B360 Internships Continue in 2023
Five NUST students undertook internships in Switzerland in the first semester of 2023, while a further seven students from the university were selected to undertake internships in the central European country during the second semester.
By the end of 2023 a total of twelve students from the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) would have participated in the B360 Education Partnerships (B360) Sending North Programme. This marks a 20% increase from the ten NUST students who travelled to Switzerland in 2022 for industry internships in that country. The Swiss internships are made possible through a fifteen-year partnership between NUST and B360. During this period well over 100 NUST students have each spent three months working at Swiss companies in the banking, information technology and engineering sectors.
In January 2023 a group of NUST students participating in the B360 Sending North Programme departed Namibian shores for Swiss pastures. Anna Tomas, Faith Hungwe, Martin Nambahu, Dawid Amutenya and Sakaria Nghivafe embarked on an eye-opening and life-changing adventure as they prepared for placements in world-renowned organisations. During they stay in Switzerland, the five NUST students were placed with Swiss-host families, giving them a taste of true Swiss life, and enriching their cultural experience.
Ngivafe, a Computer Science student was placed with financial services provider, bob Finance, while Tomas and Hungwe, both from the Faculty of Commerce, Human Sciences and Education, were placed with banking giants Credit Suisse and LGT respectively. Nambahu and Amutenya, both Mechanical Engineering students were placed with Ferrum AG and Buchi respectively.
When asked about her experience abroad, Tomas said that the internship had exceeded all her expectations. “I could not have imagined this. Work has been challenging and demanding, but the support from my supervisors and colleagues have been amazing. I have learned so much from them,” she said. Nghivafe echoed these sentiments, adding that the practical application of concepts learned at NUST has brought new understanding and insight. “I feel like I have made so much progress in terms of how I understand theory and my view of the working world. I have a better understanding of where I see myself in the future, the type of work I want to do and the organization I wish to work for,” he added.
In March 2023 the next cohort of NUST students that will travel to Switzerland in the second half of the year for internships abroad were selected. This time around seven NUST students from the Faculties of Computing and Informatics, Commerce, Human Sciences and Education and Health, Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, respectively, were selected. This is the largest single group of NUST students that will participate in B360’s Sending North Programme.
“We are incredibly happy that such a large group of NUST students have been selected for the B360 Internship Programme for the second semester of this year,” said NUST International Relations Officer, Nico Smit. “The total of twelve NUST students undertaking internships in Switzerland in 2023 is the largest annual intake of our students into the B360 Internship Programme to date,” Smit said.
The partnership between NUST and B360 was established in 2009. The Swiss-based NGO works with universities in Namibia, Zambia and South Africa. B360 focuses on skills and knowledge transfer by facilitating the placement of industry experts at southern African universities as volunteer guest lecturers, as well as coordinating industry internships for students from these countries with Swiss organisations.
