Exchange of experiences - Reports from ERASMUS interns

Every ERASMUS- and LEONARDO-trainee has to hand in a report at the end of his or her internship, writing about the experiences and impressions in his or her host-company and also about the people and their culture in that foreign country.

From all those reports handed in, here you will find a selection of the most interesting, which will provide you an insight into working and living in different countries. Here you can find reports sorted by country which you can browse and should give you a first impression of your possibly future host-country.

If you want further information about a specific internship, we are happy to get you in contact with alumni of the LEONARDO-office Brandenburg may it be via e-mail or in a personal meeting

  Belgium

• Wolvertem | Sarens NV
  "... The Sarens group provides services for sectors such as the oil & gas, coal and gas power plants, nuclear power plants, civil works, wind turbine power plants (both onshore and offshore), Mining and maintenance services. The services provided could range from engineered lifting or transportation of heavy equipment, equipment lease or rental, engineering and technical services. ..."

  Denmark

• Hjortshoj | INFORSE-EU
  "... The work at the company was quite interesting as they were working on newsletters, publications on sustainable Energy and 100% renewable Energy vision. What took my attention the most was the 100% Renewable Energy for all and they were working on different scenarios proving its possible. ..."

  Finland

• Joensuu | Arbonaut
  "... Tasks and project performed by me were really beneficial for my experience and future career. I had the possibility to use newest GIS, remote sensing and CAD software in real international level projects. What is more, it was an extension and practical opportunity to use the knowledge of my academical major. ..."

  France

• Paris | UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  "... Although I was always given clear instructions about the work I also had the freedom for small creative interventions. Moreover, as an intern I was allowed to attend almost all staff member's meetings which were particular interesting since I gained insight into the internal problems of the organisation. ..."


• Toulouse | AIRBUS S.A.S.
  "... From the very beginning I was surprised with the professional level and with the diversity of nationalities, backgrounds and skills of the Power8+ Core-Team (internal consultancy team) with whom I got a chance to work. The team consists of 10 persons mostly from Germany, France, and Spain. Due to high diversity of projects they work on, I was able to learn a lot about the different departments of the organization and even participate in projects I was interested in. ..."


• Paris | UNESCO World Heritage Center
  "... After few months, and once I gain the trust of my colleagues at the Unit, I could carry out other daily assignments that allowed me to know the rest of the Latin American and Caribbean Unit team. Knowing the organization's official languages helped me to participate in the elaboration of official letters to the different countries that the Unit has to deal with. Such activity allowed me to learn how the organization communicates with the implicated countries through the embassies, the national delegations, and other diplomatic agencies. ..."


• Paris | International Council of Museums
  "... The official languages of ICOM are English, French and Spanish, all of which I was familiar to a certain degree before my internship. However, the use of languages in a working environment and the use of specialized terminology that is relevant to the projects in which I was involved in definitely contributed to the improvement of my language skills. ..."


• Paris | UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  "... The internship at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been an extraordinary experience for me in order to comprehend the vast diversity of issues related to World Heritage. I also had the chance to expand my network of contacts with people of the field. This might be helpful for my professional career after finishing my Master Programme at BTU-Cottbus. ..."

  Latvia

• Riga | Baltic Environment Forum (BAF) Latvia
  "... Throughout the duration of my internship I was assigned to the Climate change and energy division and contributed to the Energy efficient and Ecological Housing (EcoHousing) project. The department is dealing with the implementation of different EU targets and regulations while promoting an environmentally and economically efficient sustainable energy development. ..."

  Norway

• Oslo | Norwegian Institute for Water Research
  "... First of all, I met my first and second supervisor from the research section (Dr. Ian Allan and Christopher Harman), and in a first meeting we figured out which qualifications I would bring with me from my bachelor studies. We concluded that my skills from studying Environmental and Resource Management at the BTU Cottbus were good but quite basic, in particular I had no pre-knowledge on passive sampling at all and my practical laboratory skills were poor. ..."

  Poland

• Gliwice | PROFARB
  "... My arrival was an astonishing and well pleasing. I was received at the Gliwice train station by a member from the Local Committee Gliwice and two other trainees from Spain. I was really please to know them and was taking down to Politechnika Slaska, Gliwice students’ Dormitory (Electron) where I meet other students of the university as well as other fellow trainees and IAESTE members. The accommodation was not a problem as I taught but got my room key, beddings and other things I needed in the room upon arrival (same day) and it was very cheap (290 PLN per month). ..."

  Spain

• Madrid | United Nations World Tourism Organisation / Risk and Crisis Dept.
  "... I was given all the supervision I needed, while at the same time being encouraged to work independently. My projects were evaluated and either revised or used straight away. I consider my biggest accomplishment during the internship to be helping to prepare the publication Toolbox on Crisis Communications. ..."


• Madrid | United Nations World Tourism Organisation
  "... It was a great opportunity to learn how to use the official and diplomatic yet clear and constructive language. ..."


• Madrid | Toyota Insurance Management
  "... I have learned how to coordinate a project and received a general view of how a company is functioning. ..."

  Turkey

• Istanbul | Panel Elektro SAN
  "... After exchanging pleasantries and brief introductions, I was told what is expected of me concerning my training: I will be assisting the Business and Sales Department in the area of tender documents preparation, especially those in English Language. I will also assist in the selection of components in the design and manufacturing of different types of Electrical switchboards depending on the applications. ..."

  United Kingdom

• Edinburgh | National Trust for Scotland/Gladstone's Land
  "... Working together with the team at the property also gave me an insight in the challenges of day-to-day heritage and conservation management. I also discovered the importance of guiding as a tool for heritage education and interpretation for different categories of visitors ..."


• London | Qasimi Cassimi Ltd.
  "... My workplace, the office, was in a big studio, where all the pattern cutter and seamstresses work. Even the fittings and meetings are in this studio. Because of that you have a really good overview about the work inside the studio. That means for me, I had the chance to get to know everyone very well. ..."