Following the India Route

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!  

London – August 2015

A year ago I couldn’t have thought that I would be working in the center of London for BioMed Central. A year ago my mind was set to go to India and enjoy my time there and learn more about the world of publishing; a world that was completely new for me. Not only the publishing world was new for me, but also setting foot on Indian soil was something I had never imagined doing.
I am not going to lie; taking the step to go to this country with a completely different culture was a bit scary. However, looking back, there was nothing to be scared of, the program is well organized and because you are going with a group, you can really rely on each other. If you are an open-minded person and comfortable in your own skin, you will definitely enjoy this internship and you have nothing to worry about. The nice thing of the Cross cultural internship is that you are not on your own. You don’t have to learn how to swim, there is always support.
In my work at BioMed Central, I communicate a lot with vendors similar to Crest from all over the world. The internship for Springer at Crest gave me an insight how they work on the books and articles that Springer publishes. Having this knowledge contributes positively in my day to day work, and makes me see things from different perspectives. It was very interesting to work in a different culture, get an insight in the publishing industry and broaden your horizon. I can only speak for myself, but I think as a group (batch 17) we all learned a lot and gained a lot of transferrable skills. It is not without reason that plenty of the people from our group decided to stay with the company, and are still working under the Springer umbrella.
So to cut a long story short; if you would like to see what else is out there in the world, and you are curious of the publishing world, this internship is the way to combine the two. That said, the fact that you read all the way down this text shows that you are at least slightly interested in the internship. So follow your heart and get on board with the Cross cultural internship and maybe we will be colleagues in the near future. See you soon!  

Applying for the CCI was a rather spontaneous decision for me. After my graduation from university I was not sure how to approach the search for a job in the publishing field. I had a professional training in publishing before studying Book Science and English. Since I did not go abroad during my studies – the possibility of, finally, being able to spend some time in a foreign country caught my eye: India – 6 months – working in publishing, the combination sounded too good to be true!
But after taking the chance and applying for the internship program, then passing through an assessment centre and being lucky in getting a place amongst a group of twelve interns I know that it was absolutely worth it. The package deal of working at Crest collecting useful professional experience for my future career in publishing while the organisation of the stay is taken over zahlby Springer (including housing, documents and other bureaucratic procedures, the flight, and last but not least some trips to beautiful sights around Pune) offered more than most other forms of staying abroad.
At Crest I was part of the Marketing team and amongst other projects we ensured the quality of the marketing texts which appear on Springer homepages. That work brought interesting insights in the process of not only publishing but also marketing a book in the scientific publishing field. Even more I enjoyed the welcoming and warm atmosphere amongst my colleagues and the various discussions and lunch breaks we shared. In our time together I got to know a lot about the Indian culture and way of living, and also had the chance to try countless homemade dishes 
Of course travelling is also a part of staying in India during the internship – and there are numerous possibilities because of the diversity of Indian landscape and culture. Also being part of a group as an intern gives various opportunities for short trips over the weekend together in addition to the trips organised as part of the CCI.
All in all India is an amazing country – colourful, chaotic, friendly and sometimes seemingly a little bit crazy – but experiencing it on personal as well as professional level was the most amazing thing and absolutely recommendable!