Internship in Germany 1-3 months

To all the people who are considering to apply to the excellence center, here are a few things you need to know.

1. You will never find a more family-like workplace anywhere in the world.
The interns, the managers and interns works together in the office 24/7, during which they explore the city, cook and share meals, engross in discussions and work. The welcoming and open atmosphere of the workplace makes you bond with it beyond a mere professional relationship. The people you meet there will become your dearest friends, spread all over the world.

2. You will get to hear stories and experiences you had never been able to access. You will be working with refugees who had directly been through the issues you had read in the news. They shore a different, more in-depth side of the issue that widens your perspective about the world, and changes your perception of global issues. Moreover, you will be housed with a refugee family, with whom you will share meals and form a familia relationship. Just simply talking and mingling with the people in the center will inspire and mold you into a better global leader who understands the context of the refugee issue more insightfully.

3. Communication is very, very efficient. Both managers, Rafat and Mutaz are open to all opinions and criticisms and are quick to tailor the program to match it to you. They want not only the center to improve but for the volunteers and interns to advance, so they will be extremely attentive to your progress.

4. There is amazing travel opportunities. Not only does the center provide a trip to Halle, if you apply to become an intern, they take you to Leipzig, a near by city to show you how the refugees had integrated in the German culture. You will be given wonderful authentic food and an opportunity to interview the refugees who are working and living inside Germany. Not only that the center allows you to take a total of 8 days break to travel all around Germany. For me, I used my travel days to adventure into Prague, which became my favorite city.

5. The education you will receive is pristine. You will be taken to nearby universities to talk with the faculty member, and will be given lectures in the center about the status quo of refugee migration. You will also have the chance to do your own research and present it infront of the whole staff and volunteers.

I participated in a four-week program at the Excellence Center in Europe. My first week consisted exclusively of Foreign language classes, participants are given the option to chose between Arabic and German. The classes lasted four to five hours and were dense with language instruction. I chose to study German for the first week, because I already knew some basic level Arabic and wished to communicate with people in Halle (Saale). My teacher's name was Muhammad and he proved to be a very adept instructor. I learned much more German, especially grammar, than I would have originally anticipated.

The other three weeks consisted of presentations about the Syrian Refugee Crisis, Syrian society, and the History of modern Syria. These presentations proved to be exceedingly interesting and very educational. I was under the assumption that I had a good grasp of the Syrian civil war beforehand but I ended up learning so much more than I thought I would.

After the most week is when we began teaching English classes to refugees. The classes were the most memorable part of the experience because of how eager the students were to learn. Some of the classes consisted mostly of teenagers, and some were exclusively adults, so you met a wide range of people, all of whom were very pleasant to teach and to work with.

The other participants and I made several presentations about ourselves and our home countries, and about the Halle as well; and had the opportunity to present them to the entire staff at the Excellence Center and for some of the students.

The staff at the Excellence Center were some of the most genuinely friendly and splendid people I have ever met. They were great to work with and very personable as well. This experience was certainly life changing for me and I made such amazing friendships and connections in Halle that I hope will last a lifetime.

