Student Spotlight: Dév Ojha

Meet Dev Ojha, a third-year UNYP student. After a year in Manhattan, Dev decided to pursue higher education in the USA and commuted to New Jersey for college before transferring to UNYP. Dev is currently enrolled in the Dual-Degree Business Administration program in partnership with SUNY ESC. In addition to his studies, Dev works as an Innovations Intern at Deloitte, where he is actively involved in projects aimed at modernizing the company.

1) Why did you choose the University of New York in Prague to study Business administration?

I transferred to UNYP from Rutgers University, a prestigious American public university in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

I came back to the Czech Republic because of health issues, and then the COVID pandemic struck. During the pandemic, I wanted to continue my American education in the Czech Republic, so UNYP was the clear choice for me. 

At Rutgers, I was enrolled in a Finance and Computer Science double major program. I chose Business Administration at UNYP out of all the choices I had in Europe, because my friends who studied here at that time all told me that it would be the best fit for me, knowing how goal-oriented I am. I did my research and confirmed everything that they said.

An American college system located in the Czech Republic, with international professors who actually work in the fields that they teach! What more could I ask?

2) What do you like most about UNYP?

For me, the community is what sets UNYP apart and what I like the most. We have students of so many different cultures, and most of the ones I have met are super ambitious! 

My UNYP friends and I regularly help each other with anything, and I know I can go to almost any UNYPer for advice, as pretty much everyone at the school will help me when I need it.

3) Which course has left the most impact or impression on you so far? Why? And what are the most useful skills you have learned while studying at UNYP?

I really liked Cross-Cultural Management with Professor David Starr-Glass. It taught me a lot about the importance of culture in business, and how I must take into consideration the differences in people’s upbringing and views when talking to them or managing them.

However, the most useful skills I have learned at UNYP came from my two semesters of Student Council work: I was Development Manager for one semester, and IT manager for the other. I plan to continue helping UNYP students until I graduate, and even after that.

4) How did you get your current job?

Before working at Deloitte, I had internships at Allianz (the world’s biggest insurance provider), Reckitt (one of the biggest Fast-Moving Consumer Goods companies), Yord (a Virtual/Augmented Reality startup), and two other companies.

After my position at Allianz, I took an 8-month break from work to focus on other things, and then I decided to apply for the position at Deloitte. I applied to many other companies too, and got multiple offers. Some of them promised a really high salary, and others offered many employee benefits, but in the end, I chose the Innovations Internship at Deloitte because it was the best option for my career, and I had a good feeling from the interview. I didn’t care about the immediate benefits, but I knew that working at one of the biggest professional services companies in the world would bring me insane opportunities later on.

5) How do you manage to combine school with your career?

It’s hard, but I know that if I work while studying now, it will open more doors for me in the future. In Czech, we have the saying “bez práce nejsou koláče” which translates to “there’s no cake without work.”

I’d say that I’m somewhat ambitious, so working while studying is really important for my career, and this is the idea that keeps me driven and motivated to continue working and doing things on the side even while I’m studying. That way, I’ll have a big headstart in terms of experience after I graduate.

6) What is your plan for your future career?

The plan is to move to Berlin and run my own startup. Whether that plan succeeds or fails depends on how hard I decide to work.

7) Finally, what would you tell someone who is considering studying at UNYP?

Go to UNYP events, get an internship, party with your friends, enjoy the courses you take, and go to the gym. To sum up, be active and don’t just sit at home watching TV. You’d regret it in the future.