I am currently working in an international office of THWS, Germany which has strategic partnership agreement with TAMK. My traineeship mainly focuses on media and design related tasks. My day-to-day task generally includes assisting in projects of international office. I assist or sometimes independently work on designing concepts, materials, and visualizing the data or concept for better communication within the office. I even got to assist in video production tasks and research related tasks which were completely new to me.
My work here is flexible and self-initiative. I sometimes just come up with my own project idea and work closely with my supervisor and colleagues. Although I do tasks, I am already familiar with, I am also happy that I get a chance to try and experiment with tasks that are new to my knowledge, giving me a chance to grow. I am happy that I got to learn about university networks and projects related to European organizations and academic sectors.
I spend most of my spare time traveling to nearby or sometimes far cities in Germany. My travel goal was to explore more inside Germany. I see lots of similarities in cities that if something looks slightly unique, I notice that immediately. When not traveling, I spend time with friends, either going to clubs, parties or just picnics. Dorm parties are popular here! If not hanging out with friends, I love to go for a run in the beautiful nature.
German working culture is different to Finland in a way that there is a hierarchy in the working environment. People, when first meeting or in formal events, refer to each other with formal language and titles and avoid first name. Although there is flexibility in work and life, there are rules and regulations that must be followed, perhaps, even tighter than Finland. Another thing I have noticed is German lunch hours are late around 12:00 to 13:00 and people rarely have coffee breaks. Most people start working early around 7:00.
In everyday life, although people try to enjoy their leisure time, because of early retail closing hours and silent Sundays, things must be managed on time. I rarely see people on street on Sundays.
Everything seems to run by structure, rules and formality here unlike Finland, which put more emphasis on laid-back and relaxed lifestyle.
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