Alex Jilek

Global Challenge: Environmental Sustainability

Alexander Jilek grew up in Austria and spent the first 16 years of his life there before he decided that he wanted to start a new chapter in a more international environment. This eventually led him to move to the United States and study Mechanical Engineering at NYU. Coming from a highly technical family and attending a special technical high school in Austria, he developed an interest in Engineering from a young age.

His curiosity and passion only grew through hands-on experiences and internships, especially at BMW and AVL, where he realized that Engineering was exactly the field he wanted to pursue. After completing his first year at NYU, he’s even more certain that he made the right decision. To balance the academic challenges of university, Alexander enjoys playing tennis, going for walks and trying new restaurants to clear his mind.

Alexander is currently completing his third internship at BMW and has also previously interned at AVL. Through these experiences, he has gained valuable insight into professional Engineering environments and learned how important communication and teamwork are to a company’s success. Working with professionals helped him to develop both technical and interpersonal skills while strengthening his interest in the manufacturing and automotive industries.

After graduation, he hopes to begin his career at a company such as BMW, where he can continue learning and gaining experience before eventually contributing to projects that have a meaningful impact on society. Beyond his professional goals, Alexander also wants to continuously improve himself both academically and personally while making the most of every opportunity to learn and grow.

GLASS is the perfect opportunity for Alexander to combine leadership, problem-solving and global impact. What attracted him most to the program is the focus the program has on identifying real-world challenges and encouraging students to actually address them. As someone studying Engineering, he believes that technical knowledge is most valuable when it’s used to solve problems that affect people's lives. One issue that is especially important to him is the issue of environmental sustainability.

Growing up in Austria and witnessing changes in the natural environment over time, he has become more and more aware of the importance of protecting natural resources and developing more sustainable solutions for the future. Through GLASS, he’s excited to work with motivated students and staff from different backgrounds, to learn from their perspectives and to contribute to projects that create meaningful change while continuing to grow as a leader.