Internship in Paris – Field Report in Pandemic Times

Every year, our bachelor's students in the 6th semester have the opportunity to put their theoretical knowledge to the test in the real world. Many of our students find employment directly as a result of the internship. However, the pandemic and its restrictions bring new challenges here as well.

Lea Stelzer took on these challenges in the summer semester of 2021 and gained important experience in the process. She completed her internship with the French communications and IT service provider Orange Business Services in Paris and was able to report many positive things about her time there despite the special circumstances.

“The most essential learning achievement for me was probably the ability to interact and work in such a global and multicultural environment. I had to deal with language difficulties, different time zones and different weekend-schedules (eg. in the Arabic countries). This was a unique experience and I'm glad I had the opportunity to work for such a big and diverse company.”

Like many of our students in the last two years, Lea spent her internship experience in home office. This circumstance was certainly not always easy for her, but it also significantly improved her "time management skills". In addition, she was able to fit in well with her team despite social distancing.
“Even though I was the only intern in the Legal department, I didn't feel lonely or lost, because my colleagues treated me like a "full" employee from the first day on. I was included in many Skype meetings, in pricing negotiations, in team building activities and in the normal day-to-day business.”

In addition to enhancing her language skills, Lea was also able to take away personal growth from her experience.

“Another lesson learned is for sure that I should be proud of what I did more often. My colleagues appreciated me a lot and I got lovely feedback from them. I made the best out of my 13 weeks in Paris and my personal horizon got definitely bigger. (Not to mention my endless love for this beautiful city which also increased a lot!)”

Not only for the aforementioned reasons, a professional internship while studying, is an important asset for our students. Being able to list such experience on your resume is definitely an advantage. We also proudly followed Lea's future path, who is now working at PwC Austria in Vienna. We congratulate her warmly on this success and thank her very much for allowing us to share this valuable internship experience!