Victor Kalalanda
Mediaschneider/Hoy AG
Bachelor Student in Media und Communications
The University of Zambia
February 01 - March 17, 2020
at Work
For my internship in Switzerland, I had been attached to Mediaschneider/Hoy AG, a highly reputable and leading media agency in the country. This extraordinary privilege was the pinnacle of achievement in my pursuit of career development as a student of media and communication at the University of Zambia. My intensive introduction to the fundamentals and intricacies of digital marketing was well structured and very effective. I had been placed under a thoughtful mentor, Thomas Veit, who would weekly review with me what progress I had made over a cup of coffee. I closely followed a deliberate training program with the help of collaboration tools like Trello and Outlook. This meant that I had every time I completed a task assigned to me, I would open my Trello board and discard the cards I had done. I could, therefore, keep track of my progress easily and provide feedback. I had a rotating work station, which allowed me to work with different specialists and acquire a combination of skills from setting up advertising campaigns using Google services and products, as well as executing search tasks. It was like an epiphany as I could literally see my professional life undergoing irresistible change and improvement. To facilitate my integration into the workplace, I had been assigned professional and social networks. The former helped enhance my skills acquisition whereas the latter initiated me into the social side of the company like chatting with colleagues over a drink or playing table football in order to relax. All of these structures made it easy for me to achieve my goals, understand the company spirit, build long-lasting relationships and become and int6egral part of my teams!
My Swiss Host Family
I had a great experience with both my bridging and hosting families. I spent the first two weeks of my stay with the Sievers in Horgen, after which I moved in with Mrs. Abdulkadir and the son in Hunzenschwil.
The Sievers, a small and very gracious family, created an enabling environment for me. As a typical African home, there was a very strong community spirit in this home. If my mother, Silvia, was not cooking, my father, Chris, took up the chore with gladness. This taught me that men should readily share roles and not be so rigid and offensive as to think that the place for women in the house is the hearth! Their son, Damian, was a sweet spirit, too, though he was hardly home because of his tight schedule at work. Chris was actually the first person that took me on a tour around Zurich. We would go on to have several intellectual chats late in the night, not only in Horgen but also in Arosa, where we went for a memorable family trip in the mountains. I spent many times with Silvia discussing literary work like the novels she was reading, or the books I was writing. These moments are very dear to my heart and they enabled me to fit so well into life in Switzerland.
When I moved in with the Abdulkadir family, I could not believe the high level of social intelligence which my mother, Madeleine, exhibited. She felt so real to me like a mother. To this day, it is difficult for me to describe her beautiful, selfless spirit. I was so moved every time I saw her that I gave her tight hugs. Her son, Muhamad, was both kind and exceptionally smart. With my Zambian colleague, Mataa Wakumelo, we turned the house into a center for our intellectualism and cultural exchange, much to the apparent pleasure of the family.
Highlights and Challenges in Switzerland
There are many highlights I could list from my stay in Switzerland. Most importantly was the realization that the future for graduates in media studies will be interdependence between digital marketing and content creation. My training allowed me to see why students, especially in African media schools, should build capacity for digital marketing and also develop a passion for content creation as writers, YouTubers, or bloggers, for example. There is a need to abandon the traditional approach to media training, which seems to prepare one largely for the world of journalism. Instead, I saw why it is important to diversify one’s skills and become more adaptable to the dynamic media industry because the Internet is changing the landscape of the profession!
Another great highlight is the treatment I got for my eyes through my mother, Madeleine, and my workplace, Mediaschneider. I will forever be grateful for the new pairs of glasses I received to protect my eyes from light and also correct my sight, which was becoming weak. This is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me, and I will always praise the Swiss, people, for it!
In terms of challenges, my experience is particularly limited to the transport system. It took me time to master, almost two weeks like a boy! There were times I got on the wrong train or missed a crucial trip back home. All in all, I am happy I always find myself at work on time.
My Future Plans
Following my realisation that the future will be interdependence between content creation and digital marketing, I now my own virtual business as a ghostwriter and digital marketing consultant in Zambia. I have no desire to work for anyone. My experience in Switzerland has taught me that I can build my own legacy and become anything I want in this life. I want to inspire others to believe in their skills and create opportunities for others and themselves.
Personal Message
The B360 internship taught me a lot of lessons at a cultural and professional level, and I wish to bring these experiences to bear on my life. This is one of the greatest opportunities truly aimed at the internationalization of higher education around the world! God bless the brilliant B360 team!