A group of Arts & Science students completed online internships this summer and though they weren’t able to travel to Germany due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their language skills and potential career options still took off.
Run by the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures, the students took part in futurGenerator — an extension of the department’s iPRAKTIKUM initiative. This internship program connected students with businesses in Berlin and Freiburg for an international work experience.
Undergrad students Hania Eid and Stuart Jones worked remotely for three months with MotionLab.Berlin — a growing innovation hub focused on developing hardware to enhance urban mobility.
Eid, who just completed her bachelor's degree in political science, with a double minor in equity studies and Spanish, and a member of Innis College didn’t minor in German studies but was keen on working in a German-speaking environment after graduation.
“When I heard of MotionLab as ‘Europe's first prototyping space for hardware in mobility,’ I was immediately interested,” she says. “I thought this would be a great way to learn more about a sector that I had never considered working in before, and to contribute to a great company that’s developing original projects.”
By the end of my internship my language skills had improved immensely. It was also great to conduct research on a topic completely unrelated to my work in undergrad.
She worked with one of the company’s co-founders and provided him with research findings for an upcoming project called NOCA — ‘no car’ — that is devoted to research around cycling infrastructure, market research in the area of cargo bikes and the impact of COVID-19 on cycling infrastructure internationally.
“Now, more than ever, it's important to include cycling infrastructure in the bustling cities of major countries, especially in Europe,” says Eid. “Because of COVID, many cities have introduced temporary bike lanes to make way for more sustainable and healthier modes of transportation. With these new lanes, the cargo bike industry is booming.”
Her work consisted of cross-examining various international markets, products and consumer predictions to analyze the feasibility of introducing NOCA to the streets of Germany in the near future.
“By the end of my internship my language skills had improved immensely,” says Eid. “It was also great to conduct research on a topic completely unrelated to my work in undergrad. Since I'm a recent graduate, it's important to consider different fields of work so as not to limit myself. I’ll definitely be looking into working in Germany in the future.”
A member of St. Michael’s College, Jones is a fourth-year student majoring in international relations and European studies and minoring in German studies. He too wanted to strengthen his German language skills.
“I truly believe immersion is the pathway to language mastery, and futurGenerator has offered some really great opportunities for students to engage in an authentically German-speaking work environment,” he says.
As a student of global — particularly European — politics, the chance to do political and business research for an initiative based in Germany was too good to pass up.
Jones worked with the project lead on a new digital engagement platform that was originally intended to spark conversations and idea exchange on technical issues, but was discovered to have great potential as a virtual symposium for social and political issues.
focused on enhancing urban mobility. Photo: MotionLab.Berlin. (Photo taken prior to COVID-19.)
“As a student of global — particularly European — politics, the chance to do political and business research for an initiative based in Germany was too good to pass up,” says Jones.
“I did research and compiled reports on this new political engagement platform, very much still in its genesis, which hopes to connect users so that all citizens can feel their voices are heard and they can appreciate all the channels of democracy, beyond just voting.”
All of the reports he gave and most of the real-world content he was exposed to were in German. “This really helped me focus on the language and learn a great deal of new vocabulary and terminology I wouldn't have otherwise in class. And I gained exposure to current societal discourses in Germany surrounding democracy, political participation and other contemporary issues,” he says.
For Jones, his research also felt like he was exploring possible career paths. “It was so relevant to my interests and area of academic study, it was almost hard to believe sometimes. I could really see myself working at a company or on projects like this in the future.”
It's because of experiences like Eid’s and Jones’s that Stefan Soldovieri, chair of the department, and Helena Juenger, iPRAKTIKUM student placement coordinator, are thrilled with the success of futurGenerator’s first online internships.
“In the beginning, we felt like the students were not going to have as great an experience as the students who went to Germany last summer,” says Juenger. “But the students and MotionLab were incredibly enthusiastic. It was a success on both sides, and that was really, really gratifying.”