We were moved by the employees with a passion for playing on a global stage and decided to try and cooperate with workers from abroad.

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

Nisseiken is engaged in psychological services. Our main product is the Uchida-Kraepelin PERFORMANCE TEST (UK Test) which marks the 100th anniversary in 2023 from the beginning of its research. Our employees had a passion for expanding this test internationally, and suggested participating this internship project to us. We had a series of concerns before applying for the program, such as the availability of the applicants that would match our specific field of work and our eligibility as a hosting company because of our small-scale office. The decision to join the project however put us moving toward our goal, that is to make this new challenge as a stepping-stone for further business overseas. Before we start the program, we set two goals to ensure the success of our initiatives; the first goal is to explore new business opportunities in overseas markets and cooperate with workers from abroad, and the second goal is to attend to the visitors efficiently at the World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR) where railway researchers and engineers gather together from approximately 30 countries.

She was actively involved in a variety of areas, such as on-site attendance and participation in the international event, after learning the basics of the psychological tests.

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

We divided the internship period into two units. The first half period was input phase to gain essential knowledge to work with us. She learned about UK test, Assertion Training and Organizational Development in this meanterm. The latter half was output phase to apply what she learned to real situations. We formed a cross-divisional team within the company and educated her in rotation. It helped to make for smooth communication between our plural divisions. She took the UK test by herself and learned its diagnostic mechanisms, how to interpret various results and overview of the domestic market, as well as its needs. We believe that the experience helped her recognize the challenges associated to developing internationally and entering into new markets. She attended Assertion Training program and learned about Organizational Development as well. Since her major is psychology, we asked her to join our OD activities as an observer. She visited clients with us and sometimes played a role as a test examiner to put her knowledge into practice in the latter half period. At WCRR2019, she was in charge of the entire project; checking the English documents, making preparations, attending the event and conducting the follow-up. We did not need an interpreter at this event as she helped us a lot in serving many foreign visitors.

The success in the international event was a big boost to our future strategies. It was the crossroads that set us on a path to globalization.

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

She provided us with the opinions, questions and feedback from the perspective of an international student. The experience was an excellent stepping-stone in further improving the work and initiatives for the future. We gathered support team members for this internship program through open- recruitment to seek the voluntary cooperation of the employees. Also, we provided her with the cross-divisional training to work in different divisions. The efforts have stimulated the cross-divisional collaboration and promoted the company atmosphere over time. We believe that the success of the WCRR project was achieved through these mutual efforts; she took a leading role in the project, and the employees supported her along the way. She showed great effort in checking the English panels and documents and in attending the event. The employees are motivated to improve their English skills more than ever before, thanks to the time they spent with her. The ideas and experiences we gained from her would also help us as we move forward to promoting UK Test abroad, making the program was valuable for us. We will surely look back on the days in the future not so far away and think it was the cross roads that set us on a path to globalization. Going forward, we will consider recruiting workers from abroad and expanding the business into west than India, starting in 2020. Expanding into global markets is no more a vision of the future far away, but has become a reality and a goal for the short term.