Meet the interns…

This summer two American college students have been selected to intern at igus® GmbH in Köln, Germany. This blog will follow their time at the company, and their experiences spending the summer in a different country. Although the interns have a lot in common - they are both studying Business Information Systems at Texas Christian University – they do have some differences. The following facts should help you get to know them better. Enjoy their blog!

Brandon  
Nate  

Brandon Chamberlin

Age: 21

Hometown: Tucson, Arizona, USA

Favorite American Food: Tex-mex Fajitas

Favorite American Drink: Diet Coke

Favorite German Food: Schnitzel mit Pommes

Favorite German Drink: Mühlen Kölsch

Nate Arnold

Age: 21

Hometown: Edmond, Oklahoma, USA

Favorite American Food: Hawaiian pizza

Favorite American Drink: Still mineral water

Favorite German Food: Bratwurst mit Kartoffelsalat

Favorite German Drink: Dom Kölsch

What are we doing at igus®?

Brandon Factory

Brandon in front of the igus® factory

 

So you probably want to know more about what we are doing at igus®, right? I bet. This summer, we will be working in the Communications Department with the Electronic Media group. The eMedia group oversees the development and maintenance of igus®' online components (like their website and online catalog). This summer we will be assisting in optimizing igus®' online presence. Although we think they already have a great web site, more can always be done to make products easier to find, pages easier to navigate, and customers more likely to buy igus® products. Working in this department will definitely be a great learning experience!

What do we think so far?

So far, our experience has been awesome! Although we have only been working at igus® for a few short weeks, we both really enjoy the company. Our co-workers are extremely nice and helpful, and seem to really enjoy their jobs. The whole not speaking German thing can be arduous at times, but usually both parties can understand what the other one is asking. Unfortunately, our German is schrecklich!

On one of our first days of work we went on a factory tour and were very impressed. We knew that igus®had a very deep and expansive product line, but had no idea of the planning and production that went into making their products. We were amazed at how effective the whole process was, and how they were able to produce thousands of products to be sent around the world in just one factory.

Virtual tour of the igus® factory in Köln

 
igus runners

igus® employees leading the pack!

 

One thing we like so far about igus®is its strong community feeling between employees. For example, over 40 igus® employees participated in the Köln Nachtlauf 10K run (all wore bright orange shirts, of course). A group of us went to cheer them on along the Rhein and it was funny to be able to see them on the opposite side of the river since they’re shirts were so bright they glowed in the dark! It’s really cool to be working in a company with such a great sense of community and it was nice to be able to support our coworkers who participated in the race.

Life in Köln

Living and working in Köln certainly has its differences from the US, besides the obvious language barrier. The ability to travel by foot or public transportation is a real treat. We can walk from our apartment to almost anywhere in the city, and it is easy to take the train to the airport or anywhere in Europe for that matter. This system is highly efficient and relatively inexpensive. In the U.S. the public transportation system is virtually non-existent, so it is great to be able to utilize it here! Driving on the autobahn seemed scary at first but isn’t as different as we thought it would be. We were really excited to be going 120 km/ hour (which sounds really fast), but then discovered that it was only 75 mph, a typical speed limit in the U.S. All in all, life in Köln is relatively simple, and it’s a fantastic city to explore.

Driving to igus® on the autobahn

 

Tschüss!
Brandon & Nate

Email the Interns!
Back to the Blog Overview
Social Networks