MINERVA VOICES

A Conversation with Minerva Graduate Student Phillip

This is part of a series of profiles introducing Minerva’s Master in Decision Analysis (MDA) students from the Class of 2023.

November 19, 2021

This is part of a series of profiles introducing Minerva’s Master in Decision Analysis (MDA) students from the Class of 2023. If you would like to learn more about the MDA program, please visit minerva.edu/graduate-programs.


Phillip Kuck began his professional career at DEG, a German development bank, while he was a student at Witten/Herdecke University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Today, he is a Senior Analyst at DEG, where he works with private sector companies in emerging markets to foster sustainable development, such as financing projects with a purpose, creating skilled jobs, generating local income, and implementing international labor and environmental standards.

“To lift living standards in developing countries sounds great in theory, but only becomes powerful when you see it come to life. I was able to work with the German company, WEIG, in Paraguay to increase the recycling quota for paper. Standing at the production site in Paraguay and seeing the tons of paper being collected and recycled every day, via the project we helped finance, was truly meaningful to me,” Phillip shares.

Attending graduate school was never a given for Phillip. After five years of professional experience in development finance, he only considered programs that offered substantial value. He reflected on his favorite aspects of his undergraduate degree — namely the active learning format and the opportunity to combine academics with work experience — and looked for graduate programs that could provide similar opportunities. He heard about Minerva’s Master in Decision Analysis (MDA) program from a friend, and his first thought was, “This is so cool. I have to do this.”

Curious to learn more, Phillip researched more about Minerva and began to read Building the Intentional University, a book written by Minerva leadership, outlining the ideas and choices behind its educational model. Impressed by the international student body, intentional curriculum design, and innovative approach to learning compared to traditional higher education institutions, Phillip was convinced to apply.

Now, as a current student, Phillip believes his courses at Minerva have brought more intentionality to his life. Likening the program to a hybrid of business, data science, and analytics elements, he believes that the MDA helps him ask better questions and infer more meaning from data. In his undergraduate degree, Phillip realized that “questions can be way more powerful than answers” but often wondered whether he was asking the right questions. At Minerva, he has learned how to develop a new way to think through challenges using the habits of mind and foundational concepts (HCs) — competencies to help students master critical and creative thinking and effective communication and interaction. For example, his current position requires him to craft investment analyses, highlighting key risks, potential mitigants, and essential drivers for success. Using his HCs, Phillip looks for the specific problem presented in new projects and supports his solutions with thorough evidence. “A risk analysis can only be as good as the questions you ask. The MDA program helps me shed light on potential blind spots I had not considered in my analysis before”, he concludes.

In addition to the course material and class instruction, Phillip is glad to be a part of a cohort from different countries and different professional industries as they each bring a unique perspective to the classroom. Hearing their career examples from their years of experience during discussions has provided great real-world examples of how to approach and solve a wide array of professional challenges. He looks forward to continuing to grow alongside his classmates and further strengthening his skills in order to build a more sustainable future.

“Minerva helps you to ask the big questions and dive deeper. You need to figure out where to start; Minerva can help to find an effective approach to get there by asking the right questions.”

Quick Facts

Name
Country
Class
Major

Social Sciences & Business

Business & Computational Sciences

Business and Social Sciences

Social Sciences and Business

Computational Sciences & Social Sciences

Computer Science & Arts and Humanities

Business and Computational Sciences

Business and Social Sciences

Natural Sciences

Arts and Humanities

Business, Social Sciences

Business & Arts and Humanities

Computational Sciences

Natural Sciences, Computer Science

Computational Sciences

Arts & Humanities

Computational Sciences, Social Sciences

Computational Sciences

Computational Sciences

Natural Sciences, Social Sciences

Social Sciences, Natural Sciences

Data Science, Statistics

Computational Sciences

Business

Computational Sciences, Data Science

Social Sciences

Natural Sciences

Business, Natural Sciences

Business, Social Sciences

Computational Sciences

Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Computational Sciences, Natural Sciences

Natural Sciences

Computational Sciences, Social Sciences

Business, Social Sciences

Computational Sciences

Natural Sciences, Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences

Arts & Humanities, Social Science

Social Sciences, Business

Arts & Humanities

Computational Sciences, Social Science

Natural Sciences, Computer Science

Computational Science, Statistic Natural Sciences

Business & Social Sciences

Computational Science, Social Sciences

Social Sciences and Business

Business

Arts and Humanities

Computational Sciences

Social Sciences

Social Sciences and Computational Sciences

Social Sciences & Computational Sciences

Social Sciences & Arts and Humanities

Computational Science

Minor

Computational Science & Business

Economics

Social Sciences

Concentration

Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence & Cognition, Brain, and Behavior

