Authentic Scandinavia

Placement organization

Name of organization: Authentic Scandinavia
Town/city: Oslo
Country: Noorwegen
Website: http://www.authentic-scandinavia.com

Name of student: Annabelle Dehms

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Online Tour operator
Organization’s activities: The company sells tours to Scandinavia, Finland, the Baltic & Russia to customers (mostly from English speaking countries, Germany and Southeast Asia).
Target group of the organization: FIT
Company culture: The company culture is informal. The colleagues address each other with first names and the atmosphere is nice and friendly. Most people here are between 25-40.
Also, Authentic Scandinavia belongs to the Haman Group and is located on the same floor as the other 2 Oslo offices of Haman (one is French and one is mixed). In total, there are about 30-40 people working in the office and sharing kitchen and lunch area. Everyone is very friendly and it is easy to connect. Also, there are after work drinks, a summer trip (paid by the company) etc. which helps you to integrate.
Number of employees: 7 + 3 interns
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes.

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

Booking department (only one there is)

Brief description of your daily activities: I work in the booking department which means that I receive bookings, contact suppliers and confirm tours to the customers. Afterwards, I deal with other customer requests, register payments and help developing the new (German) website.
Brief description of your company assignment: I am working on a competitor analysis which compares German Online Tour Operators website and Social media presence with the one of Authentic Scandinavia. This is relevant because the company is developing a new version of its website.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Every intern has one supervisor. My supervisor is Victoria, who is really kind and always happy to help. However, you can also ask others if you need help or have questions.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? independent, stress-proof, patient, team player, organized
Additional company requirements for this placement? Office, Excel & Tourplan (a booking system which will be explained in the first days)
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German: Basic
Italian:
Other languages: German favourable but not a must

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Plane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Facebook groups or finn.no
How did you go to work every day? Metro (Company pays for public transport)

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Not if EU citizen
Do you need a work permit? Not if EU citizen. However, a tax number is needed as well as a bank account. Authentic Scandinavia will help you with this.
How did you arrange the necessary documents: –
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? –
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? No

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? Everyone here speaks English

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 100-200
Accommodation (monthly): € ca. 700-800 (Norway is expensive and this is a normal rate for a room in the city)
Local transport (monthly): € 80 (paid by company)
General costs of living (monthly): € 1200-1500
Costs of visa: € –
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? You will receive NOK 5500 per month + Public transport.
There are also fresh fruits provided every day, as well as some basics to prepare simple lunch (I.E. bread and cheese).

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not. Most employees are from Western countries and Norwegians are the minority at work.
In my free time, I was spending most time with the other Interns (French, German, Dutch & Swiss) but also with locals. I am an open-minded and social person, so integrating into the colder nature of Norwegians was no problem. You just have to take the first step sometimes.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? –

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 152693@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Do a lot of outdoor actitivies, Norway is beautiful!
Also, bring winter clothes (even if you start in March or April, there will be snow still!)
Ensure that you have enough money to live here. Salary will not even cover your rent and Oslo is very, very expensive!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Check out Vettakollen, Holmenkollen, Aker Brygge,Sognsvann and the Islands (free public transport by ferry with Metro card).

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link