Vaino Iidhenga

From the first day I found out about this opportunity being offered by B360 in a classroom during the year of 2016, I basically threw myself wholeheartedly into applying for the internship, as I knew that was the opportunity of a lifetime that would help in turning my dreams into a reality.

Coming out of the airplane, I was welcomed by the cold winter weather of Switzerland, which I am not used to, but the welcoming of B360 and my host family was as warm as the summer back home in Namibia. Driving around on the first day in my host family’s car had me pinching myself asking myself and making sure that I was not dreaming that I was actually doing my internship in Switzerland.

Living with my Swiss host family was a really good experience but really different from back home in Namibia, they however made me feel very welcome, helped me with getting around by introducing the train system to me as it was very new for me. They made me feel as a part of the family by introducing me to their friends and inviting me over to their house in Arosa.

The working is all that I could ask for as I got the chance to actually use all the theory that I learned about Economics within my department of External Asset Management First Line of Defense. I also got the chance to see how these theories are used in other departments within the Credit Suisse Bank such as the Micro and Macro Economics Department as well as Asset Management, and getting more insight as to what exactly the Relationship Managers do on a day-to-day basis. I managed to improve my computer skills by using the different tools that were needed to fulfill the daily tasks. The conversations with the team and in meetings within the department and outside, for example during my business trip to Lugano, have helped me to develop a more professional attitude within myself and to learn how important networking with people is for the progression of my career in Namibia. The internship has also helped me in developing more confidence in what exactly I want to do once I am back in Namibia. It will be a useful instrument to help in the development of my country’s banking sector.

I managed to take this opportunity to explore Europe and Switzerland itself by going to different areas and places like Lucerne, well known among others for the Transport Museum, or Lugano which is quite close to Italy and is known as the Italian side of Switzerland. I visited the International Motor Car Show at Geneva, Mount Titlis with its glaciers and I managed to go to Germany where I visited Munich and the Bayern Munich Stadium called the Allianz Arena. Last but by no means least, I enjoyed Arosa that is known as one of the best skiing areas in Switzerland.