Hi all, greetings from Dubai!

I cannot believe that it is my last week here in the Roland Berger Middle East office. My Gap Year so far has been an amazing experience and I still have my startup experience at Felyx to come.

Arriving in Dubai was quite a change after my time in the Roland Berger Amsterdam office, starting with a 20 degree temperature difference and the weekend being Friday and Saturday. After exploring Dubai for two days it was time to get back to work, new office, new colleagues and a new project.

As the office covers the entire Middle East region, clients are typically spread throughout the entire region. Hence, on my first day I was already on my way to join a team at the client in Abu Dhabi and to stay there for the rest of the week. The project I worked on was a strategy assessment for one of the assets of a retail company in the UAE, giving me a lot of insights into the country and its culture. After finishing this project, I worked on a completely different topic. Together with a new team I assessed the global helicopter market and we became helicopter experts.

Every week you were rewarded for the hard work with a weekend which felt like a short holiday. Together with colleagues and other interns we explored the highlights and night life of Dubai, went to the beach, or made short trips to Abu Dhabi and Oman. Further, on weekends I often went for a run along the beach with other colleagues and we also participated in the 10K Road Run here in Dubai with a big RB team.

The last three months have been an amazing experience where I've learned a lot about the country, myself and on professional level. I will definitely miss it when I go back, but I'm also very excited about starting my final chapter of the Gap Year at the startup Felyx.

Katherine