Making the world a little bit better
My name is Christoph Kallenberg. I’m 24 years old and I’m doing a master’s program in industrial engineering at RWTH Aachen University with a focus on mechanical engineering. Alongside my studies, I volunteer for Enactus Aachen e.V., where students like us have the opportunity to shape social entrepreneurship projects and make the world a little bit better. From September until December 2016, I completed a voluntary internship in the Operational Excellence Supply Chain unit of the Corporate Engineering & Technology function at Bayer. I’d like to explain to you what connects Bayer and Enactus and what both mean to me.
Why I volunteer for Enactus
During my studies I’ve often looked for opportunities to put what I’ve learned into practice and thus have a positive impact. My interest in entrepreneurship and the will to help disadvantaged people led me to Enactus Aachen e.V. Enactus enables students to contribute their own founder ideas and thus lastingly improve the standard of living and quality of life of those in need. I’m also fascinated by doing project work on a team and driving forward a common vision in order to expand my abilities.
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Bayer & Enactus
Bayer is a strong partner in the development of our ideas and projects, and a big supporter of Enactus. After Enactus Aachen e.V. won the National Cup 2016 in Wuppertal, we received support from Bayer. A teambuilding and workshop weekend with Bayer in Belgium led to a strong bond and a particular focus of the group on the respective projects. It was the financial support from Bayer (e.g. the financing of flights) that enabled us to carry out all of our foreign projects in Africa. I came into contact with Bayer for the first time at this workshop and was very impressed. Through Enactus, the Bayer Career team and friends, I established the contact with Bayer that led to my internship.
Entrepreneurship & internship at Bayer
During my time at Bayer, I was assigned to the Operational Excellence Supply Chain unit in the Corporate Engineering &Technology function, where I worked together closely with my supervisor on all the same projects he works on. The activities are very multifaceted and cover a whole range of exciting topics. Everything was represented in the projects – from conventional analysis of production data and process improvement through strategy development and consultancy to innovation management. Particularly in the area of innovation, I had the opportunity to apply the skills I had attained at Enactus and to experience the innovation process from up close. In this context, entrepreneurship – or intrapreneurship, as it is often called in large companies – played a driving role and built a further bridge to Enactus. My favorite parts of my internship at Bayer were the close cooperation with my supervisor and the many different project partners, as well as the diversification I was presented with. I was especially surprised by the broad range of topics you come into contact with at Bayer in a unit like Operational Excellence. The resulting diversity makes each new working day exciting and increases the motivation with which you work on your tasks. The various personal development opportunities one receives at Bayer surprised me despite my prior research.
The company offers its employees a large number of development opportunities and is interested in their personal development. As a result of this close relationship with the employees and the interesting people I was able to meet, I consider Bayer to be a very attractive employer with a good work climate. I already had the feeling during the contact I had with Bayer through Enactus that there would be a nice working atmosphere here – and this was confirmed during my internship.
After my internship at Bayer, I will continue my master’s for a semester at the National University Taiwan in Taipei before returning to RWTH Aachen University for my final semesters. I’m certain I’ll stay in touch with Bayer through my supervisor, Enactus and the Bayer Career team.
This post is also available in: German
