EMUNI IBC Students Train at Oxfam Italy

At EMUNI we believe in the importance of gaining practical experience during one’s education. This is why EMUNI’s Master Programme in Intercultural Business Communication includes a mandatory period of professional training in the form of an internship. IBC second-year students Huthayfa Assi and Nehal Nabil seem to wholly agree with their master’s emphasis on training. In fact, they are both undergoing their second internship after they first gained experience last year, in Belgium, at the NGO “Maison Internationale de Tournai”.

Experience in Business? Check!

Our students, respectively from Palestine and Egypt cannot get enough of the mobility opportunities EMUNI makes available. They are now halfway through their Erasmus-funded, 2 months traineeship at Oxfam Italia. There, they cut their teeth on several different development projects. They started their traineeship on the 3 of March discussing their interests and goals with Oxfam’s Economic Justice Manager. This meeting resulted in better shaping their training experience. They are currently working on the implementation of an Oxfam project that maps access to finance in 6 Middle Eastern and North African countries. In the framework of this activity, our students assess barriers and challenges to accessing financial resources for entrepreneurs. Their assessments will help Oxfam when drafting recommendations on how to make lending procedures more accessible.

Experience in communication? Check!

Moreover, Huthayfa and Nehal are putting to good use their intercultural communication skills by designing a booklet that will illustrate best practices for Mediterranean entrepreneurs. The project is funded by the Union for Mediterranean and is called RISE. Our students are responsible for collecting insights from the project’s beneficiaries. With this data, they will create appealing material to support entrepreneurs and advocate for the positive impact of entrepreneurship on communities.

In joining Oxfam on these two projects, Huthayfa and Nehal can gain practical experience in both business and communication. Moreover, by coming into contact with a variety of business actors and stakeholders across the Mediterranean, our students are really honouring the educational objectives of the IBC study programme. They undoubtedly will benefit from a greater understanding of this sector. In turn, an experience closely linked to the teachings of EMUNI‘s master will strengthen their education.

Meanwhile, we at EMUNI are pleased to see our students curious and eager to try new professionals experiences. Once again we reiterate the importance of professional training as an integral part of academic education.