Week in the Workplace Connects Former and Current Students

ISA’s Week in the Workplace program is designed to provide Grade 10 students with an opportunity to spend a week gaining valuable real-life work experience within a specific field of their choice. By gaining work experience in a field they are interested in, students learn valuable life lessons that will impact their university choices and prospective career. 

Emilia, ISA student, spent a week working with the Creative Agency team at TomTom, a Dutch navigation company that invented the world’s first route-planning software for mobile devices. What Emilia didn’t expect is that her mentor and the CEO of TomTom are both part of the ISA Alumni Community!

“It was very valuable having my mentor being an ISA alum, in the sense that I was able to talk about some of my experiences that she could connect with and vice versa. I was even able to ask her about my course choices for the following DP years, and what her experience was in the IB. It was interesting to have this connection, specifically the understanding of what it is like to go to this school and be in an international setting. Furthermore, it was very interesting to see what an ISA student could potentially do in the future as a career path, especially in one that I personally may considering”, said Emilia.

Appointed team members took the roles of “buddies” to support and guide the students. The TomTom team shared that “we were very satisfied with the students’ visit and engagement during the week and hope that we were able to inspire them to consider a career path in tech, to show them the importance of mapmaking and how interesting it can be. This is what our co-founders Corinne and Harold always aim to achieve through our initiatives with students.”

We are happy to report that the 2023 edition of Week in the Workplace is starting on 5 June, 2023. This year, we want to build on the success of last year and provide experiences that will help our students develop their minds, their character and contribute to our community and, through working with experienced professionals, better understand potential pathways and opportunities within a particular career field or in social entrepreneurialism.

If you, a colleague, friend, or family member might be interested in sharing their professional experiences with an ISA student, or just if you would like to learn more, click here.