When I graduated from EMTM back in 2012, I knew I wanted to go abroad. And by abroad, I mean outside of Europe. If I realised one thing while being part of the program, it was that cultural awareness wasn’t what I had thought it originally was. EMTM was the first time I had a chance to interact with people from outside Europe and I discovered that there was much more cultural diversity in the world.

Once I graduated, I set myself on a mission to look for opportunities around the world. Thanks to AIESEC, I landed an opportunity in Singapore and in March 2013, I got on my first-even long-haul flight to this “City in a Garden”. It was an exciting first experience that allowed me to develop my early career skills in events, marketing and sales as well as my entrepreneurial mindset.

After almost 2 years in Singapore, I accepted an offer for an exciting role in Yangon, Myanmar. It must have been my globetrotter nature that I got hooked on during EMTM that made me say yes and move to yet another country - this time to experience a developing country with its emerging economy. I then spent 4 years in Myanmar working in professional services and commercial real estate, market research, and finally in the garments industry.

Throughout my entire career, I had been volunteering with the Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA). While working with EMA, I held multiple leadership positions and developed the first organisational strategy, implemented a funding mechanism that distributed over 250,000 EUR on social impact projects, founded new units, organised capacity building and promotional events, and mentored over 200 volunteers over the span of almost 10 years.

I believe that all these experiences made me a well-rounded professional. I purposefully sought new experiences and new opportunities to develop advanced managerial skills. Fast forward to 2018, through a friend and a social entrepreneur that I was helping in Myanmar as an advisor, I got connected to the University of Hong Kong. Shortly after that, my career moved me to Hong Kong. I am now working for the University of Hong Kong on their social impact and experiential learning-courses: Impact Lab and Transformative Business Immersion.

In 2019, I had a chance to organise a flagship GREEN Hospitality Conference and I never stopped working on the GREEN Hospitality’s agenda since then. In February 2021, I registered GREEN Hospitality as a standalone program under my own nonprofit called Pangaia Solutions Limited of which I am an Executive Director. GREEN Hospitality wants to make hospitality and travel industries catalysts for sustainable development. We do it by sharing new knowledge and developing research, incubating innovations and promoting collaboration through connections with stakeholders across the hospitality supply chain.

After all the detours in my professional career meandering through related industries, I am back to the roots and doing what I love - working on sustainability in the tourism and hospitality industry. I have capitalised on my experiences and knowledge I gained through EMTM but even more than that, my connections and network from EMTM and the Erasmus Mundus Association. 

I am looking forward to being part of the EMTM and EMA alumni communities and helping the upcoming leaders in sustainable tourism and hospitality. At GREEN Hospitality we are determined to give opportunities to young talents through our internship program and let them help us move the needle while building their professional pedigree.

Written by Lucia Loposova, Alumna of EMTM Generation 2010-2012