It is difficult to consider what I do as a job, because it is truly a part of who I am. People often say to me, “How do you do all you do, don’t you get tired?” Well, yes, I do but hearing those words just inspires me to keep on doing what I do! Working with students, I get to meet lots of people and become a part of their lives. I help mould people into young adults, preparing them for the world.
However, my job isn’t only supporting students during their internship experience. It involves much more work than anyone could imagine. I’m going to tell you about what I do.
It starts with a student request which arrives at Travelmania. That request is then assigned to a group leader and then the fun begins! The first thing that needs doing is to go over the student’s CV. Every CV is checked to make sure that each contains the necessary information and details. It’s important to make sure that the CVs represent each person properly, along with highlighting their skills. I always try to get to know the students, what they expect from their internship and what types of companies they’d prefer to work for. It’s equally important to get in touch with the students directly, to be able to assess their skills and personalities. Once the CVs are ready and I know which students I want for each placement, I move forwards with the project.
Next, I start finding appropriate companies for the internships. It’s always my biggest challenge. Many of our partners work with various companies and schools, so it could be that they don’t have the availability for another student so I have to start from scratch once again.
Companies don’t always know about the Erasmus project, so sometimes, it’s a long-winded process just explaining the program and its benefits for the company in question, as well as the student. It takes hours of phone calls and tons of emails to find suitable placements!
Once the placements are finalized, it’s time to find accommodation for the students. Of course, accommodation depends on what they’ve requested, for example, a host family, self-catered apartment or perhaps a hotel/hostel.
The main aim is to ensure that the accommodation is in a safe area of a city along with good public transport connections so all students can easily access their places of work. I always visit the accommodation before confirming the booking. It´s important to us that the place is clean and has everything that students’ might need during their stay.
In most of our destinations we have very good rental partners with high standard accommodation available for our students, (as well as host families and hostels). Unfortunately, sometimes when a request comes in quite late, accommodation might be already booked.
Nowadays, with the age of digital platforms it is very difficult to find listings that are legitimate. There are lots of people who try to cheat and steal from potential renters and that´s why it is so important for us to be available to check every single accommodation option.
Students often ask if anyone will collect them from the airport and how they will get to their accommodation. I always organise the airport transfers after the accommodation is arranged. We use private companies with high standards and experienced drivers to pick up our students. There’s always a driver waiting in the arrival hall, holding a sign with the name of the group - which is usually the name of the leading teacher. When the group is bigger than six people, I join the driver and I’m at the airport in person to welcome the group.
We always travel to the accommodation with the students and explain everything to the students once we arrive. Following a short briefing, I give the students time to unpack and get comfortable in their new home. Once students have had the chance to relax after the journey; we meet up all together to conduct a proper introduction to the project.
Starting with a little history and interesting facts about the city they’re in, I hand out previously prepared maps detailing how students can get from their accommodation to their work placements. The maps have all the necessary information required; the length of time it takes to walk from their new home to the bus stop/train station, which bus/train they should take and the length of time it takes to travel to work. I give the students public transport passes, explaining how to use them. This is especially useful if the subway system in a bigger city is a bit confusing for students who’ve never used it before. In fact, some of those subway systems can be overwhelming!
There are always some students that feel less confident than others so I always do the "home-work" route together, so they will be sure of how to get to work on their first day.
There are always a few concerns surrounding paperwork as well. The work load depends on the individual school. Some prepare all the documents prior to departure and send them to me just to fill in and sign by the hosting companies. In most cases, I prepare all the documents and make sure all of them are properly filled in and signed by the companies.
Once we’ve completed the serious stuff, it’s time for the fun part! The activities – this is what students really look forward to.
Every destination has something to offer and various attractions to see. I think the most popular and fun activities we organise are in Athens, Greece. Apart for visiting famous archaeological sites such as the Acropolis of Athens and the Ancient Agora, students can discover the city like locals going for a food tour where they try delicious traditional Greek food! Or they can climb the city's hills doing a scavenger hunt and enjoy beautiful sunset views from secret spots that regular tourists have no idea about. There’s also lots of fun to be had discovering street art in Athens. This has become world renowned over the past few years, with lots of famous Greek artists creating amazing murals all over the city.
Depending on how long the students stay in Athens, we also organise day trips outside of the city. We go and visit incredible Meteora, or spend a day island hopping - which is particularly great during the summer months, and just let me add, summer in Greece lasts from April till October. Visiting the outdoor cinema is another very nice thing to do as is the Museum of Illusions or exploring the Gardens of Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre. There is always something to do and no time to get bored.
Sometimes when students do quite long internships (approximately six weeks or more), their families like to visit them. Of course this is no problem but it’s a good idea to let us know in advance and would be greatly appreciated. We do not cover the cost of accommodation for any family members visiting and they are not allowed to stay at the students’ accommodation, although they can join in with the activities if they cover the cost themselves.
Depending on accommodation options, students are responsible for keeping their homes clean and tidy. This gives them the opportunity of learning responsibility, how to organise and share different tasks especially at the self-catered apartments. It´s great to see them creating a "work" schedule – who’s responsible for food shopping, who does the laundry or takes the rubbish out. It might sound like nothing much but for most of the students, it’s the first time that they’ve lived on their own and what might seem like normal household tasks can actually be a big challenge for them!
The entire project is always a lot work for me! It’s not only dealing with the internships and the hosting companies, organising accommodation and transfers, paperwork or sorting out fun activities. The biggest challenge for me is to be 100% active almost 24/7. I’m available to the students all the time, with whatever they need; whatever questions they want to ask. I am there for them, always happy to help!
At the end of the day it´s not just work to me, it´s a way of life. I love meeting new people and getting to know them and their plans for the future. Quite often we become friends. I am privileged to become a part of someone’s life story, the story of who they are and how they come to be their future self, because that´s what Erasmus program is about, helping students shape their futures.
If you need help organizing your Erasmus+ project see our guide for Erasmus+ funding applicants or read our Handbook for Erasmus+ Project Management & Execution. We also help you with the organisation of your Turing mobility. In addition we also provide you with information regarding the Turing Scheme for UK students on our blog - let's go and browse through our interesting article.