The 2nd ECEMEA monthly call was hosted by the Kenyan interns
in line with the vision of the call was to bridge geographical gaps and share
similarities amongst the 70 Interns currently on the program from ECEMEA.
We as the Kenyan interns did not disappoint as we embraced
the theme of the call in an entertaining, professional and charismatic manner.
We presented to the group on three areas we believed cut across the intern
experience we have had so far:
1. Video
introductions
2. Intern
Presentations by LOB : (Projects we are involved and what we have achieved)
3. Work
life balance.
THE JOURNEY
15th of July 2014 marked a very special day amongst the 14
interns in Kenya, it was a day we had all been waiting for after undergoing a
series of arduous interviews, all that was left for us to do now was to take a
step forward to forming a formidable team of interns to steer and support
Oracle Kenya Operations. This day started with a few eyes crisscrossing, sheer
class of dressing and behavioral stereotyping of what each of us would be on
the course of the internship. Though that was the first day and this is our
fourth month much has changed since then. As Kenyan interns we have grown
immensely through trainings, hands on experience, mentorship programmes, hard
work and determination. We have grown to be the best amongst the best in our
various LOB’s, And it is our dire hope to continue doing so to support oracle
initiatives for the 8 months left and beyond.
WORKING TOGETHER
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is
progress. Working together is success." -Henry Ford
The difference between success and failure is working as a
team, these are the words that are written on the faces of Kenyan interns every
morning as we strive to succeed. On every step of the staircase we hold one
another’s hand not letting anyone fall in the quest for success, we gather all
and scatter none. We attest that it is a tough journey but one worthwhile.
We usually get
together every Thursday and do presentations amongst ourselves on oracle
products and solutions and critique each other. The ECEMEA intern call was
conducted on similar grounds. It started off with a series of email exchanges
on Idea formulations and in conclusion a meeting of deliberations with various
experiences and reviews shared amongst our very capable mentors and senior
managers, people we value for shaping us to throughout this journey. Our
experience so far as a team has been great, we constantly pressure our management
team to get involved in X-LOB activities and so far we have done major
activities which include and not limited to an objective driven by constant
desire and passion for achievement.
1. Red
wings team- a team that focuses on all oracle employee in house rules and
relocation publicity to the new Oracle office in 2015.
2. Oracle
kids day- java boot camp
3. Oracle
academy activities in various schools
4. Oracle
employees financial wellness month
5. Partner
trainings
6. Mission
Red Agents
7. Oracle
Day
THE PRESENTATION
The 26th of November marked the day of our presentation, it
began on a high note with a lot of expectation and an introduction video on
each of us.
We decided to do this in line with our main agenda “GET TO
KNOW THE KENYAN INTERNS” we thought it appropriate for our fellow interns on
the call to get to know us a little better. It is an idea we thought fitting to
a key selling technique; “know your customer”.
The sales team then showcased that selling is indeed a part
of their DNA with an epic presentation of key activities they’ve engaged in so
far.(below) are their shared experiences in the sales arena.
a. Cold
calling
b. Partner
opportunity
c. Research
d. Reviving
accounts
e. Workshops
f. Cloud
initiatives
Next in line was the PRE-SALES team who do the backend
solution formulation to the customers’ sales team. It covered: discovery
techniques, Oracle internship mentoring programme, value to the business and
presentation skills. This was followed by a presentation from the Oracle
Academy programme coordinator intern who covered Oracle initiatives of early
computer science education trainings to wider Africa regions, encompassing what
oracle academy is, value added to students, development in oracle academy and
university initiative.
Finally the support intern team comprising of Alliance and
Channels, Deal Management and Legal showcased their various experiences working
on support business activities. it was during this last presentation that
heated questions came up eliciting sharp reactions from our fellow interns
across the world upon hearing a remarkable achievement from one of our inters
in deal Management, who assisted in closing a rather large deal
FEEDBACK CORNER
“The call was very involving to prepare for and apart from
technical hitches, it went well. It was good that they had questions at the end
which made me feel that they were attentive throughout the presentation”
---Valery Mbalanya (Alliance & Channels.)
“Accepting to move forward into growth leads to improvement
and achievement, getting together despites of our roles and work to share our
experiences as a team showed a team that is devoted to succeed. The call was
part of our growth, team work, imperfection and correction to build up a solid
career path”– Beatrice Njau – (Oracle Academy).
“In the End we all emerged victorious in our collective ECEMEA intern call and we look forward to more engagements during the next call and my prayer is a better United Team for the Best Oracle Young Professionals IN THE YEARS TO COME” -Brian Obinga- presales intern CX -
Written by Brian Obinga