Rita Becker

Career Starter Week (CSW)

I am fortunate enough to be part of the Career Starter Week (CSW) already for the second time. During these Workshops students learn how to prepare themselves to find a job and how to settle down in business life.
It is amazing to see how all the groups are unique but always developing fast.

Cooperation with university staff and namibian professionals

A key element of the CSW is the collaboration of different experienced professionals. Namibian professionals are the experts on how business in Namibia works. NUST International Relations has a good network and manages the interfaces in a smooth and professional way. We B360 experts were able to bring in our international experience. The fact that everybody in this collaboration is passionate, open minded and interested to learn from each other enables the students to profit from the experience of this nice variety of professionals.

Cooperation with students

The workshop format is appropriate for the student’s development. Working with them from 8 am to 5 pm for a whole week enables us to learn more about their lives and their challenges to find a job. Sometimes they are exhausted at the end of the day but nevertheless they keep their positive attitude, their good mood and their nice smiles. In both groups students come from different study areas. Most of them did not know each other before the CSW. However, it is nice to see how they start to network in such a short time.

Impact and win-win

It is very rewarding to see how many of the students learn from each other, from the Namibian professionals as well as from our experience. The transition is visible in one weeks’ time only. They behave more self-confident and more professional after their interview rehearsal. The presentation of their business cases is another highlight. Because they come from different faculties, a nice skill-set and expertise comes together in one group. The groups demonstrate the ability to deliver a result as a team.

Personal message

It is great, how Career Starter Workshops can build bridges between students, Namibian professionals and B360 experts. I am curious to see, how some of these new relationships will develop.

It is fun to run the career starter workshop together with my colleague Markus. With him I have a great sparring partner. Our teamwork enables us to profit from each other’s experience and different backgrounds.

A lot of effort from many different people involved is needed to make these weeks a success. However, the feedback of the students shows, that it is absolutely worth it. Now, let us hope that they will be successful either on the Namibian labour market or as entrepreneurs!