BA in Tienen, Belgium, 2014

I applied very early for the advertised practical training, namely in June for a start in March. I found the job vacancies on the notice board of the semester abroad counselling service at my university. The application was very straightforward, the documents had to be submitted in German, about three weeks later I enquired about my application and received positive feedback. A week later I had a one-hour interview with my Head of Section. It took almost 3 months until I received my contract.
There were up to 15 interns working at the Tienen site at the time I was there, so the opportunities there are quite good. Bosch required proof of health insurance, liability and accident insurance as well as a certificate of enrolment for the entire internship period for its personnel files.

The Kingdom of Belgium is a country in Western Europe. Belgium borders the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. This country is one of the founding members of the European Economic Community (EEC) and today's European Union (EU), whose most important institutions are based in the Belgian capital, Brussels. Together with the Netherlands and Luxembourg, Belgium forms the Benelux countries.
Belgium has been independent since 1830. Its parliamentary monarchy was sealed by the constitution in 1831. The country is divided into three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels).

During my practical training, I was able to use the time at the weekends to explore the country together with some other interns. As the country is not very big and you can basically be in another city quite quickly (by car, but also by train), it was very easy to go on day trips. During my time here, I was able to visit cities such as Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Mechelen and Leuven. As Belgium is also a good starting point for day trips or weekend trips to France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, I was also able to visit cities such as Luxembourg and Maastricht. As my parents and Aachen are not that far away from Belgium, I was in Belgium every fortnight at the weekend to do something with the other interns. The other interns also travelled to Amsterdam and Paris, but as I already knew these cities, I didn't go with them.

To summarise, I really enjoyed this time as I got to see a lot of the Benelux countries during my six months of practical training. Applications should realise that almost all Belgians speak German and that a lot of German is spoken at Bosch. If someone wants to improve their English, they should not consider the Benelux countries.

Gegründet wurde das Werk Robert Bosch Produktie N.V. in Tienen im Jahre 1973. Zu dieser Zeit wurden rund 300.000 Stück Wischarme pro Monat hergestellt. Today it is the world's largest windscreen wiper plant. Robert Bosch Produktie N.V. Tienen erzielte 2013 einen Umsatz von 197 Mio.€. Every day, 320,000 wiper blades, 80,000 wiper arms, 27,000 refills (wiper blades that are inserted into the arms as replacements) and 9,000 headlight cleaning systems are produced. The 1,026 employees not only assemble the windscreen wipers, they also manufacture the individual parts for them on the 39 machine lines, such as rubber, spring rails, pins or bracket parts. Es werden zwei Arten von Scheibenwischer hergestellt, konventionelle und gelenkfreie Scheibenwischer. The wiper blades are produced for the majority of the global automotive industry, the retail trade and for a small part of the aircraft and railway industry in a 3-shift system with 8 working hours each.

All process steps, starting with the production of the wiper rubber, the wiper arm and the wiper blade through to the completed wiper lever, are carried out in-house. Die Produkte werden für einen Großteil der weltweiten Automobilindustrie, den Handel und für einen kleinen Teil der Flugzeug- und Eisenbahnindustrie hergestellt.

Around 50% of the products go to original equipment manufacturers such as BMW, Daimler and VW. Original equipment is the top priority as the products must be available on time for the car manufacturers' just-in-time production. In addition, the products are offered and sold by factory dealers as well as independent dealers ("aftermarket").

In terms of organisation, the plant is divided into a technical and a commercial division, each with its own Executive Director. Ich habe in der technischen Sparte, in der Abteilung RBBE/BPS-CIP („Bosch Production System – Continuous Improvement Process“) eingesetzt. The main tasks of this Section are the continuous optimisation of production processes, the planning and implementation of new manufacturing concepts and working methods, as well as the optimisation of existing work processes. The Section consists of around eight colleagues.

The tasks of my practical training can be roughly divided into the following areas:

• Project work
• Supporting colleagues

My average working time was 8.30 hours (you have to work 8 hours, breaks are not paid). At the time when I started my practical training, I was given smaller tasks by a colleague who was generally responsible for the interns in my Section. However, he left the plant after 2 months and so I was left without daily tasks. I was lucky enough to be given access to the internet so that I could either do research for my bachelor's thesis or, if I really didn't have anything to do for a day, as I sometimes did, I could make up for it by surfing the net.

One of my tasks was to create and change cost centre layouts with AutoCAD. At that time, there was a lot of reorganisation going on in the company. Many machines were being moved and some offices had to be relocated to other buildings. Therefore, layouts had to be changed and adapted. Creating and changing layouts via AutoCAD was an activity that I did throughout my practical training. Another task was to record and measure cycle times on various machines and robots. The measurements were then analysed and I was able to work with my colleagues to make improvements to reduce cycle times.

