Our aim is to show young people new perspectives and to increase their mobility in the EU through the internationalization of training, be it for educational purposes or to take up a job. We try to enable our interns to have an authentic and instructive professional experience and ensure that the stay, the encounters here on site and the evaluation of intercultural events contribute to better understanding and to relativizing one's own prejudices.
Thanks to our projects, many companies have found qualified young people and some internship participants have found a way towards a professional future. Hence we also ensure that international networking and thus the growing together of Europe progresses.
In order to make an internship or another international training program possible, we act on different levels.
Step 1: At the beginning of such a project, a partnership with a foreign training provider or an NGO is established. We provide comprehensive advice to partners who do not have much experience with funding applications, clarify the specifics and challenges of an internship abroad, and help with the preparation of a funding application.
Step 2: After a positive funding decision, the organizational preparation of the project begins on our side. This includes safeguarding the logistical aspects such as accommodation, meals, mobility with public transport and of course the search of companies that are willing to receive one or more interns. On the part of our partner, the selection and preparation of future internship participants and travel planning take place in parallel. The preparation builds on the already existing practical skills of the participants and usually consists of linguistic, intercultural and regional components.
Step 3: The internship participants arrive in Dresden and we welcome them at the airport or the train station. This usually takes place on the Sunday immediately before the start of the internship. We instruct the participants, take an orientation walk and explain how public transport works in Dresden. Equipped with a connection print-out and a route network map, the first task is to arrive at the company on time on Monday. Most of the time it works quite well. At their companies the interns will receive a guided tour through the facilities and get to know their tasks and fellow colleagues. Of course we accompany them on their first day to answer questions and translate when necessary.
We are happy to translate the occupational safety instructions and the briefing on the tasks, because - even if we assume that communication in everyday work - we absolutely want to make sure that everything has been understood.
During the internship, the independence of the interns is very important to us since it is the aim of the program to increase the mobility of the apprentices. For this reason, the interns themselves make all the arrangements necessary for a well-functioning workflow. If there are any difficulties, we are available to both the companies and the interns in all matters relating to the internship.
We also offer evaluation rounds and an individual cultural program. The former ensures that everything runs smoothly, the latter rounds off the stay and supplements the professional aspects with impressions from the region.