vulnerabilities but we had grown so close as a team that we were able to laugh about ourselves and about many silly little things. After a day of intense but formal presentations and visits, it was very so nice to ‘let loose’.
Olivia Jeup, graduated 2012, now works as International Communications Manager at Roche
Graduated BSc IM 2012
Now International Communications Manager for two divisions (Immunology and Ophthalmology) at Roche.
“I love this job – it is challenging at times working with highly educated clinicians and physicians and trying to understand the complex field – but of course this gives me a ‘free education’. I work in cross-functional teams and develop and implement communications strategies to support achieving the marketing goals for individual products. This mostly means we maintain relations with various audiences and are responsible for informing and educating them about specific diseases and drug developments. For instance, informing journalists about the latest research into a particular disease. It can be very creative and I enjoy working in the health industry as it’s something that really matters.”
How did studying IM help? “Many of the courses were useful and connect to my current position, especially by giving me an insight into business. Although I’m specialized in communications, I need to have insights into the business side to successfully contribute to market growth. For instance, I now need to provide information about our products that investors look for or manage issues to protect the brand’s reputation so I need that kind of insight. The Intercultural Communication courses helped in that I now work in global teams and need to be culturally aware. It is amazing how well connected the school is to the world and prepared me for my current working environment. Studying in English, for instance, means I am entirely at ease working here at Roche”.
Post Graduation Project Manager at Richmond Events and then joined Roche 3 years ago. Also completed a (online) MSc in Marketing at the University of Liverpool.
Want to catch up with Olivia? You’ll find her on our LinkedIn group.
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