Experience a real Danish workplace for the first time

Starting from the first day of my internship, I’m actively involved in all the activities. I’ve already visited companies on my first week, held the kick-off meeting of the project I’m working on, had dinner with the management including the mayor of Vesthimmerland Municipality and discovered the natural treasures of the area.

I’ve just started to get involved in the Danish society. I’ve spent the first year in a completely international setting because of the diverse class at the university and now I’m suddenly dropped into a Danish workplace surrounded by Danes talking in Danish at lunch and coffee breaks – not to mention that my computer is installed in Danish – luckily I don’t need to set up complicated formulas in excel!

 

Connecting people - the Go Vest project I'm working on

The project I’m doing my internship in is called Go Vest.

Go Vest aims to connect the companies located in Vesthimmerland municipality with highly educated international professionals. Vesthimmerland is abundant in companies from various fields in high need of labor. The area nearby is also rich in knowledgeable foreign workforce with diverse backgrounds due to the number of universities.

However, they are concentrated in the urban areas and as originated from other countries than Denmark, they might lack the local network and face language barriers. This program intends to cover this gap and link companies with skilled professionals to fill in knowledge-intensive positions. We are also working on making companies ready to receive foreign labor and get foreign candidates to discover Vesthimmerland as an attractive workplace.

I enjoy that my tasks regarding all of this are very diverse, ranging from creating marketing content to organizing events and mentoring the new candidates.

 

Being an international candidate in Denmark - you're not alone!

I’m really excited to be part of such a great initiative as the Go Vest Project is.

As an international student in Denmark I can very much identify myself with the situation of the candidates of the project, so I can contribute from a different level, and I hope that it will make the program even more effective.

I understand the difficulties an international student faces from the beginning, experiencing a different environment in all walks of life. Meeting the requirements of a different educational system, finding a student job and working in parallel with studying doesn’t give much time to learn Danish.

But I also know that it doesn’t mean international students don’t want to learn Danish and that these people have left their countries and their comfort zones to develop. They are ready to make a change and willing to work hard.

I also consider myself as an ambassador of the project, working at Erhverv Væksthimmerland as the first international intern and I feel strong commitment to set a great example and to show the companies the additional value an international employee can bring to them.

 

This is just the first step in my career in Denmark

This internship is an important step in my career in Denmark as it not only contributes to my professional experience but also allows me to develop a local network, which is inevitable in Denmark. This, I’ve learnt thanks to the Young Professionals in Denmark programme – and I also experienced it myself. Actually, it was through my network in Young Professionals in Denmark, I got this internship!

Besides that, my internship helps me learn Danish, which cannot be highlighted enough how important it is in Denmark to find your place on the job market and to get integrated into the society.

Not so many people can tell that they love what they do – at least in my home country – so I appreciate that now I am one of them. I’m grateful that I’ve found a workplace where people are that motivated, open to new ideas, supportive, plus have a good sense of humor. Their encouragement gives a great motivation to learn the language and to perform my best every day.