Howdy,
My name is Loc Dang, and I am a third-year Communication Science student at UvA.
From March till the very end of August, I have interned for ING (the orange bank that you can see in any neighbourhood). ING is a top leading bank in the Netherlands with a total asset of approximately 1 trillion euros. When anyone first arrives in Amsterdam, it is difficult to miss ING’s banners in Schiphol airport. More specifically, I worked in an essential division of ING called ING Analytics, where all the software and development are made.
On daily basis, I am participating in the creation and implementation of the annual Communication Plan for ING Analytics. Secondly, I will be creating and disseminating online material in the form of articles, videos, podcasts, postings, and newsletters through a variety of internal and external communications. Moreover, one of the main jobs is to make graphic design projects for presentation decks, marketing materials, films and events including posters, banners and prints. Also I will schedule a series of communication events and management through live broadcast platforms such as Stream and Youtube. As I organize the event, one of my jobs is to measure and analyze the performance of communication channels. After I got the performance indicators, I would have to create a smart dashboard for reporting. An essential skill that I have learned so far is to collaborate with other team members such as project managers, UX designers, researchers, data scientists and engineers to create good content for upcoming projects. Lastly, I will align communication efforts with other ING departments such as PR, Corporate Communication and Branding.
The working culture at ING is amazing. I love the fact that my colleagues are from different backgrounds. As they are from all walks of life, I also learn various things from different countries and how to behave and treat my colleagues appropriately. I also involved in the Culture Club of ING Analytics. Culture Club primary job is to improve the quality of culture within ING Analytics. The primary goal of the Culture Club is to create bonds between colleagues. We have a bi-monthly survey to evaluate the well-being of colleagues and come up with solutions if there are any problems.
However, my internship is mostly online due to the regulation from the government. Moreover, the work style has shifted to a hybrid tradition since the outbreak in 2020. I got the chance to visit the headquarter of ING once or twice a month. The building that I was working is Cedar, the most innovative and sophisticated building. The building doesn’t have air conditioners, instead the building is cooled by the lake Gaasperplaats. I wish that I could have been to the office more, it is such a nice building.
I managed to learn more of corporate communication at ING. Especially, when my supervisor is an expert in communication. I will look into the talent program from ING when I graduate, I think the banking domain is quite a captivating sector for me. In the end, I will look into another internship for this semester. Hopefully, these internships will prepare me well for my future career.