Who would say "no" to that? Master's thesis at Coca Cola during the white nights in St. PetersburgItwas definitely the right decision for me to choose the "Integrated Management Systems" degree program because, in addition to the interesting course content, it also gave me the opportunity to write my Master's thesis at ITMO University, Zittau's partner university in St. Petersburg. My task was to analyze the internal audit system at Coca Cola HBC in St. Petersburg and to develop a concept for integrated quality, environmental and occupational health and safety audits. [caption id="attachment_1145" align="aligncenter" width="1426"] Coca Cola HBC in Saint Petersburg[/caption]ITMO University has a very good program for exchange students, which includes support and advice as well as leisure activities. In addition to city tours and community activities with exchange students and Russian students, larger excursions were also offered, e.g. to neighboring cities, boat tours and a cruise through the Gulf of Finland lasting several days.I really enjoyed my stay in Russia, and thanks to the ERASMUS funding, financing was not a problem either. Life in St. Petersburg has a lot to offer. In addition to a wide range of places to go out, the city itself is also very beautiful and diverse with its parks, beautiful buildings, seaside location, canals and city beaches. Fortunately for me, my stay coincided with the white nights, when the sun doesn't set until late in the evening and, at its peak, the entire night is bathed in twilight until the morning. During my 4.5 months in Russia, I was not only able to gain interesting professional experience, but I also saw a lot. I made many new friends from different countries and was able to visit many places outside St. Petersburg. This gave me an impression of working life and the implementation of management systems in a Russian company, this country and the people and their culture. [caption id="attachment_1147" align="aligncenter" width="4160"] In addition to the work, there is also time for the culture of the country[/caption]Many thanks to Ms Stephanie Ludwig from the International Office of our university, who supported me in the organizational preparation of the semester abroad and for the funding of my stay through the ERASMUS+ program. I would also like to thank Jana Brauweiler (HSZG), Olga Sergienko (ITMO University) and Elena Breusova (Coca-Cola HBC) for establishing contacts, supporting me during my stay and supervising my Master's thesis.text and photos: Jan Steiert