DI Michaela Ragoßnig-Angst, MSc. (OU) is an engineering consultant for surveying and CEO of Vermessung Angst ZT GmbH, opens an external URL in a new window. Since 2008, she is also a member of the Advisory Board for Urban Planning and Design of the City of Vienna. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Arne M. Ragoßnig, MSc. (OU) is Managing Partner of RM Umweltkonsulenten ZT GmbH, opens an external URL in a new window, the environmental technology division of the Angst Group. The two of them met more than 20 years ago when they jointly completed the MSc Engineering Management. In today's Alumni Portrait, Michaela Ragoßnig-Angst (hereafter MR-A) and Arne Ragoßnig (hereafter AR) talk about their long-standing professional and private partnership.

You have studied Surveying resp. Industrial Environmental Protection, Disposal Technology and Recycling. What motivated both of you to complete the MSc Engineering Management after such varied fields of study?

AR: For me it was a way to acquire management skills beyond my technical university education.

MR-A: The content appealed to me in order to broaden my technical horizons and learn about additional management tools.

What has been your biggest professional success so far?

AR: The successful establishment of the start-up company Strucinspect, opens an external URL in a new window including the acquisition of an investor for the planned scaling of the business model.

MR-A: Founding Strucinspect together with Arne and thus implementing a long-standing idea.

How did the completion of the MSc Engineering Management contribute to achieving your career goals? From what did you benefit most?

AR: The interdisciplinarity of the content conveyed should be emphasized, but for me the aspect of "networking" was certainly the most important in a professional, but even more so in a private sense.

MR-A: Since I had already joined my father's company, I mainly wanted to learn about other aspects of business management. Here I was given some tools.

And what has been the biggest challenge in your professional life so far?

AR: The turnaround of the International Solid Waste Association as interim managing director and the relocation of the general secretariat from Vienna to Rotterdam parallel to my self-employment as managing partner of RM Umweltkonsulenten ZT GmbH.

MR-A: Our surveying office took over some small law firms in Carinthia whose owners could not find successors. The challenge here was to get the employees who were former competitors to pull together.

How did the qualifications acquired during your MSc program support you in dealing with these challenges?

AR: The ability to remain calm and proceed in a structured manner despite the difficulty of the situation was certainly essential.

MR-A: It was very important to give guidelines - especially in financial terms. We set up a controlling system that showed employees where they currently stand and what they can achieve together.

According to your opinion, what makes a good leader?

AR: prudence, communication skills, perseverance, recognizing one's own limitations and having the right contacts or knowledge of the right people to provide services that cannot be provided internally.

MR-A: I don't see myself as "the boss" but as an equal partner to everyone. Good communication and the confidence to be able to say everything are the most important things. Nevertheless, goals must be set.

To which future-related topics should managers definitely pay attention?

AR: Digitization, artificial intelligence and internationalization

MR-A: Digitization, artificial intelligence and internationalization

How do you manage to keep your work life and private life in balance?

AR: This is actually becoming increasingly difficult the more tasks or functions one takes on. It is a daily challenge, and a clear demarcation cannot be made as a self-employed person. A solid, mutually supportive partnership and, if necessary, shorter breaks with the family from time to time help to keep the balance.

MR-A: Good organization and an environment that stands by you are the most important things! Being a freelancer enables me to take my freedom, which I allow myself, despite an overcrowded calendar. Therefore, I try to spend time with my family, especially with sports activities.

Which person would you like to meet? Why?

AR: Elon Musk as a visionary in mobility.

MR-A: Marcel Hirscher. Skiing is my passion. I admire his consistency, his way of coping with defeats and his hard training in his active career. Despite his successes, he has remained a frugal, likeable person.

What kind of connection to TU Wien Continuing Education Center do you have today? Are you still in touch with fellow students or lecturers?

AR: Very intense with my wife :). I have a lot of contact with graduates of the TU Wien Continuing Education Center, but I have actually very little contact with the CEC.

MR-A: I only have very little contact with the CEC. But I’m in ongoing contact with the Department of Geodesy and Geoinformation of TU Wien. I have little contact with the other students and lecturers, except of course with my husband, Arne :).

Which (professional and/or private) goals do you want to achieve within the next ten years?

AR: Professionally, the successful further development of my company RM Umweltkonsulenten ZT GmbH and our start-up Strucinspect. In private terms: special experiences with our two sons.

MR-A: Professionally, the consolidation of our many surveying offices in Austria according to our civil engineering professional law and the establishment of successors. Privately I would like to invest a little more time in my hobbies.