Last week, Business Academy Copenhagen North in Lyngby, was honored to have a prominent visitor. The Romanian Ambassador in Denmark, H.E Alexandru Victor Micula together with his Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr. Christian Negrila, visited the academy to talk to the students on possibilities for doing an internship at the Romanian Embassy in Hellerup. The visit is a direct result of the Romanian Ambassador last year having had a student from Business Academy Copenhagen North working at the Embassy. The experience was so successful for the Romanian hosts that they took time off from their busy schedule to meet the students and discuss the areas the Embassy is working on, but also what other possibilities the Embassy has to facilitate contacts with Danish companies collaborating with Rumania.

“We have a relatively small Embassy so we had one student from Business Academy Copenhagen North last year. We were extremely pleased with the internship arrangement and have decided to take students again this year. It is good to get a new perspective on things – it also contributes towards new ideas” the Ambassador explains.

Earlier, it was voluntary for students at Business Academy Copenhagen North to do an internship, but as the academy excels in being a praxis oriented learning institution, internships are now mandatory for all students. The internship is for 3 months, is unpaid and thus poses no financial burden on the host. The host simply provides a suitable internship task for the student and allocates the resources necessary for mentoring and guiding the student. The Romanian student that was at the Embassy last year worked on a project to “brand” Romania as a tourist destination in Denmark.

“Her conclusions were that this had great potential. We thought that was really interesting. It is actually something that we can use in our daily work. At the same time we allocated a variety of resources for the student, so the tasks could be solved in the best way possible. So it was a win-win situation for both parts” says the Ambassador.

Especially for the Romanian students at the academy, an internship at the Romanian Embassy is an obvious possibility, as they master the Romanian language and cultural understanding that can be a great asset to Danish companies operating in Romania.

The Romanian Ambassador was not unfamiliar with the general financial recession in both Romania and Denmark, and its consequences on the labor market. But he finds it strategically sound to start collaborating with students already now as well-educated people will be in high demand in the near future. He also believes that the students will remember the companies and institutions that facilitated a rewarding internship, as one they would possibly want to work for later on.