My Erasmus+ Internship in Vienna

Hi, since I recently finished my internship abroad with the ERASMUS+ program, I wanted to share my experiences with you. I will tell you both about what it is like to do an internship abroad—in my case in Vienna—and what it is like with the help of the ERASMUS+ program.

My name is Nadia, and I am a Media & Communication Design student at Macromedia in Berlin. The process of finding an internship was quite long and stressful for me, and I didn’t know exactly which direction I could go. The very fact of starting something new in a new environment is stressful, so isn’t doing it in a completely different country a crazy idea and even more stressful? I was a liIle scared by this, but thanks to certain factors, which I will share with you, the process was much more relaxed.

First, I asked my Macromedia lecturer, with whom I spent many hours in class, for help in finding the direction I should take as an aspiring designer. She suggested that I try my hand at exhibition design and that I try Vienna, a city known for its love of culture and numerous museums. She also recommended a design studio that could give me the opportunity to intern and learn.

Secondly, as soon as I found out that I had the opportunity to do my internship in Vienna, I started preparing and researching – I started looking for an apartment, among other things, by following the @wg.zimmer Instagram profile, which helps connect people looking for roommates and people looking for apartments. I also checked offers from companies that rent apartments for short-term business stays. This option turned out to be the best for me as an intern going abroad for a few months, because these apartments are prepared for people who arrive with almost nothing.
It is also important to check the prices in stores in a given country/city, because despite the significant financial support from Erasmus+ (which I will write more about in a moment), it may turn out that the place is beyond your monthly budget, and you should be prepared for that. Logistical preparations and research on life in a given place allowed me to prepare both mentally and materially for a relatively stress-free move to a new place. I got rid of the extra stress, which made it easier for me to prepare for the start of a new stage – an internship in a new environment.

Thirdly, I checked all possible offers of assistance provided by our University and the European Union. Macromedia cooperates with the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD), which offers students the Erasmus+ program. Thanks to this program, you can receive significant financial support for the duration of your internship abroad. It is important to familiarize yourself with this topic as soon as possible and to be aware of the deadlines for submiYng applications and the necessary documents. Try to stay in constant communication with your future employer so that you can submit your contract early enough to qualify for the fund program. If you meet all the conditions (which the Erasmus+ coordinator at your campus will inform you about as soon as you submit your application), you will receive money for expenses such as shopping, public transportation tickets, or rent.
If you travel to your destination city in an environmentally friendly way, e.g. by train, Erasmus+ also covers the cost of the ticket as part of the Green Travel program.

And if you are thinking about an internship in Vienna, especially as a design student or simply a fan of culture and art, I highly recommend it. Although the city is much smaller than Berlin, it is packed with interesting places, museums, parks, restaurants, and cafes. That’s what I loved about it—its center is compact, and you can walk almost everywhere. And if you want to go somewhere a liIle further away, public transport is great, clean, and safe. That’s right – Vienna is a very safe city with no typically dangerous neighborhoods, which I also heard from locals. As a young woman who moved there alone, I always felt safe.
However, not everything is perfect here – Vienna is very expensive compared to Berlin, for example – grocery shopping, public transport (unfortunately, only students from Austria can buy a semester ticket), museums, and restaurants. If you want to take advantage of student discounts, make sure you have a valid (or obtain) international student ID card, as in many places only this is accepted.
Erasmus+ helped me financially, allowing me to cover my monthly grocery shopping, public transport tickets, and entertainment tickets.

I hope that my experiences and advice have given you a beIer understanding of internships abroad and the Erasmus+ program, and that you may decide to embark on such an adventure. Remember – even though you may be traveling solo, you are never alone. Macromedia and Erasmus+ will provide you with support and assistance in maIers that are unclear or related to the costs of living in a foreign city.
Good luck in this new stage of your career!

All the best,
Nadia