From Switzerland to Sri Lanka

At the beginning of the year, IAESTE Switzerland informs students about internships abroad so I applied as I thought it would be a good idea to improve my practical knowledge in combination with getting to know other people from different countries. The country I was most fascinated by was Sri Lanka and so in March I got the confirmation to go there for six weeks in the summer. It was really like a dream come true.
I had enough time to organise everything. I booked my flight, applied for the visa and studied some Sri Lankan travel books. I also had contact with IAESTE Sri Lanka. They were really nice, organised everything and sent me a lot of information about Sri Lanka. I was relieved to know that I would work at Lanka Transformers Limited, LTL, at Angulana and that I could stay with a host family in Mount Lavinia.

I was really looking forward to the whole experience and also a little bit curious about visiting Sri Lanka. When I arrived at Katunayake airport, local IAESTE members Prabath and Pubudu picked me up and brought me to my host family.

On 11 July, I started my work at LTL. They specialise in distribution transformers. I worked together with other Sri Lankan trainees. Our supervisor was a woman called Thilini who also studied Electrical Engineering. She was really good and every time we had a problem we could ask her for help. Sometimes we worked in our discussion room to understand how a process was working and got a deeper theoretical knowledge while at other times we went downstairs to the transformer plant and saw how processes were working. During the internship we gained practical experience of distribution transformers, transformer assembly inspection methods and routine and type tests of transformers. We were also able to do some routine tests on our own.

We also learned a lot about design fundamentals of distribution transformers. In addition, we were given analysis work about a special test for distribution transformers. It was our aim to find a relationship between no load current of different applied voltages to the low voltage windings.

I got to know a lot of nice people at LTL. They were all very helpful and interested in Switzerland. During lunch times we always had long discussions about Sri Lanka and Switzerland. I did not know that Sri Lankans do not have holidays like we have in Switzerland.
During the year, we in Switzerland have four or five weeks holidays. In Sri Lanka, this would not be possible, because they usually have only one Electrical and Mechanical Engineer per Company. During my internship I stayed with my host family, Shanthi, Shehani and Algi Wijewickrema who were very nice and made me feel at home. Sometimes we went out together and had a lot of fun. One day we went together to visit a friend who owned a coconut estate at Chilaw. It was really interesting to see different areas in Sri Lanka and see how people live there.

IAESTE Sri Lanka also organised a lot of activities during the weeks and on the weekends for all the trainees from different countries. There were trainees from Northern Ireland, Norway, Finland and Germany. Sometimes we met and talked about our experiences in Sri Lanka and about the differences in our own countries.

IAESTE Sri Lanka also organised a reception meeting, where all the trainees introduced their own countries. On this day we were fortunate to have a typical (hot) Sri Lankan meal. Then we were able to show our talents at playing cricket! We also visited two Pera Heras which are grand religious festivals with processions. We went to Kandy and to Kataragama. In Kandy you can see elephants everywhere.

IAESTE Sri Lanka has done a really great job and I am really thankful to them. They made it possible to have a great time in Sri Lanka.

These six weeks passed very fast and I have lots of unforgettable memories. At the end I would have liked to stay longer.... But I am sure that I will visit Sri Lanka again, because it is such a beautiful country with smiling people everywhere. I can really recommend an internship with IAESTE in Sri Lanka.

Silvia Schmid