A research team from the German Graduate School of Management and Law in Heilbronn, Germany, has developed a system to measure the intercultural openess of German companies, which should orientate immigrants seeking a job in the country. Rafael González García de Cosío, a former member of AEGEE-Sevilla, has been involved in the research and writes about the results.

There’s always a time when the student life comes to an end. When long holidays, summer universities and autonomy are suddenly over. A new chapter starts in everyone’s life when time arrives to look for a job. However, because of the economic crisis in many European countries, thousands of young people are deciding to pack and look for a better future abroad, even fearing a lack of integration in their planned destinations. The favourite for many is Germany, which unlike other nations in the continent has a strong economy and is calling for foreign workers. Thanks to AEGEE, many candidates already have an open mind and the cultural baggage needed for integration. But are companies also open to foreigners?

A research team called AIKO -Auditierung Interkultureller Offenheit (Audit on Intercultural Openess)- from the German Graduate School of Management and Law in Heilbronn has found a way to measure how interculturally open German companies are when facing foreign applicants.

The objective of the research, according to one of its members, Frederike Hoffmann, is to ‘‘analyse the intercultural skills of institutions and enterprises‘‘, through categories and indicators of intercultural openess. In addition, the idea is to promote the welcoming culture of companies towards new incomers and to foster work structures withouth discrimination in Germany. As a result, the goal of the whole process is to struggle against the skills shortage in certain regions.

The research is based on surveys within German companies and institutions. The AIKO team has already gone through several organisations, from kindergardens to explosion-proof companies. There, the team interviews workers and managers in order to analyse the application of their scientific indicators in the organisation. As the researcher Klára Denzin puts it: ‘‘thanks to guided interviews and expert workshops it was possible to determine categories and indicators that helped to measure the rate of the intercultural openess‘‘.

But what are the results so far? What are the strenghts and the weaknesses of these companies? ‘‘Essentially, companies don’t fail in terms of intercultural openess. In the companies, the first strenght was that they agreed to express themselves. That already shows a certain openess‘‘, says Raimund Rück, a member of the team. The director of the study, Prof. Dr. Christopher Stehr, goes further and summarizes the success of German institutions in four points: the phenomenon of the tandem partner who introduces the new incomer into the organisation, the presence of people in the company who already speak the language of the new worker and help them with the integration, the adaptation of both employees and companies to the new situation and the induction time that enterprises give their employees to learn all processes. But Prof. Stehr also reminds the weak points of German companies: ‘‘they underestimate workers with different cultures. But they should adapt to the change. Companies think about workers joining them, not about people. They should be integrated in the network, and in some of the companies we visited, that is hard to fulfill‘‘.

The next step in the research is to establish a certification process. The AIKO team wants to provide the organisations with a gold, silver or bronze qualification certificate, which will encourage foreign applicants to apply for a job, as well as stimulate their integration once hired by the company. According to Mr. Rück, that would ‘‘contribute to the economic promotion […] and create added value to the companies in the region‘‘. And the aim of the team is that the system expands to other areas of Europe. This way, not only the organisations will benefit, but students and other immigrants will also be able to carry out their adventures without the fear of feeling excluded. As a result, both AEGEE members and businesses will contribute to a more open and multicultural Euorope.

Written by Rafael González García de Cosío, AEGEE-Sevilla

As you might know, four new locals signed the Convention d’Adhésion in the last Spring Agora Enschede: AEGEE-Sumqayit, AEGEE-Lanzarote, AEGEE-Sevilla, and AEGEE-Rostov-na-Donu. Let us focus our attention on a beautiful town in Andalucía, Spain: Sevilla!

You might know Seville, the capital of the autonomous community of Andalucía, for the beauty of its university founded in 1505, or for the numerous bars where you can go to see a typical dance like sevillanas while eating some nice tapas. But now you have a new reason to like this city even more: a new local has been created there with nice and very motivated members.

Who are they?

The board is composed by Andrés Monge Moreno (President), Miguel Fernández García (Treasurer), and Lorena Cortés Silva (Secretary) and they can count on the help of Kornelia Mazurczyk who is also an active member of AEGEE-Sevilla and comes from Poland.

It is not their first experience in AEGEE: in fact, Miguel was member of AEGEE-Las Palmas, and Lorena of AEGEE-Valencia, and they took part in many Agorae. For working or personal reasons they had to move to Seville and they eventually decided that it was time for it to be a part of AEGEE.

What are their plans?

AEGEE-Sevilla is a little local with around 15 members, and its first aims are to find more partners and to anchor the antenna. Indeed, the main purpose is to guarantee the sustainability of the antenna from now on, as the board members might move from Seville next year.

The idea to organise a European event is stuck in their minds – for example, a Local Training Course (LTC), where they would invite members from all over Europe to get to know them, their work, and the wonderful atmosphere which prevails in this city. As it is a brand new local, they will not organize any summer university this year, but they are already thinking about preparing many events on the local level, and one can see that their imagination and motivation will give birth to great events.

What is their recruitment strategy?

Regarding recruitment strategy, they want to make new members really understand what being a part of AEGEE means. One of the best ways to make someone see that is to push them to take part in a Summer University. Participating in such an experience is a great booster for motivation. The new incomers can feel the sharing and the spirit of friendship, and might want to get more involved in the organisation.

If you pass by or move to Seville, and you want to get to know a nice team of active and involved young people, and of course have a great time and lot of fun; or if you wish to have more information about AEGEE-Sevilla activities, do not hesitate to contact them through their Facebook group (AEGEE Sevilla).

Written by Kristel Jurado, AEGEE-Strasbourg

Photographs by Maria Arendt, AEGEE-Utrecht