09. March 2020

Monika Köstinger

Moscow, Kiev or Croatia after all? Get out of the study routine and into the working world - at least for a trial period.

Every year, students on the Bachelor's degree programme in International Business Relations put their acquired knowledge to the test in international companies. They gain valuable experience from their compulsory work placements in Central and Eastern Europe. Where exactly does the journey take them? That depends on the additional CEE language chosen during the programme.

Two at a stroke in Moscow and Kiev

Sigrid Rudischer decided in favour of Russian. It was therefore clear where her journey would take her. But that wasn't enough - the motivated student wanted to make the most of her opportunities and completed two internships. One in Moscow and one in Kiev. This enabled her to deepen her language skills and gain extraordinary experience.

Student Sigrid Rudischer in Lviv (Lemberg)

Ukraine and Russia are as different as night and day, even when it comes to language. That's exactly what I wanted.

Sigrid Rudischer, student on the Bachelor's degree programme in International Economic Relations

Sigrid started her internship abroad at New Century Cleaning in Moscow. After a varied familiarisation phase, during which she got to know the company better, her main tasks included acquiring new customers and looking after existing customers and groups. In Kiev, she supported the WKO team in the foreign trade centre in cooperations with companies, looked after the Austrian stand at trade fairs and was responsible for various project management tasks, programme design and presentations.

How did the internships come about?

Sigrid didn't have to look around for long. She became aware of interesting companies offering internships on campus in Eisenstadt. For the internship at New Century Cleaning, for example, there was an advert at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences. She didn't have to look far for the internship in Kiev either. Every year, students who have returned home give a presentation about their internships abroad and talk about their experiences. Sigrid's attention was drawn to the Kiev Foreign Trade Centre. As the centre has always taken on new interns in recent years, it was her first choice and she applied for it without further ado.

About the companies

Новый Век Клининг - New Century Cleaning offers professional cleaning services for office, industrial and retail spaces in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The company was founded in 2009 and currently employs around 60 people.
The Kiev Foreign Trade Centre is a branch office of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. Around ten employees advise Austrian companies on their foreign business, provide relevant information, liaise with the authorities and other public bodies in Ukraine and help with legal issues, business start-ups and networking.

Sigrid also had no problems finding accommodation. In Moscow, she stayed with a friend of her Russian teacher at the time and commuted an hour a day to her internship. This proved to be a major challenge every day.

"Although the metro ran every 30 seconds, there were crowds of people everywhere. It felt like there was always jostling. You can imagine it like sardines in a tin. There were people everywhere 24/7 and it was usually a bit stressful."

In Kiev, however, the student found an Airbnb flat for herself, which was only five minutes away from her internship.

"Everything worked smoothly here, even when the toilet leaked, help arrived immediately. I had my own retreat and it wasn't as stressful and the atmosphere was more pleasant than in Moscow."

Special moments and experiences

"I got to know other mentalities, I was seen as part of the whole and everyone was always very friendly. As very few people could speak English, I was forced to speak Russian or Ukrainian and I really benefited from that. My language skills got better and better."

The young student enjoyed her time in Kiev the most. "The city was quieter, there were more parks and fewer people."

Sigrid was also able to make better use of her free time. She explored the country on spontaneous trips and learnt to appreciate the importance of ballet during visits to the opera.

"Although I was never a ballet fan, I was really carried away by the atmosphere and the enthusiasm. A ticket costs only €20-30 and offers a special cultural experience."

Of course, there were also some low points

"Where have I landed?" was my first thought at the airport in Moscow. Starting with the strict passport control, purely Russian announcements and typical communist-style uniforms, I was initially very put off. The fact that I was almost crushed every day on the metro on my way to work wasn't particularly pleasant either."

Nevertheless, she persevered and made the best of it.

Conclusion

During an internship abroad, you gain a lot of interesting experiences and get to know yourself better.

"You get out of your comfort zone, get to know new sides of yourself and grow beyond yourself." Thanks to Moscow, for example, Sigrid is now very hardened when it comes to crowds. "I now have a completely different image of the term 'crowd' in my head than before. I can now cope much better with crowds of people."

Tips

Obtain all information in good time. The earlier you start, the better. Because if you need to apply for a visa, you should have planned enough lead time.

"If you have any questions or need help finding accommodation, don't hesitate to ask the company you have applied to for help. There are always solutions."

Just try it out for yourself, regardless of what others say.

"Get ideas and think about where you want to go. But don't be put off by the opinions of others and just go for it yourself. Because nobody is the same."

More than just work experience in Zagreb

Student Sophie Hoffmann also knew from the outset that she wanted to complete her internship in Croatia. She decided in favour of the Croatian language. It was clear to her from the outset that it would be the capital Zagreb. The old city always attracts young minds with its Mediterranean flair and traditional culture.

How did the internship come about?

Sophie sent several applications to companies in the popular city. This is how the student landed her internship at Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d.

As I chose to specialise in marketing and sales during my studies, I am glad that I was able to gain experience in the finance and marketing department of a large international company.

Sophie Hoffmann, student on the Bachelor's degree programme in International Economic Relations

In the finance department, she was given extensive insights and introductions to controlling, reporting, private banking, brokerage, etc. She soon began producing numerous reports and analyses herself. She soon ended up creating numerous reports and analyses herself. In Marketing, she was able to participate in workshops, focus group discussions and case studies, take part in a video shoot for the new Raiffeisen concept, prepare events and much more.

About the company

Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. was founded in Croatia in 1994 and offers comprehensive banking and financial services. In 78 branches, around 1982 employees of Raiffeisenbank Austria serve around 500,000 customers.

Finding accommodation turned out to be difficult for Sophie. An external organisation that looks after foreign students and language students in Croatia was actually responsible for this. However, the organisation couldn't find anything suitable and so she had to search for it herself.

"It was very stressful and nerve-wracking to find something at such short notice."

A week before the internship was due to start, the ideal opportunity arose through acquaintances and Sophie moved into a cosy flat. Even though finding a flat turned out to be a low point for the time being, Sophie was not deterred and the situation was definitely instructive.

Special moments and experiences

"I gained a lot of positive experience in Zagreb and, above all, developed a lot of self-confidence. It was important for me to take on this challenge and it was worth it in many ways. Zagreb is a special city with wonderful architecture and culture, is manageable and has its own flair."

One highlight for Sophie was that she was able to be on set during a commercial shoot for Raiffeisen.

"It was exciting to be able to look behind the scenes of such a production."

But she also found taking part in various focus group discussions exciting.

Conclusion

Sophie would definitely choose her internship again and again. She is very proud of the fact that she went abroad on her own.

"All the employees were very helpful, they also gave me a lot of responsibility, I was able to prove myself and the environment was really great."

There was no homesickness either, as she was rarely alone at the weekends.

"Zagreb is only four hours away from home and offers a real holiday atmosphere. My family and friends were therefore very happy to take the opportunity to visit me."