Katrina Thomsen, a German student at SRH Hochschule University in Berlin, who got the opportunity to improve her knowledge through a mentoring program at Tehnopolis confirms the fact that IEC Tehnopolis is recognized as a place where people can develop their ideas and transfer their knowledge on the local and international level.
Although she had the chance to choose any other country for her internship, she decided to do it in Tehnopolis. Since she spent some time in our country last year, she realized that it would be nice to learn more about it and as well explore it.
She speaks about her impressions during her stay so far, new things she has been able to learn, and about the beauty of Montenegro that has left such a great impression on her.
„From the cultural, social-economic and historical part I am very interested in the Balkan countries and I want to learn about how they are developing and cooperating with the outside world. I talked to my internship coordinators from my university in Berlin and I was informed about which opportunities there were here in Montenegro – and then I found Tehnopolis and thought it sounded very interesting so I applied and was fortunately accepted as an intern for this summer.“ – said Katrina.
Upon arrival in Montenegro she had the chance to participate in Spark.me conference as a representative of Tehnopolis. „I was positively surprised by that experience and I learned so much in only two days which was amazing. The vibes and the atmosphere at the conference were very lively and everyone seemed so happy to be there, and it was all very well organized with many inspiring speakers.“
Katrina observes Tehnopolis as an institution that influences economy both locally and internationally, as well as the development of the society. Although she specialized in financial economics, working in Tehnopolis gave her knowledge about start ups, business incubators and other activities that are realized. She thinks this kind of job is strongly related to the economy and finances, so she will use the theoretical knowledge gained during her studies to fulfill the duties regarding her current job. During her stay in Montenegro she learned a lot about herself, our country, and its people. She also realized the importance of the cross-border cooperation for Tehnopolis and people who get connected through that kind of cooperation.
„Everything here is very different from what I am used to in terms of mentality, working habits, procedures and routines at work – one important thing that I have learned is to understand the differences and why they are as they are, and to be patient about living in a country that is very different from my own. Thereby my cultural horizon has widened and there are many things that I didn’t understand before but that I understand today. The experience I got here was even more than I expected. I think I also got special comparative advantage and some additional skills that will definitely be useful to the future development of my career.“
Katrina also says that she expresses her creativity through cooking, researching, practicing and she also likes to read. She is especially proud of painting, one of her hobbies and she says: „I often try new ways of painting such as oil and acrylic, and I also like drawing a lot.“
Having in mind the fact that she was born at Faeroe Islands, and the fact that she lived in Denmark and Germany as well, we asked her to make a comparison of Montenegro and these countries. „I wouldn’t actually say there are many differences between Faeroe Islands and Montenegro, but quite the opposite, I think those are pretty similar because of the people who are easy going, laid back and communicative, especially in Niksic. Those people consider each other as family which is the same case with Faeroe Islands, and the reason for that is low population.“
Katrina likes our country very much and she particularly emphasizes the nature of Montenegro and the coffee that we make. Finally, she added that she would recommend Montenegro to everyone because it is the country that offers so many things. She also adds that it is very easy to visit every corner of the country because everything is very close. „Many of my friends and relatives are considering Montenegro as their next destination. I am also hoping to visit it again soon.“
We believe that this is going to be not only the first but one of the numerous international internship we plan to organize in our center. We are going to share our knowledge and experience, and make cooperation with many organizations and institutions from all around the world.
