Real-World Learning Through a Capstone Project

Angelina Magal
Master of Arts in Global Risk, ’17

As part of the Master of Arts in Global Risk (MAGR) program at Johns Hopkins SAIS, students are required to complete a capstone project with a company. Angelina was offered the opportunity to complete this project at Philips, where she is interning with the Risk Management, Markets, and Business Development support team. The department supports and advises the company’s experts on countries and markets on the proactive identification, prioritization, and mitigation of risks (strategic, operational, financial, compliance) related to new business models, solutions, strategic partnerships, and entry strategies in high-risk countries. The internship is four months long and based in the Philips headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

During the academic year, Angelina’s courses covered qualitative and quantitative approaches for understanding risk and uncertainty, and her summer internship is an ideal setting to apply these skills in a business context. Angelina has found that the MAGR degree ultimately provides students with a holistic, multifaceted understanding of risk, and she constantly combines a variety of skills, methodologies, and theories that are sourced from her different classes. For example, when analyzing country risks, Angelina draws upon knowledge from economics and international relations courses for the overall context. However, in order to tailor her assessment toward Philips in particular, she also simultaneously utilizes the ability to incorporate “point of view” in risk assessment, and depends on a thorough understanding of corporate finance.

Angelina has found her team at Philips to be engaging and supportive, and reports that everyone brings a self-motivated, collaborative, and positive attitude to the office. Surrounded by a myriad of learning opportunities, Angelina is looking forward to the remainder of the practicum.