The Austrian SEKEM Friends Association arranged in cooperation with the association “Arche Guntrams” an internship for a student of the Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development (HU). Karim Mokhtar Elwakad, student at the business faculty of HU, spent two months with “Arche-Guntrams”, researching the subject of his bachelor thesis: Cost of production of fruit juices on small agricultural scale. Heliopolis University fosters practical experiences for the students as important part of the curriculum. During his stay, Karim was supported by Dr. Stefan Gergely, chairman of the association “Arche Guntrams”, and the couple Sigrid and Reinhard Adelsberger. In the following summary, Karim Mohktar Elwakad tells about his stay in Austria.
Practical experience and most beautiful time
As a business and economics student at Heliopolis University in Cairo, I participated in a two-month internship at “Arche Guntrams” in Austria. The main task of my internship was to calculate the production costs of fruit juices on small agricultural scale. I made analysis of the effort for harvesting, processing and bottling of juices, with special consideration of personnel costs. Therefore, I developed of a calculation model for profitability depending on selling price and remuneration.
Overall, the time in Austria proved to be both enjoyable and rewarding. I gained many new experiences but also faced some difficulties when working on my tasks. Namely, as a student, I was used to receiving very detailed, step-by-step instructions – during my internship I had to show more flexibility and autonomy. Hence, this practical experience was very important for me and will help me for a lifetime.
Experiencing the everyday life in Austria for two-months was also a great enrichment for me because it was totally different from my home country. For two days I was invited to Graz by the SEKEM Friends Austria and SEKEM Energy – thank you for this! Of course, I am very thankful to Dr. Stefan Gergely and Reinhard Adelsberger for the knowledge and the experience that they shared with me. It was a great honor to work with them. I am also very grateful to Sigrid Adelsberger for her wonderful care and help. The two months in Austria were really the most beautiful time in my life – full of adventures and new experiences.
Kariam Mokhtar Elwakad
SEKEM and Heliopolis University are very grateful to the Austrian SEKEM Friends and “Arche Guntrams” for their great commitment. Further help in finding internship possibilities for students of Heliopolis University is always welcome.
SEKEM Friends Austria (German)
Arche Guntrams (German)
Creating More Opportunities: Collaboration between Heliopolis University and Kunstuniversität Graz
Students from Heliopolis University Take Part in Exchange Programme with Austria