Update May 2026
A diverse first semester of 2026
We are pleased to provide you with a review of the first semester of 2026.
Northbound
As always, time flew by, and our interns’ placements were already over again. The ten Zambians and the student from Namibia worked at our partner companies from February to April, lived with host families, and explored Switzerland.
At the “Final Presentation” on April 22, they shared fascinating insights into the past three months and took the audience on an exciting journey including dance and theatrical performances.
We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our partner companies Bank Julius Baer, Bob Finance, LGT Bank, and Mediaschneider, as well as to all host families, donors, and everyone involved in the Northbound Program.
Southbound
In February, March, and April, a total of eight experts volunteered in Namibia. As in previous years, they taught at our partner university, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), where they worked primarily in the Department of Health Sciences.
In addition, four Career Starter Weeks (CSW) were held at NUST – twice as many as last year. Since the classes in question are much larger than in the past, we ran the CSWs concurrently.
You can find the individual expert reports here.
We thank all the experts for their volunteer work and NUST for the successful collaboration.
South-South
On February 25, the annual networking event took place in Namibia. Around 100 B360 alumni, representatives from partner university and companies, and B360 experts gathered in Windhoek to exchange ideas. The event focused on the launch of B360 Namibia and the 15th anniversary of the Northbound Program in Namibia.
You can find highlights from the event here.
B360 Namibia
Our branch in Windhoek has been operational since February 1, and two board meetings have been held. Nico Smit has gotten off to a good start as Country Manager, and another team member will begin working at B360 Namibia as early as June 1. Additionally, an independently organized Career Starter Week is planned for October 2026, and the experts for the event have already been selected.
Outlook
It won’t be long before the second semester of 2026 begins, and we’re looking forward to it.
We are delighted that our new program Career Bridge (an evolution of the Virtual Internships program) has generated such significant interest. The program will be held for the first time starting in June 2026 together with UNILUS; we have secured the companies for the hackathons and recruited the participants from UNILUS.
Finally, in September, four female students and one male student from Namibia will arrive in Switzerland. They will complete their three-month Northbound internships at the companies Cosanum, Motorex, SQTS, ZHAW, and Zweifel Chips & Snacks.
We are also looking forward to sending several experts to Southern Africa in the second semester of 2026. The focus in the second semester is on the Career Starter Weeks – we will be offering these popular weeks in both Zambia and Namibia.
We look forward to sharing more news and updates from B360 with you soon.
Warm regards,
Sabina Balmer and the B360 Team
