2. As an AIESEC intern your goal of your stay abroad is
not only to successfully complete the internship, but
also to learn more about yourself and the foreign
culture.
Introduction
3. You want to develop personally.
Thus, AIESEC provides a good opportunity. With your
buddies and the Local Committees - of your home
country and your exchange country - you have a lot of
people who are ready to help you in every
situation/problem that might come up.
Introduction
4. However, you are here to learn and not only to hand
over responsibilities and to take the easy way...
Of course some problems can‘t and shouldn‘t be solved
without help but many difficult situations that will come
up during your stay can be solved by yourself.
Introduction
5. To explain why you should take this opportunity and
become a more „solution oriented“ person, this
presentation will first
• lead you through the background of this characteristic
and
• also will provide some scenarios and possible
solutions to them.
Introduction
6. Background
The Leadership
Development Model (LDM)
AIESEC has a vision of
peace and fulfilment of
humankind‘s potential. As
an AIESEC intern, your role
in this vision is to become a
leader, who will be able to
address world issues.
7. Background
AIESEC develops essential
characteristics in a young
person to start life-long
leadership journey. The
LDM consists of these four
characteristics:
Empowering others, World
citizen, self aware and
solution oriented.
8. What does BEING SOLUTION
ORIENTED mean?
Person who adapts and shows
resilience in the face of challenges.
Person who transmits positivity
through uncertainty.
Person who takes risks when it
is needed.
9. Why should I be a solution
oriented person?
If problems come up, you as a leader
should be able to stand up and not only
find a solution for it but also to put it to
practice. Even when the more
comfortable way would be to hand over
your problem to someone else.
Part of being an adult is that people expect you to take
decisions and the responsibilities for these.
10. Like Thomas Edison – the inventor of
light bulbs – said:
„ Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work.“
So take the opportunity and be solution
oriented by taking the opportunity to first
try to find a solution for your problem on
your own.
11. Reflection Space – Ask yourself
The following Scenarios are some
examples of what might happen
during your stay in Germany.
Before you go through them, please
ask yourself some general questions
and note down your thoughts.
12. Why am I doing the internship with AIESEC?
What do I want to achieve during my
internship?
What kind of person do I want to be after my
stay abroad?
What kind of key-learnings will I experience?
What may be the biggest difficulty for me in
Germany?
Reflection Space – Ask yourself
14. Case A:
You have had several conflicts with your room mate and
anyway you don‘t like the room AIESEC organised for
you. You really feel unsatisfied with your whole living
situation. What do you do?
Note down your action steps!*
*suggested solutions will be presented at the end
15. Case B:
In the first two months of your internship you always
get the same easy and boring tasks. You don‘t feel
challenged enough. You actually wanted to learn a lot
during your internship and had expected more of it.
How do you handle the situation?
What would you do?
16. Case C:
You are ill and can‘t go to work. You decide to go see a
doctor. The receptionist in the hospital tells you to pay
180€ for the treatment. You know you are insured at the
DAAD. On your smartphone is still the mail you got from
the reception team with all your insurance documents.
How will you handle the situation?
Will you pay?
17. Case D:
You wanted to meet your buddy at the cinema but
unfortunatly your phone credit is empty and you neither
know the way to the cinema nor do you know the phone
number of your buddy.
What do you do, to get to the cinema on time?
19. Case A
As it is very difficult and very time intensive to find a
new apartment you always should at first try to arrange
yourself with the situation. Many problems with interns
accommodations come up because of cultural
differences. Sometimes it is just a question of adapting
and adjusting with your new living conditions. Be open
minded and be ready to make compromises.
Talk to your room mate about your issue, tell them in a
polite way what is annoying you and also come up with
possible solutions to your problems.
20. If the first two don‘t work, contact your buddy and the
Reception Team and tell them that you are willing to
move to a new accommodation.
Google is your friend! Search for websites for
apartment searching. Many can be used in English,
too. Buddy and Reception Team may also help you to
understand the adverts and also can accompany you to
apartment sightseeings and castings.
Case A
21. Talk to your buddy/iGIP Team/Reception Team, they
can give you advice on how to approach your boss
about your issue. As there may be some typical
German polite phrases you should follow
Talk to your employer and ask for the reason why you
get these tasks and if it is possible to give you some
more challenging responsibilities
Come up with examples of what you would like to do
and why you are qualified to work on them
Case B
22. If your requests get considered don‘t forgot to thank
for this opportunity and to proof your employer that he
made the right decision
If nothing changes after your talk, then it might be an
option to take an AIESEC member with you to find a
solution together with them
Case B
23. Always call your office to tell them that you are ill and
that you can’t come to work. When you are at the
doctor also ask for a medical certificate that you can
give your employer to proof that you were ill.
You may have thought that because of your insurance
you don‘t have to pay but by having a look at your
insurance papers you will see that you have to pay at
first but you get it back when you apply for repayment
at the DAAD.
Case C
24. Therefore you have to ask for a receipt and also keep
the original.
If you have problems to fill out the application form for
repayment you can still ask for help directly at the
reception desk in the hospital or you ask your buddy to
help you
Case C
25. If it is before 8pm: stores are still open, try to find one
which sells phone credits.
If there is none or if it’s after 8pm and stores are closed:
ask people on the street or bus drivers to help you.
If they don‘t speak English: use hand and feet to
explain what you mean or use a German dictionary app
on your phone.
Case D
26. Ask someone on the street to use their phone to call
someone whose number you know by heart, so that he
can contact your buddy via Facebook etc. to tell them
that you are lost and might be late
Or ask them to Google the route to the cinema. Take a
photo with your smartphone to remember the way or
write down the directions
Case D
28. Informing yourself about laws and rules in Germany
before your stay will help you in a lot of situations.
If you have a smartphone, download apps that will help
you when you are lost (dictionary, roadmaps, public
transport, etc.)
Keep all the information material and important
receipts, maybe also scan them, in case you have to
proof your point
Takeaways
29. Inform AIESEC about problems, but also show that
you are already taking actions to solve them and don‘t
just hand them over.
If you need help from others it is always a question of
how you ask for help. People are more willing to offer
their time to you when you are polite and proactive.
Takeaways
