My student training period at Barenbrug was an extremely practical introduction to my field of work within an international concern

Kay Keaulya, Digital Communication student working in the Marketing department

As a student at Utrecht Professional University, I spent a training period in the Marketing department of Barenbrug Holland BV. My course subject is digital communication, and in the third year of the course, I opted for a ‘work experience placement’ in marketing communication.

Marketing and communication are in the ‘genes’ at Barenbrug, you might say. This made the company a perfect learning environment for me as a ‘Communication’ student. The B-to-B marketing in grass seeds is directed at various markets, including dairy farmers in the agriculture sector, football pitches in Europe's major stadiums and greens in the rapidly growing golf market. During this training period, I experienced many forms of communication, including the expansion of the number of international websites and e-mailings, as well as all sorts of off-line communication and sales promotions.

International
The company is also very accessible for a student with only six months to get to know it. Barenbrug is a medium-sized, very internationally orientated company. I worked at the Dutch branch, which employs 100 people. The 20 branches throughout the world employ 500 people altogether, which makes Barenbrug the second largest concern in the international grass seed market. As a student, you naturally only have contact with a limited number of colleagues. But I did acquire a good understanding of how people work together, both internationally and close to home, between all the different departments. 

In addition to my work experience in marketing communication, I also learned what it was like to work for an international company, with international colleagues and for foreign markets. This was an added advantage for me. I was even involved in setting up an international intranet and an international photo archive for the company.

The supervision in the various projects was excellent. My supervisor was always prepared to answer questions. I was personally very pleased that my input was taken seriously and was also useful to the company. All told, my student training period at Barenbrug was an extremely educational experience.