It’s all about balance – tuscon gives Geert the chance to weigh up his options

“I want to open my own business to apply what I have learned in my MBA – probably something related to Belgian chocolates.”

It is a well-known fact that Belgians are mad about chocolate. For Geert Cleeren, chocolate has always been part of his daily dietary intake.  But since his involvement with tuscon and subsequent work in Australia, Geert now has the experience to weigh up his career options and consider establishing his own Australian-based chocolate import business. It’s just a matter of balance.

Geert was already a qualified control engineer and Master of Applied Information Technology when he came to Australia to undertake a second Masters degree at QUT’s Brisbane Graduate School of Business, a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). He also had around eight years of experience with European IT firms.

“Since travelling to Australia in 2001, I had always dreamed of living in Australia, particularly in Brisbane because of the weather and the relaxed lifestyle,” he said.

But although Geert was able to find casual work experience in Australia while he studied for his MBA, a challenging and well-rewarded job eluded him until he came across tuscon and its iexchange program.

“Through iexchange, I ended up working as a consultant at iFocus, an IT consultancy that provides services related to the web.  I worked 20 hours a week while I studied, helping other consultants on existing projects and enabling iFocus to leverage off my existing skills,” he said.

In Geert’s case, the iexchange experience provided more than paid work in his chosen profession.
“I received a sponsorship through iFocus which allowed me to stay in the country. I also gained an understanding of what it was like to work in the Brisbane IT environment,” he said.

The professional experience gained through iexchange and his subsequent work with iFocus has provided Geert with a platform to consider his options and weigh up the benefits of his twin interests: business and IT. In particular, he is weighing up the possibility of starting his own business in Australia - in an area close to his heart.

“Once I have my permanent residency, I want to open my own business to apply what I have learned in my MBA – probably something related to Belgian chocolates,” he said.

While Geert will say nothing about the specific brands of chocolate he is looking into, he is happy to spread the word about tuscon and its commitment to connecting qualified postgraduate students with Australian employers.

“As an international student it is really hard to find a job, even though you have years of experience,” he said. “I definitely recommend the program to other international students, as you know ‘it is not what you know, it is who you know’!”