Filip and Luciel, our current interns coming from the Hotel Management School Maastricht, understand the importance of making a good choice for your graduate internship. In this blog, they share their experiences and give a clear picture of what you can expect from an internship at Conceptional.
Both Luciel and Filip are passionate about the F&B industry and possess a lot of experience in hospitality. They both chose a concept development internship because they were eager to explore the foodservice industry from a different perspective. Filip's motivation was to learn new information and working methods, while Luciel was eager to discover the different steps of concept development from inception to implementation.
They both describe a warm and open atmosphere where it is easy to connect with everyone. 'The onboarding process, with personal 1-on-1 meetings with each team member, was helpful in getting to know everyone,' Filip says. 'Conceptional has an inspiring team with a diverse set of skills – and everyone is friendly and interested in getting to know us,' adds Luciel. They also appreciate the daily shared lunch and enjoy the frequent team outings!
Filip emphasises that Conceptional helped him develop different skills than were expected of him in his previous roles working operationally in restaurants. 'Working in a more strategic and creative position was new for me. I am learning to be more proactive. Here, I am really able to improve myself.'
For Luciel, the internship taught her to approach things more thoughtfully and confidently, without getting carried away by self-doubt. 'I know that I grew in this way during my internship because of the freedom and trust I received from colleagues.'
At the beginning of her internship, Luciel participated in a F&B consulting project for the leisure park Walibi Holland. She joined the project during the concept ideation stage, contributing to the creative process and joining meetings and external presentations. 'It was valuable to see how a recommendation is presented to a client,' she says. Her internal task was writing the Sustainable Food Route Trend Report 2024. 'Through this, I learned a lot about sustainability and what transitions, challenges and trends this creates in the different industries Conceptional works for. It was also a great context for learning more about restaurant chains generally.'
Filip began his work on various internal projects, joining the AI team from day one. 'We explored how to implement AI in our company and how our customers could use it. I was amazed at how many tools existed and how much time it can save if used properly.' Externally, he was a member of the project team for every phase of Conceptional's work for Plopsaland De Panne, an amusement park in Belgium.
Filip: 'It was a great opportunity to be involved in the Plopsaland project from the beginning. This allowed me to witness the process from start to finish and challenged me to develop creative solutions based on our analysis.'
Luciel says she found identifying a new internal project management system the most challenging. 'I had no experience and little prior knowledge, so my research and learning were crucial for giving the best advice on which system to choose. It was a valuable chance to develop myself.'
Filip and Luciel have both developed a more holistic approach when creating concepts, helping them understand where to focus on projects like these and how important it is to have a clear vision and mission.
'The most important thing I learned was critical thinking,' says Filip. Luciel sees planning, structure and managing expectations as her most valuable lessons.
'There's so much to learn and so many opportunities to develop yourself. I would recommend it to anyone, but specifically to people with a passion for gastronomy, hospitality and creative thinking,' Filip shares. Luciel also recommends it: 'I found it fascinating to look at the foodservice industry from a high level while also exploring the details of how to create a strong, lasting concept.'
Luciel: 'I think The Hague is a vibrant and lively city! I've now lived in six different cities and The Hague is at the top of the list.'
Filip was also positively impressed, naming the market and the sea as his favourite places to visit in The Hague.
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