While organising an event on 30 March in collaboration with the private equity firms Polaris and EQT, Instu is extending invitations to people of all ethnicities and interests.

“We prioritise making our events feel inclusive as well as relevant for people who might not be hugely interested in finance, for example. We achieve this, not only with the variety of speakers, but also with the questions asked and the scope covered.”

Levelling the playing field

Hashem shares how being a part of his BSc International Shipping and Trade program and spending two semesters abroad in Canada and China exploring his Global SCLM specialization came to continuously reinforce the importance and value of a diverse atmosphere.

“Since I really believe in openness, inclusion and knowledge sharing in and between these pillars, it feels important for me to create such a space here at CBS,” Hashem says and continues:

“Unfortunately, often international students do not have extensive networks – we want to change that.”

This is a result of being new in the country, not low motivation or lack of will, he underlines.

“The eagerness and aim to encourage networking among students, many of whom have international roots, was clearly reflected in a previous event I co-hosted after Elife Savas, a partner at PwC, finished speaking on stage. The queue that lined up to chat and connect with her almost reached out of the auditorium,” he smiles and continues:

“One of the amazing things about Elife is the joy she exudes for her job as well as just from her personality and presence. Her willingness and genuine interest in chatting, giving tips and helping students to get into the industry that they desire is a pattern we should all strive to learn from, I think.”

The request for Elife Savas to speak at the event was prompted by an article with the headline ‘It is about the journey, not about the destination’.

“I think Elife Savas’ presence embodies that quote,” Hashem says.

Community building and moving capital as a self-fulfilling prophecy

Hashem explains how the venture capital investments of the very powerful private equity industry become a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Where they move, the market focus follows.”

Instu hopes the discussion at the venture capital event on 30 March, which spotlights future trends, together with speakers Christian S.H Andersen and Jan Johan Kühl, EQT and Polaris’ private equity managing director and partner, will attract and benefit a wide audience.

“The idea in the future is to also host more community-building events that solely highlight having a good time and connecting with one another.”

Instu is currently in contact with Café Nexus to make more of those aspirations come true, with an exciting community-building event already scheduled for late April.

“It will feature an Olympic Games theme with different nationalities competing against each other. The nature of the competition will be revealed at our upcoming venture capital event on 30 March,” he announces.

“I really believe that working on our professional careers and having fun can co-exist, and so we hope and are confident that the event will be a success in more ways than one,” he concludes.

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