Interview with Annika Leber
¡Vámonos! – Work Experience in Barcelona
Annika Leber has been an apprentice at Janoschka since 2020. She is learning all about the skills and tasks of media design within our extensive Graphic Services department. In order to accumulate further experience and broaden her horizons, she took up the opportunity offered by Janoschka to spend four weeks on a work experience placement in Barcelona. Thrilled by the experience, she talks about her impressions.
1. Annika, what have you taken away from your stint in Barcelona?
Sunshine, new friends, a joy for life and many insights and experiences. And my Spanish has come along very nicely, partly thanks to the regular language classes, but also by speaking it every day at work, in my spare time, in the street – there's no way of getting around it. And so now I know what words like design, brochure and all the different colours mean in Spanish.
2. Did you have much to do with these types of things during the placement?
Exactly. The department I was assigned to tasked us with developing a new, modern design for the advertising material, including flyers, a powerpoint presentation, as well as different social media channels. All of this became part of a design guide we created at the end, setting standards for our work. We were also responsible for putting together a video, filming and editing an interview with two local Spanish pupils.
3. You mention ‘we’ – who were you there with?
I was there as part of the GoforEurope exchange programme, which my manager at Janoschka had made me aware of. We were a group of six in total, two people at a time sharing accommodation with a host family. I lived and worked with another media designer, which was great, as we were able to support and talk to each other.
The whole group got along really well, in fact, and we spent a lot of our spare time together, going to the beach and exploring this fantastic city. We had plenty of free time after work and at weekends to get to know Barcelona, and for me, sightseeing and shopping were at the top of the list.
4. How did you get funding for your stay?
I applied for an Erasmus+ scholarship, which was granted. Normally, I would have had to contribute 250€ out of my own pocket, but thankfully, Janoschka took care of that for me. This means that I didn’t have to pay anything for the trip itself, except of course personal expenses like food and excursions.
I got all the information from the material my manager gave me, and she also made sure that it all came together in the end. The support has been brilliant, both financially and in terms of the advice I was given.
5. What would you say to others, who are thinking about doing work experience abroad?
Don’t think about it too much, just do it! Honestly, in hindsight I must admit that I thought and worried about things far too much beforehand. Ultimately, I’m glad that I got over my fears and threw myself into this adventure. I wouldn’t miss my new friends, the professional experience and the encounters I had during that time for the world. Also, being able to navigate my way around a foreign country in a foreign language, as well as doing my work, has given me a huge sense of achievement. So, off you go, I’d say!
Questions?
