Beiersdorf Internship Challenge Again a Rousing SuccessChallenge accepted!

The gate to the world – it’s not for nothing that Hamburg is known as a cosmopolitan city. For the fourth time, we started our fourth call to the International Internship Challenge (IIC) this year, through which fully financed international internships at Beiersdorf await the lucky winners. And the response was overwhelming: of the 2,500 applicants 32 students had the opportunity to experience Beiersdorf in Hamburg up close and to secure one of the coveted internship spots in Marketing & Sales, Supply Chain Management, Finance & Controlling, or Digital Marketing & eCommerce.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hamburg? The harbor, the Elbe Philharmonic, the Reeperbahn – most likely one of these places. And this is exactly where the 32 candidates from all over the world – full of excitement and anticipation – kicked off the International Internship Challenge 2017 during a sightseeing tour.

After the participants got to know the company’s home harbor better, they dived deeper into the world of Beiersdorf: in his official greeting Board Member for Human Resources, Zhengrong Liu, got the students in the mood for the upcoming program in the Hamburg company headquarters. Liu also shared his own experiences and impressions of the early days of his career and answered the students’ questions. Jumping into their different home turf business functions, the candidates gathered business insights from the exchange with respective Beiersdorf managers before the central theme of this year’s IIC was revealed: the NIVEA category Shaving.  

The second day started off with in-depth work on specific case studies for each business area where the candidates proved their skills and knowledge. Among other things a digital strategy for the market launch in a European country was developed. Apart from intensive sessions, there was still plenty of time for the participants from all over the world to get to know one another, and even new friendships arose. “I think that I speak for everyone when I say that I am very happy to have met so many new remarkable people from all over the world of various backgrounds.” Basem Nassif, Digital Marketing & eCommerce candidate.

After two amazing days together, everyone was very excited about the announcement of the winners. Above the roofs of Hamburg Zhengrong Liu revealed the secret and congratulated the four winners – Laura Wong from Malaysia, Ching-Ju Gao from Taiwan, Konstantin Kotulla and Felix Robiné from Germany. The internship destinations were jointly determined and range from Europe to South America.

But not just our winners, also with the other candidates Beiersdorf once again won over many talented future employees, who can look forward to exciting internship and trainee opportunities. “We enjoyed getting to know so many young talents in just two days and can’t wait for the IIC’s fifth anniversary next year,” says Imke Junk, host of IIC 2017.