Thomas Poettgen, Intern at Crest Premedia Solutions, Pune/India (Feb 2015 to Aug 2015)

It’s been only two weeks now since I left Incredible India but I immediately landed in a totally new work environment, at the Internal Communication department of Springer offices Berlin. So, I had to quickly find back into the structures of my hometown, meet my friends and tell a lot of bundled stories about India and the last 6 months. The beautiful Berlin summer made this part even easier than it would have been at a different time of the year.

In the course of these changes, Pune does not only feel more than 6000 kilometres away, it also feels like quite a long time has passed by since I left this exciting and fascinating place I called home for half a year. I anticipate now that I’ll find out more and more about how much I learned during my stay in India – at Crest and beyond.

My motivation to apply for Springer’s Cross Cultural Internship Program was based on two wishes. I wanted to visit India again, ever since I travelled this country, with its inexhaustible multitude of impressions (something every traveller experiences), with its friendly, curious people and its huge diversity of cultures and landscape.

And, even more essential, I was looking for an opportunity to work in the publishing field. As a graduate in philosophy and German literature, the possibility to take the next step into publishing on Indian ground was a surprising and exciting chance. I was happy to get on the shortlist of candidates and to succeed in the Assessment Centre, so suddenly it was true: I was chosen to go to Pune.

Working at Crest Premedia Solutions turned out to be interesting in many respects – it was totally new for me to work in a company of this size, with highly specialized departments, all working in precisely defined workflows with tailored tools, in complex hierarchies and reporting lines, communicating with international clients and colleagues on daily basis. At the same time, many initiatives are running, aiming to change and improve the way things work in this young and ever growing company.

At Crest, you’ll witness an industry in transformation, at the forefront of the revolution of our information age, in times of and at the scene of globalization.

And Crest is not only a modern and international company, it is an Indian company, therefore you’ll get to know a lot of warm hearted, always patient and helpful colleagues that are very interested in you, your background and your experiences, and you will have to adapt to Indian ways of thinking and communicating.

To be abroad for half a year, to be separated from friends and family (and maybe your partner) is a stress test, as well as the challenges to adapt to a new culture and to everyday life in a foreign language and in an unknown environment.
But, from my point of view, it was definitely worth it. Spending half a year in India was a great adventure, not only the amazing journeys and trips we were able to make, but also the daily life in Pune. Furthermore, the internship was an educational experience I will never forget, with astonishing experiences and deep insights, not only on a professional, but on a personal level. I have a lot of good reasons not to regret it, but to feel gratitude!