Students at accadis International School
Bad Homburg gain exciting insights into a wide range of careers in online
presentations.
"Internship with a difference"
was the motto for the ninth graders at accadis International School Bad Homburg
(accadis ISB) in March. Since the Covid pandemic has made on-site internships
impossible, parents of the students as well as corporate partners of the
neighboring accadis Hochschule Bad Homburg presented their professions and
backgrounds online.
From banking to engineering
"For the alternative internship, we
worked with Google Meet. Our students already know the program from the
Covid-related online classes. The career areas the young people learned about
covered a wide spectrum, including project management, business start-ups,
finance in the pharmaceutical industry, translations, engineering, tax
consulting and the real estate market.
From job interviews to business etiquette
"The parents and corporate partners
put a lot of heart and soul into the presentations," said a pleased
accadis ISB Principal Janina Sparks. "Many not only explained their
professional resumes, but also provided tips and tricks for job interviews and
business etiquette. Some parents had developed short workshops in which students
tried their hand at various tasks." In addition, the presenters encouraged
their audience to learn at an early age the skills that certain careers
require. "It was good to use my experience to give students more clarity
about their career aspirations and how to get there," said the mother of
an accadis ISB student. "It's true that a face-to-face lecture would have
been nicer for the interaction. However, I also felt the enthusiasm and
interest in the online dialogue."
From degree program to starting salary
"We are proud that
our students were highly motivated to join the online project," says
Daniel Elliott, the teacher responsible for the project. "For the
presentations, they had prepared questions to ask parents and collaborative
partners." He says it became apparent that ninth graders are already
thinking intensively about careers after leaving school. "Very often, they
asked questions around language skills, areas of study and training schemes
that make it easier to start a career. Of course, one or the other was also
interested in starting salaries and working hours." In conclusion, Janina
Sparks looks back with satisfaction on the project that was rearranged due to
Covid. "We're already looking forward to the post-pandemic internships in
the real work environment with the next cohorts, but we also plan to continue
involving parents and collaborative partners in the future, as the response has
been very positive."
Quotes of our students
"This priceless experience has helped us to understand how much variety in the job market there is. It has also calmed us down because now we know that there will certainly be a job of our liking out there."
"We found the differences between your careers interesting, and that taught us how hard it truly is to find your passion. This is something that applies to myself, as I constantly find new things that I think might be my passions, but that do not turn out to be so. We have not heard many people talking about this, so thank you for coming online and being so open about it."