Björn Osen

Country of origin: Germany

Placement: CapGemini Consulting

I chose to take a placement year because I wanted to put the theoretical knowledge I acquired during my studies to the test and gain important experience in the “real world”.  My placement year did not only give me the unique opportunity to gain a sneak peek into working life but also provided me with the working experience necessary to secure a graduate job.

During my placement I was working within a consulting team on a project that was transforming the IT infrastructure of a large financial services institution. My role hereby required me to support the development of strategic guidelines and papers that would guide the implementation of the project and then later on also create working instructions and specific processes around topics such as IT Awareness Management. Further tasks revolved around topics such as Change Management, Project Management and Compliance. Therefore, I was always able to steer my engagement and ask to be assigned to specific tasks that most interested me.

My placement has been a very exciting experience. I was able to face many new challenges and gather new knowledge and skills at a rapid rate. I applied a lot of my theoretical knowledge at work but also learnt to appreciate the difference between theory and practice. I also managed to meet a lot of interesting people from whom I was able to learn a great deal.

I very much enjoyed the low hierarchy and high levels of responsibility that I faced at Capgemini Consulting. Within my first weeks I was given important and meaningful tasks that were relevant to the project. I was able to work directly with the client and make my own ideas heard. My input and work was always discussed and I received valuable feedback.

I very much enjoyed the type of work I experienced at Capgemini Consulting and I now consider consultancy to be one of my preferred industries to work in after my graduation. However, I do believe that the skills that I acquired during my placement year will be invaluable regardless of career that I might be going into.

LUMS was very supportive in letting me tailor my placement year according to my individual interest and allowed me to split my placement year into two individual internships, the first of which I spent in Banking with NORD/LB in Singapore before I moved on to spend the second half of the year with Capgemini Consulting in Germany.