IMBA with drive lands work term in Germany with BMW

Renuga Navaratnarajah IMBA 2019
Renuga Navaratnarajah

Renuga Navaratnarajah (IMBA ’19) completed her Honours Bachelor of Commerce at York University where she specialized in Accounting. After spending two years working in the controllership area with the Ontario Public Service, she felt things were getting too repetitive and were not challenging enough for her. She thought it was the right time to pursue a career change and explore an international opportunity.

“I was inspired to learn German when I first travelled to Switzerland in 2015,” Renuga said.  “I loved the culture, the environment, the work-life balance and I felt this is a place I would like to work in one day.” As a first step towards pursuing her dream, she decided to take a certificate program for conversational German once a week while working. When Renuga applied to the IMBA program she had only been learning German for just over a year.

“I applied to the Schulich International MBA because I thought a great way to get my foot in the door would be to complete an internship with a company abroad.”  Renuga’s first year at Schulich helped her reflect on what she liked, and more importantly, realize what she was passionate about: the strategic side of HR.

On a personal side, Renuga has always loved driving with a passion and her dream was to eventually work at BMW in Germany. “In my mind, BMW is a brand that is really associated with the experience of driving,” said Renuga.  “Thanks to my Schulich IMBA, I will be working this summer for BMW in Germany in International HR Marketing and Recruiting. I am so excited about doing this work term — definitely a dream come true!”