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Lars Wagner
CDI 2003
CEO Commercial Aircraft, Airbus
- 2003 · CDI Fellow
- [year] · CEO, MTU Aero Engines
- Today · CEO Commercial Aircraft, Airbus
Your technical depth. Finally at the table where decisions are made.
In Germany, engineers often spend ten years as experts before anyone asks them to lead. CDI Fellows start where others arrive.
Photo · German alumni at work, real, no stock
From building what gets decided to deciding what gets built
You’ve spent years getting excellent at something technical or scientific. A few years in, you notice: the manager who decides what happens next to your work often understands it less than you do.
CDI closes that gap from your side. You keep everything you know and add the business and strategic skills of the people who decide.
Your technical depth doesn’t become irrelevant. It becomes the reason your judgment gets asked for.
0×
more C-suite managers than among RWTH Aachen graduates
+0%
salary at entry, compared with starting straight after university
0%
in top management (VP or C-suite) 20 years after CDI
0/3
of alumni build their career in industry and corporates
All figures: placeholders from the client draft, to be confirmed.
Career speed
How fast CDI alumni move up
Most of our alumni start in expert roles, like you would. The difference is how quickly they leave them. Pick a point in time.
1 year
age ≈ 26
age ≈ 26
10 years
age ≈ 35
age ≈ 35
15 years
age ≈ 40
age ≈ 40
20+ years
age ≈ 45
age ≈ 45
- Founders and owners
- C-suite and executive committee
- VPs and SVPs
- Directors and senior managers
- Team and project leads
- Expert roles
Top management after 10–20 years
Benchmark vs. RWTH Aachen, KIT and TUM
Second column per point in time once the comparison data is ready: “two paths, same degree”.
Chart values: placeholder data from the client draft.
Your first job after CDI
Start with impact, not with a trainee badge
CDI opens high-impact roles as entry positions, with around 20% more salary than starting straight after university. You don’t switch from engineering to business. You become the person who can do both.
Entry positions of recent classes
Bar lengths illustrative.
Portrait
“[Quote from a German alumnus or alumna: what CDI changed in their career, two to three sentences.]”[Name], CDI [year] · [Role], [Company]
Alumni from Germany
Three careers that started where you are now
B/W portrait
Joachim Goldbeck
CDI 1997
CEO, Goldbeck Solar
- 1997 · CDI Fellow
- [year] · [career step]
- Today · CEO, Goldbeck Solar
B/W portrait
Amelie Schoenenwald
CDI 2021
Senior Manager Strategy Execution, GSK
- 2021 · CDI Fellow, PhD in science
- 2022 · ESA astronaut reserve
- Today · Senior Manager, GSK
Why careers accelerate here
Six reasons, in the order that matters in Germany
01
Selectivity as a signal
Merit-based, tuition-free, around 1,400 candidates a year. Employers in Germany read the admission itself as a quality mark.
02
A peer group beyond your own university
Engineers and scientists from across Europe. Your network stops being your faculty and becomes a continent.
03
European agility
Classrooms in Paris, Munich and Turin. You learn to lead across languages and cultures.
04
Tech and deep-tech focus
Business cases from tech companies, missions on real tech challenges. Your STEM background stays the core.
05
Learning through action
Company missions with real stakes instead of simulations. You think like a manager from day one.
06
An alumni network for life
Mentoring, juries, speed-dating events and senior jobs that circulate within the community.
Where alumni work
Employers of our alumni in Germany
Employer 1
Employer 2
Employer 3
Employer 4
Employer 5
Employer 6
Employer 7
Employer 8
Employer 9
Employer 10
Building Europe’s industry, with Germany as one of its homes
Alumni groups in ten European cities and CDI Alumni Deutschland e.V. keep you connected long after graduation.
Tech and deep tech
Industry and mobility
Energy and climate
Life sciences
Consulting and finance
Public service
Europe map · alumni density by city
Hear it from alumni
What CDI changed for them
Career Accelerator
Existing video from the homepage
Impact for the Future
Existing video from the homepage
Building Lifelong Bonds
Existing video from the homepage
Ready to see where your career could go?
Next intake in Munich: [month year]. Application deadline: [date].
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Apply for the next intake
Application process, deadlines and requirements for Munich.
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Talk to an alumnus
A short call with a German alumnus about your next step.
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Meet our alumni
3,000+ alumni across Europe and their stories.
Alumni →Image
Explore our entrepreneurs
300+ startups and 5 unicorns founded by alumni.
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