Alumni Center

Mike Pfister - Bachelor Of Arts (BA), December 2000, Economics & Political Science

Mike Pfister joined UCF in 1997. He double majored in Economics and Political Science. His interest in working in the field of international cooperation geared his coursework towards international trade and economic development, and motivated him to write an honors thesis in Political Science ("The unification of Africa, a goal or a dream?).

The profound international development knowledge Mike gained at UCF allowed him to pursue a graduate degree at one of the most prestigious institutions in Switzerland, the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva where he received the MPhil degree in September 2003. This move was motivated by the institution's strategic geographical proximity and connection to international organizations (the WTO, UN, and the World Bank). Mike was quick in stepping into the UN system as an intern at UNCTAD.

After having worked 6 months as an intern and 4 months as a consultant at UNCTAD, he moved on to work for the German Development Institute and later to ICON (a consulting company focusing on technical assistance) as a project manager. Mike worked on projects mainly dealing with Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), trade and investment promotion in Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, and Mongolia.

His project management experience, backed by the international curriculum Mike enjoyed at UCF and in Geneva, made him an ideal candidate to be placed into the UN by the German Government. Mike is now back at UNCTAD in Geneva working as a project manager (or "Associate Expert"). The post is financed by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation in the Enterprise Competitiveness branch, launching and coordinating projects throughout developing countries, including an SME-TNC linkage project in Brazil.