Embarking on an international placement is a transformative experience, offering the chance to gain invaluable skills, broaden horizons, and enhance career prospects. 

Sourajit Aiyer, a Sustainable Finance and Accounting MSc student, shared with us his journey and insights from his placement year abroad with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit),the German international development and technical assistanceagency. 

Why Choose an International Placement? 

For Sourajit, the decision to pursue an international placement was driven by his passion for sustainability and finance. He recognised that gaining experience of Green Finance in Europe would be highly beneficial, especially given the growing demand for such expertise in his home country, India: 

“The placement year option was actually one of the fundamental reasons why I took the Sussex offer. Working on the placement itself in this part of the world where a lot is happening [has] been a good opportunity.” 

Sourajit also recognised that working abroad itself is seen as valuable experience by potential employers: “this additional year of work experience at the GIZ offices in Germany and Egypt [has] added value to my CV.” 

What skills will you develop?  

Apart from valuable industry and technical experience, another reason for choosing an international placement is to broaden your transferrable skills.  

Through navigating a move abroad and settling in, Sourajit developed resilience and adaptability; two skills which are highly valued by employers.  

Throughout his placement, Sourajit worked with people from many different cultures and has expanded his intercultural communication skills. And as Sourajit reflected, “it’s not just about professional development, it’s also the personal development!” 

Advice for students considering an International Placement 

Be flexible - in how you search and what you search for. Sourajit said that none of his interviews had come from job adverts: they were the result of directly contacting functional managers in different organisations 

Make connections – talk to as many different people as you can. Sourajit spoke to many professors in the Business School, industry professionals, and attended seminars and conferences to get industry insights and network: “these are the people who are in this space. They have seen the world, at least in this line of work, better than what we have as students.” 

Understand your motivation –it doesn’t have to be fully clarified, but having an idea of a reasonable career direction will help to focus your search and help you to more easily talk about yourself with potential employers. 

“Nobody knows how the things will turn out. It's all educated guesses, but at least you have a rough thought in your mind that this is what I want to do.” 

Learn more about Placements 

Some undergraduates, as well as Masters students in Sustainable Finance and Accounting, Strategic Innovation Management, and Science and Technology Policy, can explore International Placement opportunities. If you’re keen to broaden your horizons and develop skills which are highly valued by employers, find out more about international placements here. 

All undergraduates can apply for a Professional Placement Year between their second and third year of study. Find out more about Professional Placement Years here. 

Have any queries? Use the Ask a Question function on CareerHub. 

The world awaits you!