Mobility specification

Country:Austria

Institution:Niederösterreichisches Landesarchiv

City:St. Pölten

Program:Erasmus+ traineeship

Activity type:Traineeship

Academic year:2021/2022

MU faculty/department:Faculty of Arts / Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies

Study level abroad:Master

✅Check the boxes

How would you categorize your internship?Humanities

💼How-to: Interning abroad

How did you discover this internship opportunity?Recommendation from acquaintances

Can you describe the role you held during your internship?Archivist

What specific responsibilities and tasks did you do during your internship?Inventorying the archival collection of the Aggsbach Monastery, searching for archival materials in the depository and preparing them for researchers.

Did your tasks align with the pre-defined conditions?yes

Did the internship meet your expectations?no

If not, how did it differ?I was expecting a staff member to be more dedicated to me, I got a trolley full of archival material and I was stuck with it all summer... when I had a query, it was a superhuman feat to find another staff member in the archives - if they didn't have HO, they were on holiday or didn't have time for me.

Did you apply any theory you learned at university during the internship?yes

If yes, can you provide a specific example?I used my theoretical knowledge of the auxiliary historical sciences, especially palaeography and diplomacy, many interesting documents passed through my hands.

How well did you manage to communicate in a foreign language?with great difficulty

Did the institution have any special requirements?Technical knowledge (e.g., specific software skills)
Specific language skills
Level of study

How competitive was the selection process? Did you have to go through an application procedure?I didn't have to.

Why would you recommend students do an internship?It's a valuable experience in life, you learn to rely on yourself, as you have to do a lot of things yourself... you also meet people from different backgrounds and on weekends you can explore the city/area.

💰And how to fund it?

What were your average monthly expenses during the internship?12000 CZK/month

Did the institution provide accommodation?no

If not, how did you find it?I found my own dorm.

Did you have any unexpected expenses during the internship?no

Do you have any tips on how to save money during the internship?It's definitely worth it to cook your own food in the dorms and bring your own lunch to work.

🗺 Learn the ropes in a new city

How difficult was it for you to adjust to life abroad?no big deal

How does public transport work in the city?I've seen better

And what about transport outside the city?runs like clockwork

Where to find connections? How to buy a ticket?Buses ran 2x per hour on weekdays, 1x per hour on weekends, easy to remember :) otherwise trains via the ÖBB app.

Did you deal with any health issues during your stay?no

🤠Help create the perfect bucket list

What is a must-see in the city?I really liked the city museum (Stadtmuseum St. Pölten), where I learned about the Roman presence in Lower Austria, there were a lot of interesting artifacts... there is also nice nature in the area where you can go hiking (Viehofner See, Naturlehrpfad Feldmühle).

What are the must-visit trip destinations?I liked the towns of Krems an der Donau (beautiful medieval houses), Tulln an der Donau (Egon Schiele's hometown, museum of the Romans) and the monasteries of Melk (beautiful library and monastery garden) and Göttweig (from Krems a 12 km hike to the monastery through the vineyards).

Share your best experience:One Friday afternoon I spontaneously decided to go to Nuremberg, Germany for a weekend, it was a long and not very cheap trip, but I don't regret it, I saw a lot of beautiful sights (e.g. Albrecht Durer's birthplace).

💅A nugget of wisdom to make the life easier

Did you need to handle a visa?no

How did you get to the place?Train

Can you pay by card?everywhere

🥳Summary

Whew, what a ride! 😮‍💨 Thanks so much for taking the time to complete our survey and for sharing your unique experience. Just one last thing. 🙏 How would you summarize your trip in one or two sentences?All experiences from the trip are valuable and useful, even if not always pleasant or easy, one must not be discouraged at the first setback :)