Questionnaire regarding professional, intercultural and language preparation.


Your internship will be successful and valuable to you if you prepare yourself properly.

You should have a clear idea of what you would like to learn during your internship on a professional and personal level. This questionnaire will help you to think about some key factors that we have found to be of critical importance in previous internships. However some further key factors like your flexibility, independence and openness to adapt to new cultures will not be addressed in this questionnaire. Please ask your co-ordinator for further information on seminars about this topic. In case you know the country of your internship already, please keep in mind that working in a foreign country will be very different from experiences made during vacation.


Family name: First name:

 

I. Professional:
  1. Is your work plan/task description clear to you?

  2. Have you had personal, telephone, or e-mail contact with your future mentor within the company?

  3. Did you and the company make any plans for the mentoring process? For example, periodic evaluations/ feedback?

  4. Have you agreed on a personal development plan?

    Look at the following list: Thinking of the country you will be going to, what would you expect to be different from a similar company of your home country?

      ++ very
    different
    + - -- no
    difference
    Can you explain?
    Organization
    Hierarchy
    Gender
    Technical standard
    Dress code
    Working hours
    Lunch breaks
    Decision making
    Festivities
    Way of communication
    Forms of address

  5. Have you thought about whom to contact and talk to in case of problems with the company?
    Contact person’s name:
    Email:

  6. Have you got a clear understanding of the business of the company you will be working at?

  7. Have you visited the Internet page of this company?

  8. Do you know how many people will be working in your team, in your department?

 


II. Cultural knowledge:
  1. Do you have information on leisure activities in your temporary place of residence?

  2. Are you familiar with key facts about the country/region, such as population, historical facts, political structure, cultural and tourist attractions?

  3. Have you ever visited the country you are going to for the internship?
    • .

  4. How knowledgeable are you about day-to-day differences: Exchange rate, foods, meal and work times, celebrations and holidays, religion etc.?

  5. What would you typically bring with you as a gift from your home country/region? Why?

 


III. Language:
  1. How well do you speak the language of the country you are going to?

  2. Do you plan to study the language or improve your skills in the language before you leave or during your stay?

  3. It could be that the company language uses another language than the host language. If this is the case for you, how well do you speak the company language?

  4. Dou you plan to study the language or improve your skills in the company language before you leave or during your stay?

 

IV. Alumni:
  1. Have you been in contact with a former-Leonardo student (alumni) who was in the same town and/or the same company?

  2. Would you be willing to be a contact person after you have finished your internship?

 

V. Questionnaire:
  1. How useful was this questionnaire in helping you to prepare for your intercultural experiences?