I am writing this blog post on the eve of my first day of my internship and I am a little nervous about what it holds. We spent this entire week seeing the sights of Berlin and touring Berlin based company campuses to understand the different work environment of a foreign country. Some of the sights that we saw included seeing the TV tower and the Brandenburg Gate. It was cool to see history like that because I feel like I appreciate more than I would if it was American historical sites. Possibility it is just because I am used to the American historic sites, so the new sites were much more intriguing.  We also went to the corporate campus of Zalando where we met with people who talked to us about how the structure of their building helps create the work environment that their workers want, thus increasing their productivity. One of the interesting aspects was that they had a rooftop garden and basketball court, showing their commitment to sustainability and their workers. We also visited the construction site of the home of the new Amazon offices in Berlin. It was a huge construction project that was meant to continue the Berlin model of workplace sustainability, with gardens on the upper floors outside and a lower lobby with limited car parking to encourage bike or public transportation riders. I was fascinated by the commitment that this city has to making their workplace sustainable. Taking this knowledge and applying it to my workplace can help me not only fit in, but help the company thrive in their industry.

I am working as a compliance intern for a tech company that creates software for medical device companies to ensure that their products are up to code with regulations like MDR 2017/745 and ISO standards. Currently, it is a very long, difficult, and confusing process and many medical device companies either don’t know they have to do this or start the process too late, and they are losing money as they wait for paperwork to go through all the red tape. One interesting aspect of my company is that it is a start-up and in trying to become first to market with their product, which means they have to work quickly and have a fast response to crises. I think that these are absolutely critical skills to have in this industry. This is especially the case because all companies that provide this kind of software, (without the AI integration) essentially have the same basic product, so maintaining good customer service by putting out the product quickly and responding to customer needs accordingly and on time can be the difference between a successful company or one that lags behind the competition.  As an individual working for a start-up, I need to make sure that I maintain these skills in my work life. To make up for the cultural differences, I believe that caring about the same stuff that Berliners care for, as shown by the campus tours of the Amazon building and Zalando, can create more cohesion between me, who is an outsider, and the rest of the team, which is a very small tight knit group (see my previous post). Creating projects that incorporate sustainability can show my coworkers that I care for stuff that they do can build cohesion and therefore we can work faster to put out our product or respond quickly to customer concerns.

As for country-unique competencies that I think will be very helpful is understanding that Berlin is a very international city, with people from all over the world working and living here. I could see this very plainly when yesterday I went to the Carnival of Cultures in Berlin. For miles, all I could see were people, each of them with their own background and ideas. I talked to people from London, South Africa, and India who came specifically for the festival. Given Berlin is such an international city, I expect my coworkers to be a sample of that mix. They definitely are not all from Berlin, or even Germany, but rather a multitude of cultures. With that comes a wide range of ideas and ways of doing things that I have to adapt to maintain the cohesion of the team. Therefore, being able to act quickly on my feet to adapt to new situations will be a huge advantage in my industry, especially considering the type of product that we put out and where we are compared to our competition.