Mitar Pitzek
INNES Founder
Life is change
Mitar Pitzek grew up in the suburbs of Belgrade in former Yugoslavia. Believe it or not, he trained as an airplane mechanic. He thought his path in life was fixed, but then the German language entered his life… A friend encouraged him to read two books: ‘Siddharta’ by Hermann Hesse and poems by Rainer Maria Rilke. Mitar was so impressed, he went out the very next day and bought the book “German in 100 lessons”. At this point, he didn’t speak a word of German.
Why Mitar Pitzek learnt German
His German journey began with his fascination with Hesse’s and Rilke’s books. He decided then that he wanted to read them in their original language and at the age of 18 began learning German on his own.
Serious about studying
Just a year after Mitar started learning German, he was accepted to study German Literature and Linguistics at the University of Belgrade. This is when he fell in love with the beauty of the German language. In 1991, Mitar moved to Berlin for an exchange semester and stayed for six years. He finished his studies in 1996. As a result of his passion for studying, he holds a Master’s degree and Dr. phil. in German Linguistics, Serbo-Croat Language and Literature, and German as a Foreign Language (DaF) from the Humboldt University, Berlin.
Starting out
Back in Belgrade, Mitar taught in the German Department at the University of Belgrade. After the collapse of Yugoslavia, he had to leave Belgrade in 1999 and decided to start a new life in Vienna. There he completed a two-year trainee program with a well-known fast-food restaurant (which today is one of his clients) and received Austrian citizenship in 2002. Eventually Mitar started working for the International Office of Vienna University of Technology. He continued to teach technical German for international students at the Vienna University of Technology and soon became chief editor of ‘Fachsprache’ – an International Journal of Specialized Communications.
Take off!
In 2004 Mitar started his own German language school. In 2012, INNES Institute Vienna (International Network for Educational Support in Higher Education) was born as a high-quality educational platform. That year, Mitar also became President of Ge4 – Global Education: Exchanges for Engineers and Entrepreneurs Network: an international university network for higher education institutions. Thanks to his continuous effort and motivation, in 2022 Mitar acquired ActiLingua Academy, ActiLingua Sprachreisen and Online Language Courses, which opens a new exciting chapter for all the sister companies.
What Mitar lives for
He’s passionate about sailing, reading Alan Ford, traveling, growing and reflecting. He loves the music of Goran Bregovic and Van Morrison, and the Star Trek character Jean Luc Picard. But what Mitar loves most is infecting his students with his enthusiasm for the German language.
How do I know my language level? What if I choose the wrong level?
Don’t worry, we’re always here to help! When you sign up and pay for the course, you’ll receive our Level Test.
Alternatively, you can complete the Level Test here before booking your course, just to be on the safe side.
You can also message us directly before signing up and we’ll help you determine your level.