‘I hope that in seven months' time - at the end of my internship in Copenhagen - I can look back on an instructive and enjoyable time.’
New York, Shanghai or Colombia - the list of places that economics students choose for an internship abroad is long. But why travel to the other side of the world when you can gain practical experience in a neighbouring country? Anna-Lena is leading the way: She completed her IBS degree in Paderborn in the summer and decided to build on her knowledge with an internship abroad.
The digital application process
She used LinkedIn to search specifically for international internships and applied for suitable job advertisements in digital marketing. Due to the physical distance, the application process was different than usual: ‘If the companies liked my application, I was invited to a digital interview. I was able to get a first impression of the other person.’ Anna-Lena had her first interview with her current boss in May and was accepted to start her internship in September a month later. ‘I got to know the team in two interviews and there was an immediate match from both sides,’ she says, looking back on the application phase, so Anna-Lena travelled to Copenhagen around twelve weeks ago.
Travelling to Copenhagen with just one suitcase
She broke up her shared flat in Paderborn and travelled to Denmark with just one suitcase in search of accommodation. Although she had already tried her luck from Germany, the search for a flat turned out to be more difficult than expected: ‘Most of the landlords and flatmates in the shared flats wanted to get to know each other personally.’ After just a few days, however, Anna-Lena found a small furnished tiny house about half an hour away from her internship. She furnished it with a few little things and added her own personal touch to her new home. With a roof over her head, her adventure in Copenhagen could begin. The capital of Denmark is known for its royal palaces, the many colourful houses on Nvhavn harbour and the Tivoli amusement park. Denmark is also ‘cosy’ and culturally much closer to the 23-year-old's home than other countries in the world. ‘When you know that you can reach home in a few hours by train, it gives you a very good feeling, especially at the beginning.’
Discussing the day's tasks over coffee
The former IBS student is completing her internship at a start-up company that has been selling posters in a Scandinavian minimalist design since 2018. The start-up's Nordic-inspired posters are designed by various artists from all over the world. ‘The company is characterised by the fact that a tree is planted for every poster purchased,’ says Anna-Lena, who remains enthusiastic about the company's philosophy. And she can also learn a lot and help make decisions. She sees the reason for this in the ‘non-fixed structures’ that characterise the young company. ‘Everyone arrives relaxed in the morning and we have a coffee together before we talk about the day's plans,’ she says, describing the start of a typical working day. Two days a week, she meets with her colleagues in the office in Copenhagen at half past nine in the morning to discuss important tasks and submissions for the days ahead.
Everyday life as an intern, initial fears and dealing with the authorities
Anna-Lena is primarily responsible for the start-up's German Instagram account, so her tasks range from content creation to collaboration management with influencers and other brands. She also creates posts that are played out via the international channels. In general, Anna-Lena speaks almost exclusively English in her day-to-day internship: ‘This is where my IBS degree and my time abroad in the USA after graduating from high school come in handy.’ Although her stay in the USA was almost five years ago, looking back on it before she started her internship took away some of her fears: ‘I knew from back then that nothing bad would happen and that I could only continue to grow.’ Despite these positive experiences, the 23-year-old was surprised by the open-mindedness of the Danes and was able to quickly get to know people and make friends. And once the ‘nerve-wracking’ administrative procedures were ticked off after the first few weeks, Anna-Lena was able to enjoy her stay in Denmark without any worries and embrace the new impressions. ‘The Danes are much more relaxed than us Germans, so people are on first-name terms everywhere and with everyone. It's also no big deal if you turn up at work an hour late,’ she says, describing her impressions of the past few weeks. It is also customary in Denmark to have a drink with your colleagues on Friday after work and plan joint events outside the office.
Excited about the next seven months
Unlike in her home town of Beckum or her university town of Paderborn, Anna-Lena has been able to visit Christmas markets in Copenhagen since the beginning of November and get in the mood for Christmas. She will be spending the festive season in Germany with her family and is therefore all the happier that she has decided to do an internship abroad ‘nearby’. ‘In Copenhagen, I can continue to improve my English, gain practical experience abroad, get to know a new culture and people - all while being able to reach home by train at any time.’ Anna-Lena is therefore keen to emphasise that the quality and benefits of an experience abroad are not defined by the distance from home. The 23-year-old now wants to enjoy the next seven months to the full and then think about where she might want to go. At the moment, she would not rule out Copenhagen as a location for a part-time Master's degree - so it remains exciting to see where Anna-Lena will end up by the end of her internship in June 2023. Nevertheless, she has one wish: ‘I hope that next year I can look back on many valuable experiences and an instructive time.’
Anna-Lena has compiled this checklist for you so that you are perfectly prepared for a longer stay abroad:
- Be open to new things! If you have the wrong basic attitude, you'll ruin your start!
- Embrace cultural differences and open up your international perspective, as you were taught during your studies!
- No module will teach you what you experience abroad!
- Make sure you have enough storage space on your mobile phone for lots of photos and videos! I'm going to edit a review for every month
You want that too?
Discover the diversity of economics in our Bachelor's degree programmes. Each degree programme usually lasts six semesters and prepares you for a career start or a postgraduate Master's degree.
More information about the Bachelor's degree programme in International Business Studies.
Anna-Lena's time in Copenhagen
