Testimonial Tim Puschkeit | MBA-Fernstudiengänge

What is your career like? Could you tell us something about your motorsport career in advance?

I ended up in motorsport by chance: actually, I come from the broadcasting, events and event industry and that's how I got into F1 for radio and communications technology. After a few years at every Formula 1 race for various racing teams, I then turned more and more to project management and coordination of motorsport events. This mostly involved technical infrastructure in the background of such an event such as CCTV monitoring of the race track so that the race management can monitor the track, network and signal distribution, on-board cameras, but also communication such as track marshal radio or also vehicle radio in various racing vehicles. Classics like the 24 hours of Nürburgring, Spa-Franchorchamps or Lemans were the daily routine of our business. Countless DTM races, Formula E events, endurance races of the WEC, ELMS and also smaller series were supervised and supported on site.
What are you currently doing professionally?

Currently, I have retired from motorsports and am the technical director of the international TV broadcaster circle-o, a joint venture of my current employer and other partner companies, which produces the 36th America's Cup. I am responsible for the technical implementation of the TV production to broadcast the event worldwide.
What does your day-to-day work look like?

We are currently in the hot phase and I am in Auckland, New Zealand. We'll be producing live here for up to 70 days over the next few months and broadcasting the event to hundreds of countries. In addition to the live broadcast, there will be various other features in the form of news, highlights, additional streams and the operation of a cloud as well as other OTT platforms. A lot of material is distributed to the world in just one day, which first has to be created under "live conditions".

However, the project started more than two years ago, with the development of adapted technologies in the form of cameras, microphones and broadcasting equipment on the boats to get video and audio from the boats to shore. In addition, the whole set-up of a media production system with various editing suites, Slomo connections, audio direction, image direction, graphics and so on was an aspect that first had to be well planned and then also implemented. The time required for the preparations and the manpower behind such major sporting events should not be underestimated. After intensive planning and preparation over the last few years, we had to set up a temporary infrastructure on site in New Zealand in order to be able to produce daily for several months. The whole thing is like a small container village that was created temporarily just for the event and the various trades.
Why did you decide to study motorsport management at Kaiserslautern University?

In my professional career, I decided at that time to do a classic apprenticeship in the field of television production. As a media designer, I created a broad foundation that enabled me to enter various fields. After an additional project manager training, the course of studies was not only the consolidation of my knowledge acquired so far and a safeguard with an internationally recognized degree, but also an expansion and profound training of the subject areas, which came up more and more in my job, but could not be covered by me profoundly. I therefore qualified for the program with the help of the preliminary course and my work experience and was excited by the possibility of being able to achieve an official and internationally certified MBA degree in 2.5 years.
What was your experience with the aptitude tests or the preliminary course? How would you evaluate the preliminary course? Did the experience help you in your studies?

I can only recommend the preliminary course, especially because it first of all introduced me to the subject of "studying" and prepared me for the MBA program. The tasks in the aptitude semester were already very demanding, and also the fact that all of this had to be completed while working was more than a jump in at the deep end. Nevertheless, the aptitude course could also be seen as a test semester, and topics that still sounded unimaginable and absurd at the beginning of the semester were suddenly comprehensible and understandable several months later. You were surprised to see how you were taught methods and approaches, with which you were subsequently able to work out topics on your own in a very short time that you had never had any connection to before.
How did you find out about the program?

It was pure chance: I stumbled across it by chance at the right time in the right place and decided to do it at short notice.
How does the distance learning program work for you in terms of time and organization?

In terms of time, the guidelines are already suitable, although it has to be said that you shouldn't underestimate the overall effort involved. I think you also have to be aware of how you schedule yourself and what goals you want to achieve. However, one also grows from the challenges from semester to semester and learns from time or organizational bottlenecks and then starts earlier in the following semester, for example. Studying is a dynamic learning process, in that you understand for yourself which topics may take longer, what demands and goals you set for yourself, and what may be easier for you and therefore less time-consuming. From an organizational point of view, it should be said that all documents and also deadlines are communicated well in advance. Likewise, there are possibilities to make alternative appointments at other locations, so that everything can actually always be attended and realized. The distance learning program coordination by Ms. Welsch and Ms. Fremgen is particularly noteworthy. The support I experienced there was unique. The two are the good soul of the study program and always find the right answer to simple and sometimes "stupid" questions, exam preparations, expectations of professors and lecturers and also always have a solution or answer ready for problems, fears or worries.
Which lecture/seminar do you remember most fondly and why?

All lectures with guest lecturers from the free economy were different, but also very instructive. They were not just about technical knowledge, but more about showing ways, exchanging experiences and understanding practical applications. These topics were always very close to practice and were also individually designed, they were open discussions and not fixed predefined lectures.
What has been most interesting for you so far, which contents can you use directly in your professional environment?

All management topics and tools of holistic management could be implemented by me promptly and were also a great help in project management.
What are your career plans?

To constantly develop, to go through the world with open eyes and to accept and realize new interesting challenges and projects. I have also become much more relaxed as a result of the degree and know that this can also be used to take a job in other industries. In addition, I unfortunately had to realize that all the plans I had made for myself in the past always came out differently, but it was always moving forward. So I am curious to see what the future will bring.