Every year, the Deutsche Telekom AG sends some of its German interns with a special affinity for the English language abroad to improve their language skills and let them get to know another country’s work structure.
In 2010, one of the three to be sent is me, Anita Hildenbrandt, currently in my second year of a traineeship as Management Assistant for Office Communication. My three months here – January to March – will be spent as part of the team working for UArctic here at the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi.

I am a 21-year-old German from Potsdam, next to Berlin. Generally more of a quiet person, most of my time is spent reading and writing as well as trying to improve my language skills to – hopefully – start studying Linguistics in about two years time.
After finishing my A-Levels in 2008 I started a traineeship at the Deutsche Telekom AG, one of the leading telecommunication companies in Germany, where I spent the last half year in the personnel department.

As part of my training, a three-month stay abroad is obligatory. Given the choice between three different countries, I decided on Finland to experience an environment completely foreign to me and significantly different to the one I’m used to. The climate and the northern mentality intrigued me and I was excited at the chance to work at the University.

I hope I can be a helpful addition to the team of UArctic during my stay here and will do my best to support them as much as I can.