By  Liisa-Brett Sonnenberg

Since the first year in Metropolia Business School, I always felt how our professors were encouraging us to take challenges by participating in international projects, going for an exchange or completing internships abroad. Well, I can say that they were successful with me, because I followed all their recommendations and after every challenge, I was even hungrier for a new dare.

After I returned to Helsinki from my exchange in Paris, France, I started to look for internship options abroad. After finalizing my 5^th semester, I was heading to Barcelona, Spain where I did my internship for SAP with a position for Assisting Account Executive in the South African Market. In addition, I signed a contract for the Early Talent program, meaning that my main work was to support Account Executives with their daily tasks and also complete compulsory week training with other people who belonged to the Early Talent program.

One of the weekly team meetings with our Early Talents

Having the opportunity to work for the South African market was an incredible experience and I was truly lucky for having this chance. During this 6-month period, I learned a lot about the tech industry, African market, how complex sales are done from a long distance and how big corporations collaborate through the partner network. I participated in multiple training, prepared marketing campaigns and of course met many interesting people.

During this period, I saw 2 quarter closings and learned what this really means for a business and for an individual. For someone just graduating from a university, work in this kind of environment can be quite overwhelming, as the daily stress, work requirements, and expectations are relatively high. Regardless, I would truly recommend this to anyone who wants to challenge themselves and really put the knowledge learned in the university into a practice.

                  SAP office in Barcelona is modern and has a great environment for working. Amazing view is a nice bonus.

I am truly happy for all the support that it has always been provided in Metropolia Business School for those who wanted to gain an international experience. I hope our professors keep on motivating students also in the future to take opportunities such as exchange programs or internships abroad.