‘I had a German passport – and a dream’

A new country, a new adventure
Filipe headed to Hamburg – without being able to speak a word of German. Things were sometimes a struggle initially. He had to spend two years studying for his Abitur, the German higher education entrance qualification, while learning the language from scratch. But he got his most effective German language coaching for free, while working part-time as a roadie for a street-musician: ‘I acted as driver, sold CDs, set up the equipment and packed everything up afterwards,’ he tells us, adding, ‘It meant loads of interaction with people and so I just had to speak a lot.’

In 2018, Filipe commenced a degree course in Mechanical Engineering, focusing on Energy and Plant Systems, in HAW Hamburg’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Production Management. He is now close to completing his Master’s degree in Sustainable Energy Systems, and plans to begin writing his Master’s thesis this October.

Filipe is keen to make use of all the opportunities that come his way. ‘My mother is the brightest person I know. But, as the eldest of six, she had to help out at home and never had the possibilities that are open to me today,’ he says.

He’s never been afraid of challenges, welcoming them as opportunities for growth; ‘I see everything I encounter as a chance to learn something new,’ he confides, describing his approach to life. Looking back, he observes: ‘The last ten years were tough, but there’s a certain sense of success that I draw from having managed to complete a degree in Germany.’

Vital support all round
A scholarship from Schotstek, a network for young professionals who are immigrants to Germany or come from immigrant families, gave Filipe an additional boost, enabling him to take part in coaching and a mentoring scheme and to meet CEOs of high-profile businesses. Alongside this, he adds, ‘I’d never have made it here in Germany without Bafög [student finance for German citizens], nor without unemployment benefits now and again.’

Filipe has been working for Siemens Energy for two-and-a-half years now, centring on offshore wind energy systems, and plans to apply for a place on one of the company’s sought-after graduate training schemes, explaining that, if he’s successful, he’ll get to experience ‘three departments in two years’ and that ‘[it’s] a programme for people who want to get stuck in and make a difference.’

By Tiziana Hiller