(by Gonçalo Guerreiro)
Hello again! I am on the final run of my internship at ABB in Krakow but it doesn’t mean things are getting less exciting. My project is going well and the weather is getting warmer, so enjoying the free time in the city is easier than before. I have just come back from a week in ABB’s Global Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland and I want to tell you more about it.
As part of ABB’s Global Trainee Program, all Global Trainees are invited for a week-long event in Zurich. During this week they have the opportunity to learn more about ABB (history, business, values, etc.), meet senior leaders and of course connect with each other!
This event was going to happen during my time in Krakow and ABB invited me to attend it as well, as part of my internship. I was already happy with the opportunity before going but now, after returning from Switzerland, I am even happier.
It was a very intense week: The programme ran from 8:30 to 17:00 every day and we covered topics ranging from the “softer” ones, like Intercultural Awareness and Business Etiquette to some more technical ones like Internal Audit, Supply Chain Management and Accounting. We also had the chance to visit a couple of ABB factories in the area which helped me better understand some of ABB’s products and business.
Not everything was hard-work though. Every day, we either had networking Apéros (Swiss name for cocktail events), or nice dinners, or both combined.
Overall I had a very good time in Zurich. It was very interesting to know more about some operational departments of ABB. I was generally very impressed from the company’s culture, the amount of possible development opportunities and how enthusiastic and approachable most of the speakers were - it reinforced my opinion that ABB is a nice place to work. Besides the learning, I had the opportunity of getting to know an amazing group of diverse young people with whom I will keep in touch.
P.S.: Of course I didn’t forget to bring a load of Swiss chocolate with me!