Internship-Experience

X-change Stories and Programme Introduction:

Since its founding in 1948 AIESEC has been organising and facilitating the international exchange of students. Each year AIESEC members go on internships all over the world in order to gain professional experience, to heighten their cultural sensibility and to make new friends. This subsection of our website introduces AIESEC's international internship programme and features some of the experiences AIESECers made on their exchanges in the last few years.

 

Internship Experiences

Articles

 

Carmen:

In the plane I realized that I will arrive in a country where I not only don’t know the language but also where I don’t know anybody. It was the first time that I realized that I am doing such a crazy thing… but it was already too late to do something (which was good).

I discovered a country more beautiful than I imagined and very friendly people.

For several reasons I couldn’t do an internship before and now I am sorry. But on the other hand I think that coming to Austria was the best choice for me, so it deserved to wait so much. If I have the chance to choose an internship again I will choose Linz, Austria again. The AIESECers here are very friendly and you can feel that they are like a family. I hope that the new team will have the same energy, motivation and power to do their job.

 

Next week I will go home. I have a lot of memories to put into my luggage, things that will be always in my mind. I learnt a lot of things but I believe the most important thing is that I must find my motivation and to remember it daily (thanks Julia).

MULTUMESC = THANK YOU AIESEC Linz!

 

Kyle:

So far, I have had a really enjoyable experience here in Austria. If I have trouble with language, I can always call them, and I am always welcome to come up to Linz to hang out, sight see, or party with them.  My job has also allowed me the opportunity to work with a team of partners from all over Europe, giving me valuable cross-cultural communication skills, as well as enhancing my understanding of the European community.

 

My host family has also been very welcoming, and my connection with them has allowed me to enjoy many great Austrian dishes, many of which I will miss when I go back to Canada (especially the knödel, wurst, and beer, though the last isn’t exactly food!)

 

 

 

 

Steven:

How time flies! It has been a month in Linz. To be frank, I felt a bit nervous and fidgeting about my first journey abroad since I expected too many differences will hit upon me. However, actually the people, or the AIESECers in Linz LC drove away my worries on the first day as I saw Marion and Stefan’s smiling faces in the airport. Together with AIESECers, we traveled to some beautiful places in Austria such as Innsbruck and Melk, where I am amazed by the beautiful sceneries in Austria. Beyond that, together with Carmen and Marina, we three formed a triangle for the school project and we rotated ourselves in different school. I feel greatly grateful to the hospitality and the experience Linz gave me. It is definitely my first, and the most important hometown out of my motherland.

There is still one month to go and I am anticipating to prolonging my precious journey in Linz, in Austria.

 

 

 

 

Marina:

 

Each day I spent in Linz I became more convinced that I chose one of the best things ever: to have an opportunity to grow on a personal, professional and on a cultural level. Something that is happening to me all the time during this internship is when I try to think about the differences between Brazil and Austria: how is the life style in each country, the celebrations, food, weather, money, culture... These comparisons help me to understand how important diversity is and how nice it is to meet people from all over the world, living with different habbits and beliefs everyday.

Hope that many people can come to Linz and have a great time as I'm experiencing now!

 

Thank you all and... Um grande abraço brasileiro!

 

 


 

Marlene:

 


My name is Marlene and I am a student of economics at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz.

 

I did a development traineeship in a Non Profit Organisation (NPO) for three months in Brazil through AIESEC.

The Non Profit Organisation CASEPAFE – Centro de Assistencia Evangelico Palavre da fé takes care of 300 families and a kinder garden with 100 children. The organisation includes five centres - four of them take care ofth e families by accompanying to write the documents and to help by sending them staple food. The kinder garden is the fifth centre of the organisation. Educators and assistant professors help and teach the children provident.

Beside the study of economics it was a great experience for me to work in a social area. I got connected to the families and children and I learned a lot about their culture and about myself too.

Many thanks to the “Land OÖ” with a great support which helps to realise the project in CASEPAFE. Many thanks to the members of the organisation CASEPAFE because the provided me the possibility to learn more about social areas and I got a lot of inspiration there. Thank them!