As I wrote my bachelor's thesis here at the plant, I was able to get to know different areas of Bosch production as part of a project on production levelling. I helped with the creation of a production plan and collected and prepared the necessary data for checking after the introduction. I had to read a lot of literature for this. There was hardly any support during the writing process. I only received help when I asked specific questions, but I didn't get any information about my work or general formalities. I had to work everything out myself and I was neither helped with writing the thesis nor with obtaining information. As I hardly had any daily tasks, I often created Excel spreadsheets for the project or tried to get other tasks.

Halfway through my practical training, I became a team member in the creation of a mock-up for the improvement of the packaging line. I did this with another intern. We often stood by and were barely included in the meetings. Only when they needed something from us. We created a 1:1 model of the optimisation from cardboard to test. However, this had to be changed again and again and whenever something wasn't as the team members wanted it, we were to blame. We were often not given any deadlines. The project itself was fun because I was able to work with other interns and not just sit at a PC. After the model was finalised, we were more involved again and were able to make improvements and play an important role in the tests. Nevertheless, my colleagues gave me the feeling that I wasn't fully involved in the process.

In addition, I was always given one-off tasks by my boss or the other employees in the Section. I often created PowerPoint slides or Excel files that had to be created based on their specifications. Or I had to move Metaplan boards from one meeting room to the next.
Basically, I would classify the level of personal responsibility as medium. In the projects I was involved in, I was expected to familiarise myself and understand the context. However, there was always a contact person available, but you often felt lost as a lot was demanded of you, but no explanations or help was offered.

The language barrier was of course a challenge. I sometimes took part in meetings in Flemish. Although I always received a summary from my colleagues afterwards, I often had the feeling that I was missing details. Even when employees talked about current topics, I could often only understand them superficially.

The Section itself has a lot of potential, but everyone works in a very solitary way, so it would be better if they recognised the potential of an intern. However, it has to be said that I think the Section will cease to exist in two years' time, as one colleague will soon be retiring and another will be leaving the company. Then the Section would only consist of 3 people. However, I was always praised and received very good feedback.

In addition to the contract, the HR department sent me a list of accommodation options in Tienen or Leuven. I myself lived in a shared flat in Tienen with seven other interns; the contact person for this was Dirk Peeters. The shared flat was very well equipped with kitchen appliances, washing machine and internet. I was able to rent a bicycle from my landlord for €5 a month. Alternatively, you can look for a flat in Leuven, but the minimum period there is usually ten months.

I paid 370 euros a month for my room with my own bathroom. A room with a shared bathroom is around 40 euros cheaper.

The cost of living in Belgium is comparable to Germany. While buses and trains are much cheaper, for example, food is slightly more expensive. There were 2 supermarkets in the immediate neighbourhood and many different shops throughout Tienen. When eating out, you should avoid saying "fries", which means chips here!

Bosch interns receive a free current account at the bank "BNP paribas fortis" on the Grote Markt in Tienen. Opening an account is quick and easy, as the bank already handles the formalities for international students. To make phone calls, there are cheap prepaid cards with €10 credit from "Alditalk", which can also be used to make cheap calls to Germany. Internet costs €5 for 400 MB. However, I didn't use this as I had internet access at work and there was Wi-Fi in the house. I didn't miss it during the day trips or parties.

Tienen has around 30,000 inhabitants and offers good leisure facilities. The area is ideal for cycling or running. The fitness centre "Fitfactory Amplitude" (www.fitfactoryamplitude.be) offers training and courses for Bosch interns for 25 euros per month. There are also Flemish beginners' courses at the "CBE Open School" in Tienen (www.basiseducatie.be), which take place twice a week in the evening.

The university town of Leuven is about 10 minutes away by train, which runs every half hour. Here you will find shops and department stores, as well as restaurants, bars and other places to go out.

Excursions are possible to nearby Brussels, for example, but Antwerp, Ghent, Liège or Bruges can also be reached in one to two hours and are ideal for weekend excursions. The Belgian railway offers a "Go-Pass" for students, with which each journey within Belgium costs only 5 euros. Other cities worth visiting are Maastricht, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Lille and Paris.

Overall, I would rate my stay abroad as 1.3. Even if some people think that Belgium is not a foreign country, I have to say: as only Flemish was spoken at work, I had my obstacles, but this experience strengthened me and showed me that language barriers can be broken with a lot of humour and charm.

I particularly liked the fact that I learnt about the process of a project in the company. I realised how little time there is for meetings compared to a project at university, as several Sections are involved and time is a very scarce commodity, especially for Department or Group Leaders. As an intern, I was always very dependent on the information and time of others and sometimes had to work alone for several hours.

Ultimately, however, I was able to gain a better understanding of the production processes and workflows in larger companies.
I not only enjoyed the valuable experience at Bosch, but also the many new friendships I made with other interns from all over Europe. Travelling within Belgium, to Luxembourg and to the Netherlands also enriched me greatly and broadened my horizons.