My internship has been amazing! I have been involved in a lot of different tasks and projects, all of which I can honestly say has been really interesting and have given a lot of insight and sparked interests that I would not have gained if I had not participated in this internship program. There is so much to gain from interning abroad and I know it will benefit my future career!
Along with all of the projects that I’ve been working on and the skills I have developed, I have been exposed to German work culture, which has given me a different perspective on global business. In terms of my company’s office culture, football was a big thing during the World Cup. The office, which has 250 employees, sponsored their own football showings on their big screen whenever there was a game playing. The office hosts a lot of events in general, which is fantastic. They will host parties for employees, and since eating healthy is regarded as a bigger deal in Europe, the office provides fruit every morning. Since going green is a massive initiative in all of Europe, the company provides large crates throughout the campus area of the office which are allocated for all of the bottles to be recycled. This is something that I don’t see as much back at home. Sure, there’s a lot of recycle bins but it’s not used as regularly as it is in Europe.
In relation to all of the projects that I’ve been working on, I’ve done a couple of tasks for the controlling and budgeting team, which is under the finance department. I have created an FTE and employee salary sheets that will be used monthly. I have also made a travel reimbursement sheet that the controlling department will use to track employee spending while traveling and how to reimburse them. Along with these tasks, I have been given the assignment, along with a colleague, to create an activity analysis, questionnaire, and reporting system. How this works is that the company has requested that there should be a better tracking system for metrics and comparisons throughout the company in each of their thirteen branches. We are required to evaluate the activities of five departments in the Berlin branch and simulate how data acquisition would be run in order to better assess information to standardize and optimize activities and tasks. To do this, we set up meetings with head of departments to gain information, and from there, we have created a questionnaire to be distributed to all of the department managers in other countries to fill out monthly in order to acquire data on a rolling basis. I have been extremely proud to have helped on this task and it has given me real experience in business. My colleague and I were required to think like board members and department members in order to assess what is necessary for the reporting system. Although it is still a work in process, it has since been very rewarding.
In terms of traveling, this past weekend I went to Prague. Prague was fantastic! Although touristy, it was an extremely beautiful city. We traveled to the Charles Bridge, and took a short hike up the hill where all the restaurants are. We also checked out the square where the castle and churches are located.
It was such a great view from up top! There were three churches; each was different but mostly all had a renaissance feel to them. The roads were mostly, if not all, cobblestone, which added to the “old-time” feel that was present in this small, yet cozy city. We passed by a street that featured a lot of medieval gear, which was really cool. The nightlife in Prague is somewhat commercialized- companies are available to help tourists find out where to go and how to have a set plan for the night, which is really cool. All in all, it was a great trip. This following weekend I will be traveling to Milan/Cinque Terre which I am very excited for.
Wesley
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