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Considering its more than 20 years of experience with international companies, WILDDESIGN was in my spotlight since I started looking for an internship that would let me put into practice all the theoretical knowledge acquired at university and get real work experience in an international environment.

Application, Preparations and Expectations

When I was about to finish my studies I realized it was time to start preparing the next step in my career and professional development: an internship! I wanted to work in a different country rather than my home one (Spain) and I focused my search process in Germany, a country I had always enjoyed and whose cultural nuances would be helpful for my own development. I then found WILDDESIGN on the internet and, without blinking an eye, applied for an internship starting in September. However, the internship vacancies for September were already taken, but after a couple of emails and a conversation via Skype with Mr. Wild, I was offered a place for the February 2014 intake.I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into this new experience!

Day 1

I am a very sociable and outgoing person, but I have to admit that I was a bit nervous for meeting all the new people that were about to be my colleagues for the next 6 months! This feeling soon vanished as I felt warmly and kindly welcomed. The workstations were assigned to the other incoming interns and me, we were introduced to our internship mentors and we had a 'guided tour' trough the office. After the weekly Monday meeting in which we were formally presented, different tasks and projects were assigned to us and we started to work.

Week 1

The first week is the most intensive one: living in another country, getting to know your colleagues and changing from the working pace of university level to real life. As my first project was one starting from scratch, my tasks during my first week of work were mainly focused on research. You also need to get used to where everything is located in the city and make your new flat your home during the first week.

Month 1

A couple of weeks after our arrival, as anyone who joins WILDDESIGN, we had to prepare a brief presentation about ourselves and show it to our colleagues. We kept working on the projects, carrying out multiple tasks such as research, brainstorming, sketching, modeling... and started new projects as well.

The "PRAKTIKANTEN.WG"

As an international intern you are offered a room at the interns' flat, a.k.a. Praktikanten.WG. The flat is right in front of Wissenschaftspark, where the office is located. It takes me exactly 3 minutes every morning to walk from the entrance door of the flat to the office, time I use to plug in my headphones and listen to just one song on my phone, normally 'Happy' from Pharrell Williams to arrive in an awesome mood at the office! The flat is fully furnished and equipped with all you need and it is 10 minutes on foot from the GE Hbf, the central train station of Gelsenkirchen, which is pretty useful when you are traveling.
We, three interns, live together in this flat, which is on the top floor of an old and quiet building. You can really take advantage of sunny days by sitting on the balcony located in one of the rooms (from which, by the way, you have a direct view of the office). Apart from the flat, each intern gets a bicycle. This is really helpful since there are lots of bicycle paths and you can basically go everywhere.

There are many beautiful places in the Ruhr area, but my favorite one by far is Zollverein, where the old and abandoned mine industry was placed. Some of those buildings are nowadays used for other purposes, like the Red Dot Museum. The bike path to Zollverein starts next to the Wissenschaftspark and it takes around half an hour to get there.

Office life and main projects i carried out

The thing I like the most about this internship is that you gain expertise from different fields within design and that during the whole process you actively take part in every stage, always in close cooperation with your colleagues in both Shanghai and Gelsenkirchen Offices. Some of the projects in which I participated involved product design (clinical analyzer, needle for permanent make-up, toothbrush), graphic design (Spain Wildcards) and identity & branding (logo design).
It has been a very fruitful experience, where you get to work and develop your skills and yourself in real life. It has the perfect combination of interesting projects, great colleagues from different nationalities and a nice and comfortable working environment. Thanks to all the WILDDESIGN team for this unforgettable experience!

Other interns' words...

'I applied for an internship at WILDDESIGN because I wanted to have an international experience at a design consultancy. When it comes to being international, I was happy to see that WILDDESIGN fulfilled my wishes. Workers from different nationalities get together every day at the offices of Gelsenkirchen and Shanghai. Along with the rest of the staff, we interns work on different projects on anything from the initial ideas to the last details of the designs' - Adrián Vallejo, Spain. Adrián Vallejo, Spain. 'When I applied for an internship at WILDDESIGN, I never thought that it would be that nice and unstressed to work here. I had heard from other people that it could be stressful in a design-agency, even if it's a successful, global one, like WILDDESIGN is. But everything's managed fine by a good organization and a great coherence. From the first day I was treated very nice and felt like a team-member. Everyone is friendly, happy and has fun while working. If you have problems, just ask and you will get help. That's what I like most about WILDDESIGN and this job. It's always funny and is not becoming boring. I have learned very much and I appreciate the opportunity to join for this internship' - Steffen Kauenhowen, Germany.'My 5month experience at Wilddesign was an excellent opportunity. Wilddesign has a high profile within medical device field, so I could gain a wide spectrum of insight about the medical device design and processes. All the projects I have participated for the 5month internship were very exciting and new interesting subjects. Through the experience I could find my strength and also weakness so I can now learn where my future will be. Working with Wilddesign team was a great chance to learn about other culture and wisdom which has been accumulated for such a long time in practical design field. I will keep all these good memories from Wilddesign then these will be good asset for my future career. Thank you for all members of Wilddesign.' -Michael Jiwon Lee, South Korea.

Background

The other Spanish intern (Adrián) and I both studied Industrial Design and Product Development Engineering in Spain. He carried out his bachelor at the University of Valladolid while I did so at the University of Zaragoza. Bachelor Degrees in Spain last 4 years, whereas in other European Countries they normally take 3 years. There is not a huge tradition of Industrial Design in Spain compared to other countries such as United Kingdom, United States and Germany. The studies in Industrial Design are relatively new but things are starting to change as new generation of Spanish Industrial Designers are pushing Spanish Design to a more international level.

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