Bianca Bartens

International Management Trainee 2009, from Germany:

I’ve started my experience as an International Management Trainee at De Lage Landen directly after University. As a participant in a bi-national German-Italian Study Program I’ve graduated with a Master’s degree in two countries and gained several other experiences abroad besides (e.g. internships). My goal was to continue a strong international orientation, but I found out that many companies just call their assignments “international” for marketing purposes. This did not hold for De Lage Landen.

Their International Management Trainee Program seemed very appealing to me: One Assignment for 18 months, but based in different locations throughout the world. And my expectations have been fulfilled. I have clear responsibilities for which I am able to take ownership, increase my knowledge, and directly have an impact on the business, and including experience abroad.  
 
I am working in “International Business Support”, at first based at the company’s headquarter in Eindhoven. In the course of my work, I have many interfaces with other departments in the whole company which provides me with the possibility to gain a holistic understanding of the whole company’s business. I have already been assigned with the responsibility of projects and initiatives aimed at the standardization of operational processes throughout all European Country Service Units. Thus, I am in daily contact with all European offices and visit them on a regular basis.

For me, this Traineeship Program is the right mix of professional development opportunities and the challenge