Auslandspraktikum
For those who are pursuing their tertiary education in Germany, the word ''Auslandspraktikum''(APK) should serve as nothing more than a normal mundane jargon. Basically, it refers to an internship in a foreign country with germany being the reference point. This also means spending aroung 6 months acquaring practical training in industry whilst exploring a wholenew environment, gaining direct access to the wealth of other traditions & cultures, and being pleasantly prone to pleasant, albeit unexpected events for that span.
Thrilling and interesting as it may sound, the JPA scholars in germany are, for some unforseen reasons, not allowed to do so. Anyway, i'm not sure if the words ''not allowed'' are appropriate to describe the situation. Reason being that we are, in actuality, NOT prohibited from it, but if we were to insist on doing so, we would not be paid the allowance for that particular period whilst undergoing APK overseas. Frankly, that equates a huge amount of money. After all, imposing this ''temporary suspension of allowance'' is simply and undisputedly tantamout to disapproval. One needs not be a genius to realise that.
Queer but true, perhaps owing to my own stupidity, i struggle to comprehend the logic that lurks beneath this move. There are a lot of undisclosed sources saying all sorts of things about why we should not go for APK, for examples :
1) We might ''forget'' the german language, had we spent a few months outside the country.
2) We are assigned the task of squeezing every drop of the juice from the sponge of
Germany, and hence we should utilise every chance of an internship in Germany to the
uppermost.
3) We should not cross the ''preset-boundary'' as there are already ''ambassadors'' in other
countries to learn the existing technology there.
Now i would LOVE to hypnotize myself into believing that those sources are unreliable, coz these suggestions and the reasonings reflect the naiveness and shortsigntedness that come with them. If there's a fear of losing the complete command of the german language, why sent us to a country with a foreign language in the first place ?? I don't deny that the command of it might be affected a bit, but after all, 6 months is not that long. On the other hand, we actually have the chance to sharpen the razor of the command of another language that's being used in that foreign country. And to the 2nd and 3rd suggestion, it's even more far-fetched. Bear in mind that learning a technology is not like doing maths. While 1+1=2 is always true in maths, 50+50 might only be 75 or even 60 in the technology transfer thingy. And how bout the priceless experiences of an APK overseas ??
Anyway, the argument about whether one should go for the so-called Auslandspraktikum is NOT the same as whether one should be allowed to do so in the first place. Germany itself is not short of or to be precise, far from short of world-class titans with the likes of Porsche, Audi, Mercedez, BMW, VW, Bosch, Siemens and so on. Put that aside, meanwhile it's inevitable for one to ponder about whether APK is a boon or a bane. It's rather controversial, i suppose. I would just say:
-While one might struggle under a certain circumstance, the others might actually thrive on
it.
-While a situation might be of adverse effects to certain ppl, it might be a blessing in disguise to
other ppl.
The way i see it, after years of hype and wrangling about this seemingly complicated matter, it eventually boils down to 2 simple questions :
-Why settle for mediocre when things could easily be done in a much better way?
-Why impose so much control when this on the other hand could mean stifling one's teething
determination to step out of the comfort zone in transcending one's boundary?
Thrilling and interesting as it may sound, the JPA scholars in germany are, for some unforseen reasons, not allowed to do so. Anyway, i'm not sure if the words ''not allowed'' are appropriate to describe the situation. Reason being that we are, in actuality, NOT prohibited from it, but if we were to insist on doing so, we would not be paid the allowance for that particular period whilst undergoing APK overseas. Frankly, that equates a huge amount of money. After all, imposing this ''temporary suspension of allowance'' is simply and undisputedly tantamout to disapproval. One needs not be a genius to realise that.
Queer but true, perhaps owing to my own stupidity, i struggle to comprehend the logic that lurks beneath this move. There are a lot of undisclosed sources saying all sorts of things about why we should not go for APK, for examples :
1) We might ''forget'' the german language, had we spent a few months outside the country.
2) We are assigned the task of squeezing every drop of the juice from the sponge of
Germany, and hence we should utilise every chance of an internship in Germany to the
uppermost.
3) We should not cross the ''preset-boundary'' as there are already ''ambassadors'' in other
countries to learn the existing technology there.
Now i would LOVE to hypnotize myself into believing that those sources are unreliable, coz these suggestions and the reasonings reflect the naiveness and shortsigntedness that come with them. If there's a fear of losing the complete command of the german language, why sent us to a country with a foreign language in the first place ?? I don't deny that the command of it might be affected a bit, but after all, 6 months is not that long. On the other hand, we actually have the chance to sharpen the razor of the command of another language that's being used in that foreign country. And to the 2nd and 3rd suggestion, it's even more far-fetched. Bear in mind that learning a technology is not like doing maths. While 1+1=2 is always true in maths, 50+50 might only be 75 or even 60 in the technology transfer thingy. And how bout the priceless experiences of an APK overseas ??
Anyway, the argument about whether one should go for the so-called Auslandspraktikum is NOT the same as whether one should be allowed to do so in the first place. Germany itself is not short of or to be precise, far from short of world-class titans with the likes of Porsche, Audi, Mercedez, BMW, VW, Bosch, Siemens and so on. Put that aside, meanwhile it's inevitable for one to ponder about whether APK is a boon or a bane. It's rather controversial, i suppose. I would just say:
-While one might struggle under a certain circumstance, the others might actually thrive on
it.
-While a situation might be of adverse effects to certain ppl, it might be a blessing in disguise to
other ppl.
The way i see it, after years of hype and wrangling about this seemingly complicated matter, it eventually boils down to 2 simple questions :
-Why settle for mediocre when things could easily be done in a much better way?
-Why impose so much control when this on the other hand could mean stifling one's teething
determination to step out of the comfort zone in transcending one's boundary?
posted by Teong Hee at 11:54 PM
3 Comments:
alright, let me be the first to leave my trail. I kinda there´s not much to be complained about the government.. It´s not the first time our government has made decisions that baffle us right?... I definitely support the idea of doing an Auslandspraktikum. But think about it, it´s not easy at all to get a good local offer for the 2PS, what more an auslandspraktikum. So my stand is, don´t think too much about it, but try as hard as possible to get it. And if the chances pass by, why not?.. The heck with the allowance, we all know how lucrative the salary can be, and of course, it´s not all about money right?..
Keep it up, teong hee, stir up more conflicts and discussions, it´s interesting.
I thought we are allowed to do Auslandspraktikum in Europe? That's what i heard la...btw, i agree that while money can be important, it shouldn't be the main reason for not wanting to do it.
actually it's kinda complicated...
Tentatively, It applies to countries with no JPA scholars only...but then once again, there's no guideline from JPA as to which countries are we allowed to go or whether we are allowed at all to go outside germany in the first place ??
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