Just as the main AUBG campus serves as a magnet for students throughout the region, the University’s EMBA program in Sofia is acquiring the same status. This AUBG ripple effect is getting noticed in the larger labor pool, particularly in nearby Albania.
Taulant Mecaj, 35, decided he needed an advanced education in business. As a manager in a telecom firm in Tirana, technological innovation, competition and the demands of foreign owners made lifelong professional education a necessity. Already fluent in English, he learned about the AUBG EMBA and decided to apply. His wife encouraged him.
A long road to success
He was accepted a couple of years ago. Needing to be on campus every other week, for the next two years, he knew he needed plenty of self-discipline—and a good car.
“I drove the eight and a half hours each way. I got to know that route so well. It was relatively easy. All I needed was my Albanian passport. Sometimes my parents looked after my two kids while my wife and I made the trip. Other times, we all traveled together. They had fun in Sofia, while I attended classes.”
He was greatly relieved when during drives in winter he finally approached the border crossing in the dead of night. “I was so happy when I saw the guard post in the gloom. It meant better roads and Bulgarian roadside assistance if the car broke down.”
It wasn’t easy. He was often bone tired, and the coursework challenging. Luckily, the program taught him to make more efficient use of his time, a skill that he deliberately sought. “The program really trains you on time management. You need it in my field, when as a manager, you’re constantly bombarded with simultaneous challenges. How do you prioritize? I’m much better at it now.”
He also uses an app called Read that records his video calls, as he did for this interview with AUBG. It creates a transcript and produces a nifty summary with key points using AI. A feature includes an analysis of what meeting participants say, how they say it, and critiques their effectiveness. The business world and business education are rapidly evolving. All the more reason for continuous learning.
Taulant Mecaj ('24), first on the left, during his commencement ceremony.
Taulant Mecaj ('24), first from the right, during his commencement ceremony.
Big on teamwork
He said that in his previous education, the emphasis was on recall, not insights. “It’s more important to apply the knowledge to practice,” he said. “There’s a balance to be found, and we did this through heavy emphasis on teams which is the way modern organizations operate or should.”
When he returned to his workplace in between course sessions, did he feel a dissonance between his newfound skills and attitudes and his colleagues who did not share his experiences in graduate school? “I fed things into the business as I learned them. I introduced small changes in small increments. I was purposely not a disruptive force but believe I’ve made a positive difference.”
For sure management styles are different, and the post-Communist hangover still hangs heavy in the air. “I contribute to change and influence a lot of people.” There are 700 employees in the company which provides cell service and associated hardware. Mecaj is in charge of the retail unit.
“I want to be a role model. Help people advance and develop. I want to act with a sense of democracy and fairness in the workplace and hope it will have even more impact by being reflected in the larger society. These are revolutionary ideas compared to what Albania was like when I was growing up. My kids live in a different world.”
Would he consider sending the kids to AUBG for their undergraduate education? “I would, and while I was visiting Blagoevgrad during my graduation ceremony, I imagined how good it would have been if I had the chance in my past to have studied there. Enormous campus, great energy.”
Borderless business education
His deftness at time management precludes him from spending too much of it longing for what could have been. Instead, he’s thinking about what he’s learning can benefit others by working with and through AUBG. The first order of business is to get more Albanians to study business by crossing the border like he did.
“In my belief we should have a more direct approach on targeting prospective students. Yes, we do awareness campaigns, however, we should identify in local high schools students that excel in results and showcase potential in terms of personal and professional growth. Our approach so far is in a way less direct. In addition, collaborations in business to business and business to government growth segments would add value to upskill employees that promise growth potential.”
He’s confident that a virtuous circle can be created with more Albanians participating in AUBG undergraduate and graduate programs.
The time is also ripe to assist the Albanian business startup culture, which has been gathering steam during the past few years. “We are a SoHo (Family Owned) based economy. So, by definition there are startups in our culture. We are mostly positioned in the service industry and retail. The biggest obstacles to further growth are access to and cost of financing, tax policies, EU Integration, and modernization of the tourism sector.”
He said that there is significant need for more and better professional education and access to good, affordable education at all levels. All things AUBG is good at providing on the ground and via better pedagogy and policy.
Albania and other countries in the region are adversely affected by people who leave for other countries in Europe. Good jobs go begging for qualified technical workers. “There is currently increased awareness among businesses to make compensation packages more attractive. In addition, there are initiatives from government in terms of retention of students, especially for critical sectors such as medicine. Many multinational companies are setting up in the region, offering good salaries and training. This attracts people to come back home. The diaspora is also very active by providing money and expertise. Emigration is not a zero-sum game.”
In four or five years, Mecaj says he’ll have the maturity and business acumen to run for public office in Albania, another area where there is much good to be done, especially in economic development. For now, he wants to focus on strengthening the AUBG alumni network in his country.
“The AUBG connections are fantastic. Being in the same classroom and discovering together how things work. People are eager to share and to keep in touch. I made a lot of friends who will remain such during the next phase of our lives.”
