The Deutsche Bundesbank offers its students the opportunity to complete the final practical phase of their studies at an external European or German institution.

Hanna Schönewolf took advantage of this opportunity and spent her seven weeks at the Central Bank of Finland (Suomen Pankki) in Helsinki. There, she gained insight into the Bank’s communication department, which currently has 20 Finnish employees. “It was very exciting to find out about the work done at another central bank in the European System. The activities are similar in principle, but there are some differences such as the size of the institution,” Ms Schönewolf remarked. Compared with the Deutsche Bundesbank, which is the largest European central bank, the Central Bank of Finland is rather small. The atmosphere there is, according to Ms Schönewolf, almost familial.

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Ms Schönewolf supported the team in various areas, including searching the ECB’s daily press review for news relevant from a Finnish perspective and helping to prepare various events. The highlight of her practical phase was the Financial Literacy Conference, a conference attended by many international financial experts. She assisted the team in preparing and running the conference and its follow-up activities and thus gained significant insight into the work of her Finnish colleagues.

“I am very pleased with the experience I was able to gain in Finland and greatly appreciate the opportunity to work abroad during my studies. I am especially happy that the Bundesbank supported me in organising my stay, so I didn’t have to figure it out all on my own,” said Ms Schönewolf when summing up her practical phase.