Dave. N. P. Mootien (Alumnus 1991)

Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology, Mauritius

Dear Students, Friends, Colleagues and Academics,

I attended the Strobl Summer School of July/August 1991. I was then a postgraduate student from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK. I was finishing my MSc in Tourism and I thought it would have been an excellent idea to take advantage of a scholarship to attend the Summer School. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I made and living together for almost two months or so with a varied and eclectic group of students from various parts of the world was a unique and fantastic experience.

I was so impressed by the experience that I had set the base for a club that was to be called Strobl 91. Unfortunately this was short-lived. Once we get back to our roots, we tend to have other priorities: career, marriage, family among others. But I am still keen on the idea and would request those who are doing it this year to start something for your group. You may call it Strobl 16 or something else. What’s in a name? … as the great William Shakespeare would say…

Academically, after Strobl 91, I had gone through a complete intellectual transformation and the University of Vienna Diploma has been a prized document every time I had to use my curriculum vitae or whenever I applied for a job. When I returned from Europe in 1991, I was lucky to get some top jobs in management and the exposure of so many years and the experience acquired have taken me to most senior levels of all the positions I have occupied: General Manager, Chief Executive and now Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology, Mauritius.

I have also been impressed by the very high academic excellence of our professors at the Summer School (some may have already left this world and our thoughts are with them): Professors Gerlich, Volensky, Fisher and Neuhold to name a few. They were sources of knowledge and we could spend hours listening to them disserting on their respective specializations.

The cultural and sports activities were no less exciting, especially the early morning swim in the Bodensee. The visits to Salzburg and Vienna were just the icing on the cake. How I missed the Mozartkugeln! Watching Mozart’s Cosi Van Tutte on stage was a relish I would never forget.

I still have a lot to write about the Sommerhochschule for this 60^th anniversary but I should keep some for the 100^th anniversary in 2056! Hoping we will all be there… With technology these days, you never know…

Happy 60^th Anniversary and Long Life to the University of Vienna Sommerhochschule for many generations to come.

Dave N. P. Mootien, Class of 1991
June 01, 2016, Mauritius