From theory to practice

At the university I attend lectures and take seminars and courses. But I don't see much from practice. In the lecture hall, reality is analysed on the basis of models, theories or examples. This makes it all more important for me to gain practical experience. I am in the middle of my internship and keep learning more every day.

A contribution by Andrina Leu

Andrina Leu from Baden

My name is Andrina Leu and I am studying Media and Communication Science with a minor in Business Administration at the University of Zurich. During my time at the university I attended the lectures "Startup Communication" and "Forces behind the Headlines" as well as the course "Crisis Communication", which awaked my interest in communication consulting.

I took the opportunity to complete an internship at aizu and gain practical experience during my semester breaks. I appreciate the opportunity and am pleased that I can gain in-depth knowledge, gain insight into strategic communications consulting and find out about my own interests.

Expectations of my internship

My internship offers me an insight into the working world of strategic communications consulting and the opportunity to apply my previous theoretical knowledge and exchange the bench at university for a job in the middle of Zurich and Bern. I hope that at the end of my internship I will be able to use my practical knowledge to critically question theory at university.

I am particularly interested in start-up communication, because start-ups are young and agile companies that react quickly to events. Other interests include media and public relations work and crisis communication. These interests are covered by aizu's various services.

My internship also enables me to find out what the everyday work in communications consulting looks like and what demands are made on communication consultants. With this knowledge I can specifically select the modules of my studies in the remaining semesters and prepare myself for my daily work.

I am excited to find out what is needed to be able to strategically advise a company in communication, what needs to be paid special attention to and what strategic communication contains at all. It is also important for me to gain experience in customer contact through my internship.

Right in the middle of everyday work with a dedicated team

At aizu I work with exciting personalities with different backgrounds, a lot of experience and passion. It is interesting for me to learn from them and to exchange ideas with them.

aizu is a small, agile company that offers me an overview of all areas of activity – from customer meetings, strategic concepts, analyses and research to content creation. This would certainly not be possible on this scale in a large company.

After a few weeks, I have already experienced many things. I took part in monthly meetings with customers and meetings with potential new customers. I helped to develop the communication strategy for various companies and took part in internal discussions on topics for new blog posts.

The client is our friend

Interpersonal relationships and appropriate interaction with customers play a subordinate role at the university and you do not get the chance to learn about these topics either. What I already know today is that people are at the centre. At aizu, we are committed to people, their visions and the companies they lead. I'm looking forward to learning a lot, elaborating things on my own and growing with the tasks in my internship.