In UniKey we are developing and piloting an online training for trans-border SME interns which will help them reflect on important aspects of the entrepreneurial skill-set such as confidentiality, ethics, patents, self-organisation and intercultural issues. Participants will complete tasks about their own placement as well as working with interns in other countries on joint collaborative tasks. In this way participants will learn both from their own internship and that of others.
A foreign internship can be a great addition to the CV but as with all learning experiences it has more value if it is facilitated in some way. The two year Uni-Key project, supported by the European Union, encourages students to seek internships in small and medium-sized (SME) companies where they will have a greater chance to witness global entrepreneurship in action as well as having a closer connection to the person who drives the business. Not only that, but to ensure the process is mutually beneficial the UniKey project is exploring ways in which the intern can bring relevant new developments from their home university to the internship.
The first pilot will start in October and you can sign up now if you already know that you will be an intern at that time. We even have suggestions for possible internships which don’t have to be within Europe. One interesting possibility is to work at Godding and Godding near Hoedspruit, the Kruger Park area in South Africa. This company produces high quality silk products for personal use such as bed linen, towels and night clothes. And having just returned from Hoedspruit where I visited the Godding and Godding shop I can vouch for both the quality of the products and the fascination of the location.
Do business from a global perspective!