The past month at the Excellence Center in Europe has flown by. I feel as if I just arrived in Halle, a city I have grown to love, and just began interning at the Excellence Center, a place that feels like home. While I expected that the experiences of living in Germany and working at an organization like the Excellence Center would allow me to grow, challenge me, and give me a new perspective, I had no idea just how valuable these experiences would prove to be. The first week, in which I had intensive Ammiya classes and got to know everyone at the Center, allowed me to better serve my students, peers, and friends at the Center and communicate with them and with others in the city. Learning Arabic is even more rewarding for me when I can apply it in real life and allows me to be vulnerable, understand how terrifying it was for refugees to come to a country with a completely new language, and to learn from others about their language and culture. Though I struggled a bit in the intensive course as I am not a gifted language-learner, I’m really glad that I had that opportunity to get to know the people that the center serves, and I used what I learned over the next three weeks.
The second and third weeks of the internship combined teaching English classes with sessions and presentations on culture, integration, politics, history, educational psychology, teaching strategies, scheduled personal conversations with refugee peers, and community building activities within the Center. I had many opportunities to learn about Syrian politics and culture, the situation of refugees in Germany and Halle, teaching English as a foreign language, and how the Center operates and provides services to the community. Through presentations, classes, and intensive conversations, I was able to apply the information that I learned about integration and peoples’ realities to the English classes I taught, which proved very valuable to how I approached the internship. What is unique about the Excellence Center is the community that it creates between the staff and the people who come to the Center. After a series of presentations on the varied layers, issues, and components of integration into German society and on how the political history, social structures, and international relations of Syria contributed to the refugee crisis, the ability to have a deep discussion on these topics and on our everyday lives with two Syrian youth was truly invaluable. Something that drew me to interning at the Center was the possibility to have such an experience, as in my opinion, it’s not possible to serve a group of people without an involved knowledge of their situation, history, day-to-day lives, and their needs. Being able to apply this knowledge to teaching English classes has allowed me to become more understanding and hopefully more effective as an intern, volunteer, and global citizen.
The presentations and sessions on educational psychology, I had one of the most rewarding opportunities of my life—the chance to work with an underserved community to fulfill an education and social need has allowed me to develop myself personally and professionally while also learning about the situation and lives of immigrants and refugees in Germany. I have been able to develop personal connections with my students and gain an insight into their experiences, everyday lives and culture. Learning about the educational psychology that goes into teaching a foreign language has enabled me to further extend myself in these areas while opening my eyes to a new passion and interest. I also feel more confident and prepared in my teaching and methods, and I now have a deeper understanding of how to effectively motivate and meet students’ needs.
Beyond the practical skills that I learned from analyzing and presenting on the official Excellence Center teaching manual, which gave me a deep toolbox of classroom strategies and advice, the week’s focus on teaching and educational psychology highlighted to me the importance of providing these educational opportunities for refugees, especially opportunities that also encourage mutual, intercultural understanding. Though the trainings and presentations on educational psychology contained multitudes of information, strategies, rules, etc., the main focus on motivation made this clear to me. All of the refugees that I’ve worked with both at the Excellence Center and at home in North Carolina have demonstrated such a strong motivation to improve their lives, become a part of a new community, and create their own futures. English classes and learning the English language are a vein through which refugees can do all three of these things. However, even though refugees may have a deep, intrinsic motivation to improve their lives by learning this language, it is crucial that teachers, volunteers, and peers encourage and foster this motivation inside and outside of the classroom.
In the final week, the lessons that I learned over the time of my internship culminated. I am sad to leave Halle because of how much I learned, the incredible connections that I made with my students, and the community that I have become a part of at the Center. I had the opportunity to learn so much about the intersections of German culture and the refugee situation and Arab culture, the lives of my students, and about the ways in which I can serve the refugee community. I am so genuinely excited to keep in touch with my students and colleagues, who are now like friends and family. This experience gave me so many valuable skills, opportunities, experiences, and unforgettable moments. I look forward to returning to the Excellence Center in Europe as soon as possible!

Here at the Excellence Center in Europe, I had a great time with the staff and everyone involved in the program. The program that I chose was the internship program which is for one month.

I have always had an interest in refugees and how Germany is coping with the refugee crisis that occurred in 2015. This internship program at the Excellence Center in Europe has given me an in depth background of refugees by having consistent interaction with refugees from the school, apartment complex, or the local mosque.

My first week I had the option to learn German or Arabic and on my last week I had the opportunity to teach English to refugee students. These experiences have been very rewarding to me and I appreciate everything that the program has to offer me in Germany.

When I started to look for volunteer programs in Europe, I couldn’t find anything
that was affordable, fun and let me be actively involved with the local refugee population,
until I came across The Excellence Center. After looking at The Excellence Center
I realized that The Center is involved in the local the refugee community, helping them
assimilate in German society. Inviting volunteers from all over the world to help them
with their mission here in Germany. I decided to apply to the program, I promptly got a
response from Rafat, who is the manager of The Excellence Center. My main
motivation was to come to Germany, to get a sense of the refugee crisis. I also wanted
to learn German and know more about the refugee crisis in Germany, so I decided to
come and volunteer at The Excellence Center in Halle, before coming here I was a bit
nervous about my time here, but from the very first day Rafat and other students
welcomed me with open arms and have shown a great hospitality.

During my first week, Rafat invited us over to his house for dinner. The Excellent Center
provided me with great accommodation with a German speaker which allowed me to
practice my German. My host was also a refugee from Syria, so I got to interact with
him about the arduous journey he had to undertake to get to Germany and the efforts
he was making to be part of the German society like many others. On the weekend the
Center organized cultural and social exchanges between students, volunteers and
members of the local community, consisting of young professionals and university
students, it was a great way to hear their point of view on this issue in Germany and
Europe at large among many other topics. These activities helped me make new
friends, we later explored the city together in the free time.

Another thing I was really struck by was visiting refugee families, they were extremely
welcoming. Getting to hear the first-hand account of the conflict in Syria and the
unimaginable horrors it has caused to countless families, forcing them to flee their
homeland. Some of the stories were truly sad.

Over the weekends The center organized trips to nearby cities for sightseeing in the
region, so we got to see and learn more about German culture and history. Though I
before coming to Germany I was a bit nervous but the people at The Excellence Center
have embraced me like a family member, and I’m so grateful for their generosity.
Everyone I have met here has gone well above and beyond to make sure I feel
welcomed and have the best experience possible. I now have a group of great friends,
I’m so grateful that I decided to come to The Excellence Center and volunteer here. I’d
urge everyone if you are thinking about traveling to Europe but also want to contribute
and do something meaningful during your travels, come to The Excellence Center,
believe me, you will not be disappointed.