Update September 2026

Successful Start to the Second Semester

It was anything but quiet at B360 over the summer: The second semester has begun, B360 Namibia continues to develop, and we are delighted to introduce you to the “B360 Stories”. Time for our September update!

Internal News

We are very pleased to have welcomed Sherin Wirth to our team in June. Sherin is supporting us in the “Projects and Support” area. A warm welcome to the team, Sherin!

Northbound

On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, our interns from Namibia arrived in Zurich. The five students will spend the next three months in Switzerland, working at Cosanum, Motorex, SQTS (Migros), Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), and Zweifel Chips & Snacks.

Our interns have an exciting and intensive three months ahead of them – we wish them a fantastic time in Switzerland.

We would like to sincerely thank our partner companies, host families, and all our donors for their support and commitment.

Southbound

In June, Diane de Saint Victor and Thomas Isenschmid travelled to Lusaka, Zambia, to conduct two Career Starter Weeks at the University of Lusaka (UNILUS). During both weeks, they had the pleasure of working with many highly motivated students who participated with great energy and enthusiasm.

Please find their report here.

In October, we are looking forward to a special milestone:

For the first time, B360 Namibia will conduct two Career Starter Weeks independently. Thomas Weber and Antonius Knep (LGT) will travel to Windhoek, where our program will be offered independently of a university. We are looking forward to this pilot with our tried-and-tested program. Registration is open until the end of September.

We would like to thank all the experts in our Southbound Program for volunteering their time and for their commitment.

South-south

On August 26, our networking event took place in Zambia. More than 130 B360 alumni, representatives of our partner universities and partner companies, as well as B360 representatives, came together in Lusaka. A short workshop was held to hear from the alumni what they hope to gain from the B360 alumni organization and what they are willing to contribute. The company representatives shared their perspectives on what they expect from fresh graduates and what universities should include in their curriculum.

Please find impressions from the event here.

Career Bridge

In June, we launched the pilot of our “Career Bridge” program. The intensive training included a Career Starter Week, ICT training, a one-week introductory program, and a test hackathon.

The students are now working in two teams on Hackathons (real-life challenges) for Swiss companies. Each team has four weeks to work systematically on their challenge before presenting their results to the respective Swiss company. We thank Fundraiso, Roche and Swiss Business Protection for the exciting Hackathons and the great collaboration. Following the virtual part of the program, they will complete a physical internship in Zambia.

Many thanks to the Staub Kaiser Foundation for funding the Career Bridge.

B360 Namibia

We are delighted that Romielle Lopes has joined our team in Namibia. She supports Nico Smit in the area of “Projects & Support”.

The past few months have also been dedicated to establishing processes, developing programs, and defining our focus areas for the coming years. Our team works on many fronts, confirming just how important having a local presence is for B360.

B360 Stories: Our New Blog

B360 is shaped by many people and their stories – and our new blog, “B360 Stories”, is where we share them. We will regularly publish stories from across the B360 community. Enjoy reading!

Visit the blog here.

Outlook

Our programs are well underway, and plans for 2027 are already at an advanced stage. Recruitment for our Northbound interns for the first semester of 2027 has been completed, and our Southbound assignments are being planned. Once the two pilot programs – Career Bridge and the Career Starter Weeks run by B360 Namibia – have been completed, we will carefully evaluate them and make any necessary changes, adjustments, and additions.

We look forward to sharing more news and updates from B360 with you soon.

Best regards
Sabina Balmer and B360-Team