Business Diplomat: Investing in People

Studying or working abroad is often described in terms of personal growth: new languages, new friends, a wider outlook. In this part of its interview series, Business Diplomat presents an assessment by Evelin Hornyák, Interim Head of Office and Advisor to a Member of the European Parliament. Asked whether states should treat young people’s international experience as a public investment, she looks at what a young person actually brings home.

Investing in people abroad

First observation: the claim
The assessment opens briefly:
“International experience is a way for a country to invest in its people.”
The sentence puts the country in the position of investor and the people in the position of the asset. The direction is toward people, not toward institutions or programmes.

Second observation: more than language and friends
The next passage states what is gained:
“Young people who study, work, or join professional programs abroad gain more than just mere language skills or new friends. They learn how other institutions work, build international networks, and see how their own country looks from the outside. They also learn to work in different professional and cultural settings, which matters more and more for both public institutions and businesses.”
The phrase “more than just mere” admits that language and friendship are valuable but insists on what lies beyond them. Four gains follow: understanding how other institutions work, international networks, a view of one’s own country from the outside, and ease in different professional and cultural settings. The third is especially striking. People rarely see their own country clearly until they have lived elsewhere.

Third observation: knowledge that travels back
Hornyák draws on her work in European politics:
“I’ve seen how important it is to understand not just your own country’s view, but also how decisions are made elsewhere and how different people approach the same problem. You can bring that knowledge back to your country’s institutions, companies, and civil society.”
The return is named in three places: institutions, companies and civil society. The investment is not lost when a young person comes home; it enters the country’s working life. Understanding how decisions are made elsewhere is a practical skill, since international negotiation consists mostly of decisions that are made in places one does not control.

The logic of the assessment

The logic of the assessment
The argument moves from principle to content to return. A country invests in people; what they gain is understanding, networks, perspective and adaptability; and that gain flows back into institutions, companies and civil society.

Business Diplomat's mission

The role of Business Diplomat
The platform’s mission is to give young people experience, bring a diplomatic order to the business world, and benefit states by revitalising the economy. Hornyák’s description of what is gained abroad matches what the platform tries to offer: working knowledge of how other institutions operate and a network across borders. Business Diplomat can extend this kind of experience to young people who cannot travel for it.

Conclusion
Investing in young people’s international experience is investing in a country’s people. The returns are practical: knowledge of how others decide, networks, perspective on one’s own country and ease in different settings, all of which return to institutions, companies and civil society. Business Diplomat aims to help young professionals gain them.