Interns come with high expectations, excited to learn, be challenged and have fun – so they do

Learn what the interns have experienced and learned so far in this blog where Jakob, Kirsti and Frode share their expectations and impressions, and tell about their respective tasks and learnings from their different units such as Corporate Finance in Investment Banking, Fixed Income and Risk & Research Solutions in Markets. Not to mention the social part of the internship, including fun activities like playing paddle, bandy, floor ball, and just hanging out with co-interns and colleagues. Hear it from Jakob, Kirsti and Frode.    

By Jakob, Kirsti & Frode

Jakob Longva Reiersen (23) – intern in Corporate Finance and Fixed Income

I recently completed my fourth year at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), majoring in finance.

Motivation! The primary reason I applied for the Nordea Markets internship was because I have always been eager to gain insight into what it’s like to work in finance, a field that has fascinated me throughout my studies. I was unsure, though, which specific direction within finance to pursue, and so this internship with a rotational program seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore different areas within the bank, and a unique chance to understand the various parts of the value chain.

Expectations! I am excited to work hands-on with challenging and real-world tasks. Additionally, I look forward to the social aspects of the internship, such as getting to know the employees at Nordea and connecting with my fellow interns.

After the first two weeks, my expectations are already being fulfilled – it has been incredibly educational. I started in the LC&I Corporate Finance department, gaining insight into working with transactions and large clients. After that, I rotated to the Fixed Income/trading unit in Markets, where I am working on a project about high-yield bonds.

Extremely interesting business sessions and fun social activities 

Besides the project work, us interns have had opportunities to learn about some of the many, many other roles within the bank through the summer academy held every Thursday. During these sessions, different divisions present their business area, functions and activities. So far, we have been introduced to Large Corporates & Institutions (LC&I) and Rates Trading within Markets, LC&I, which has been extremely interesting. 

After these academy sessions, we always enjoy some social activities like shuffleboard, darts, paddle (photo below), and bar outings with the other interns and colleagues from Markets, LC&I.

Eye-openers! Despite of the sometimes extensive and demanding nature of the tasks, it is always easy to ask a colleague for help, which they are happy to provide. It has been eye-opening to see how closely everyone works together.

Kirsti Sunde Midttun (24) – intern in Risk & Research Solutions and Fixed Income

I have a background in physics and mathematics from NTNU Trondheim, more specifically “Sivilingeniør – Fysikk og Matematikk”. I have specialized in physics and will write my masters for FFI in computational physics next year.

Motivation! I applied for the internship as I wanted to try something a little different from what I am used to doing, and I have for a long time been curious to how the financial markets operate. Also, I thought it could be interesting to see how my knowledge of mathematics would apply within the finance industry. 

When applying, there were many reasons why Nordea stood out to me, particularly the rotation program. Even when reading about the different positions you can have at markets and LC&I, I still found it hard to understand exactly what people do. The rotational program that Nordea LC&I, Markets offers is very valuable when trying to understand what division would fit me the best. It’s also a great way to learn a lot over the summer. Also, the size of Nordea both in and outside of Norway is very exciting as it can offer many opportunities with interesting projects and potential clients.

Expectations! I look forward to a steep learning curve and exciting projects. I’m also looking forward to the social aspect of it and getting to know both employees here and my fellow interns.

Very insightful and super fun

In my first week, I worked with my fellow intern, Anders, in Markets Risk and Research Solutions, and we did a currency risk analysis on a Norwegian company. Now, I am at the Fixed Income desk working on high yield bonds with my other co-interns, Henriette and Jakob. We are looking into the credit spread for three different companies tied to the shipping industry.

We have been doing a lot these few weeks! I have been introduced to Bloomberg, got used to working in excel and even coded one project. We have also attended most of the morning meetings of Equity Research which have been very insightful. I’ve gotten the opportunity to talk to so many people within Nordea and learned a little about what they do on a day-to-day. Also, we have had lots of social gathering including going out to bars, playing paddle, playing bandy and attending dinners with various Markets people.

Summer Academy is super fun and something I look forward to the entire week. People from various parts of Nordea tell us about their respective business areas and what they do. It’s been very interesting. Afterwards, we do something social together. It’s a really good group of people who work here at Nordea which makes such social events very fun. 

Surprises/Eye-openers! Lots, but it’s hard to summarize in a few sentences. I would say gaining insight to how the financial markets operate has been really insightful in general, and you learn so much so fast by being around the talented people that work here.

Frode Wilkensen (24) – intern in Corporate Finance, Investment Banking

I grew up in Austrheim, one hour outside Bergen. I hold a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the Norwegian School of Economics, and I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree and majoring in Financial Economics at the same school (just finished my 4^th year). 

Motivation! I applied for the internship with Nordea Markets, LC&I because it, among Nordic peers, stood out through its rotational nature of the internship programme. We are granted the opportunity to experience different areas of Markets and LC&I, which equips us with a better understanding of where you could fit, when applying for a full-time job later on this fall. 

Expectations! I look forward to a lot of things, such as experiencing different areas of the bank and the social events (incl. the summer academy) with my colleagues and the other interns. I especially look forward to working within the Investment Banking Division, where I hopefully will gain exposure to fascinating people, clients and transactions. 

Learnt a lot about the industry

The first couple of weeks of the internship, I have worked in the Corporate Finance team within Investment Banking, and I have been lucky to be able to continue in this team for another two weeks. 

From the get-go, I got to work on a potential IPO (Initial Public Offering). My tasks have specifically revolved around creating a data book on operational and financial data from our potential client and selected peers, which means I have read a lot of annual reports, sustainability reports and other news. I have learnt a lot about an industry I did not know a lot about from before.   

Regarding social activities, we’ve had the weekly Summer Academy twice, and it has been a great way to gain insights into other parts of the bank. So far, we’ve had various speakers from LC&I and Markets Rates Trading and Derivatives. After gaining valuable insights, we have gone out on the town in Oslo, and enjoyed beverages in great company with LC&I, Markets people.

This is the second blog in the series from our summer interns in Norway - you can read the first one here. And look out for the third blog where the interns share more insight about their learnings, projects, challenges and fun happenings.

Meanwhile you can read some of the blogs from our summer interns in the other countries; Denmark, Finland and Sweden.