Designing Societies & New Ventures

Strategic Finance & Data Science and Statistics

Brand Management and Designing Societies

Data Science & Economics

Machine Learning

Cells, Organisms, Data Science, Statistics

Arts & Literature and Historical Forces

Artificial Intelligence & Computer Science

Cells and Organisms, Mind and Emotion

Economics, Physics

Managing Operational Complexity and Strategic Finance

Global Development Studies and Brain, Cognition, and Behavior

Scalable Growth, Designing Societies

Business

Drug Discovery Research, Designing and Implementing Policies

Historical Forces, Cognition, Brain, and Behavior

Artificial Intelligence, Psychology

Designing Solutions, Data Science and Statistics

Data Science and Statistic, Theoretical Foundations of Natural Science

Strategic Finance, Politics, Government, and Society

Data Analysis, Cognition

Brand Management

Data Science and Statistics & Economics

Cognitive Science & Economics

Data Science and Statistics and Contemporary Knowledge Discovery

Internship
Higia Technologies
Project Development and Marketing Analyst Intern at VIVITA, a Mistletoe company
Business Development Intern, DoSomething.org
Business Analyst, Clean Energy Associates (CEA)

Conversation

This is part of a series of profiles introducing Minerva’s Master in Decision Analysis (MDA) students from the Class of 2023. If you would like to learn more about the MDA program, please visit minerva.edu/graduate-programs.


Phillip Kuck began his professional career at DEG, a German development bank, while he was a student at Witten/Herdecke University pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Today, he is a Senior Analyst at DEG, where he works with private sector companies in emerging markets to foster sustainable development, such as financing projects with a purpose, creating skilled jobs, generating local income, and implementing international labor and environmental standards.

“To lift living standards in developing countries sounds great in theory, but only becomes powerful when you see it come to life. I was able to work with the German company, WEIG, in Paraguay to increase the recycling quota for paper. Standing at the production site in Paraguay and seeing the tons of paper being collected and recycled every day, via the project we helped finance, was truly meaningful to me,” Phillip shares.

Attending graduate school was never a given for Phillip. After five years of professional experience in development finance, he only considered programs that offered substantial value. He reflected on his favorite aspects of his undergraduate degree — namely the active learning format and the opportunity to combine academics with work experience — and looked for graduate programs that could provide similar opportunities. He heard about Minerva’s Master in Decision Analysis (MDA) program from a friend, and his first thought was, “This is so cool. I have to do this.”

Curious to learn more, Phillip researched more about Minerva and began to read Building the Intentional University, a book written by Minerva leadership, outlining the ideas and choices behind its educational model. Impressed by the international student body, intentional curriculum design, and innovative approach to learning compared to traditional higher education institutions, Phillip was convinced to apply.

Now, as a current student, Phillip believes his courses at Minerva have brought more intentionality to his life. Likening the program to a hybrid of business, data science, and analytics elements, he believes that the MDA helps him ask better questions and infer more meaning from data. In his undergraduate degree, Phillip realized that “questions can be way more powerful than answers” but often wondered whether he was asking the right questions. At Minerva, he has learned how to develop a new way to think through challenges using the habits of mind and foundational concepts (HCs) — competencies to help students master critical and creative thinking and effective communication and interaction. For example, his current position requires him to craft investment analyses, highlighting key risks, potential mitigants, and essential drivers for success. Using his HCs, Phillip looks for the specific problem presented in new projects and supports his solutions with thorough evidence. “A risk analysis can only be as good as the questions you ask. The MDA program helps me shed light on potential blind spots I had not considered in my analysis before”, he concludes.

In addition to the course material and class instruction, Phillip is glad to be a part of a cohort from different countries and different professional industries as they each bring a unique perspective to the classroom. Hearing their career examples from their years of experience during discussions has provided great real-world examples of how to approach and solve a wide array of professional challenges. He looks forward to continuing to grow alongside his classmates and further strengthening his skills in order to build a more sustainable future.

“Minerva helps you to ask the big questions and dive deeper. You need to figure out where to start; Minerva can help to find an effective approach to get there by asking the right questions.”