Commitment without borders
Germany, Peru, Scotland and Hungary are among the 38 countries around the world where students from the University are doing internships. internships this summer. In total, there are more than a hundred students, whose passion and commitment have led them to take their first steps in the world of work in international environments, discovering their professions from a global perspective.
Those who choose to dedicate their summer to social causes also have an exceptional experience. social causes to contribute their grain of sand and deepen their staff growth. The NGO Rafiki Projects for Development in Tanzania and the ACOES Foundation in Honduras are two of the destinations where students from the University have collaborated as volunteers.
The pink dots on the map show the places where students are doing international internships. The blue dots represent places where University students are collaborating with volunteer activities projects. Click on them for more information
A global experience
Mariana Butrich, Isabel Jiménez, Santiago de Esteban, Ákos Angyal and José Javier Quintana chose to do international internships this summer, an experience that has led them to test themselves, get to know each other and apply what they have learned in the classroom in a professional environment.
From a specialized nutrition business , a real estate company, the design of communication and fundraising strategies for an NGO, a laboratory or working for the Spanish Agency for development Cooperation, all agree that these internships have allowed them to adapt to different cultures, learn about different processes and ways of doing things, as well as valuing work and camaraderie to develop projects.
Mariana Butrich
Mariana Butrich is a 4th year Nutrition and Dietetics student and this summer she has returned to her native Peru to do an internship at Huella Verdea business of healthy and integral products. Her work consists in the development of training programs on the nutritional part of the products. She also collaborates in the development new launching ideas.
"I can apply all my knowledge of nutrition in training sessions, in researching information on new products and in proposing new recipes that are beneficial to health," she says.
The team she has joined has facilitated her adaptation process. "I am super grateful for this experience. I know that I am learning a lot; above all, how important it is to share ideas and not to remain with doubts."
Ákos Angyal
Ákos Angyal, a 2nd year International Relations student with a diploma in Geopolitics and Diplomacy, returned to his home country of Hungary this summer to do an internship as a Fundraising Officer at the UNICEF National committee . She recognizes that this is the way she found to "contribute from home, but with an international outlook".
Ákos combines tasks such as the development of fundraising campaigns, donor relations and support for communication strategies. "One of the biggest challenges has been adapting to the pace of an international organization. I have learned to work in a more structured and strategic way," she says.
"I apply many of the skills I've acquired in college on a daily basis," she says. "I have discovered how much I enjoy working in an organization with global impact and how important it is to align passion and purpose."
Santiago de Esteban
Santiago de Esteban is studying 5th year of International Relations and since the end of June he is part of the Foreign Cooperation Office of the Spanish Agency for International development Cooperation (AECID) in Nigeria. The opportunity arose thanks to the international internship agreement between AECID and the School of Law.
"These internships are a privileged window into the real workings of Spanish foreign policy," he says. Her daily tasks are varied and multidisciplinary. On the one hand, she is in charge of project management and follow-up, such as the design of mentoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) tools aligned with the Spain-ECOWAS Cooperation Program. On the other hand, he is in charge of technical attendance , such as the preparation of briefings or the essay of contracts. "The big challenge is to manage the multilevel complexity: a regional cooperation with ECOWAS involves coordinating actors from fifteen countries and four official languages," he acknowledges.
Although his arrival in the country was a bit bumpy because his suitcase got lost during the trip, Santiago says the adjustment has been smooth. "The ECO team welcomed me even before I landed, helping me with the paperwork, and once in the city, they introduced me to the international community in Abuja. This network of support, coupled with the Nigerian warmth, has made the culture shock dissipate in days," he says.
Santiago comments that the biggest challenges in the city are gastronomy and safety, as "you have to be cautious when choosing where and what to eat" and know the safe environments.
Although he is still halfway through the experience, he is amazed at the "incredible skill of flexibility, adaptation and negotiation required to operate with such varied institutional players".
Isabel Jimenez
Isabel Jiménez felt the need to step out of her comfort zone and work in an international environment. After completing the Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at the Madrid campus , she found an internship opportunity at Arcano, a Berlin-based start-up business developing sustainable real estate projects. Since June, Isabel has been collaborating in the areas of financial analysis, project structuring and investor relations. "I also participate in tasks related to strategic communication and business development , which gives me a very transversal vision of how a developer works," she explains.
"It has been a very enriching experience at all levels. Adapting to another culture and working in an international team is making me more flexible, open and self-confident. It's a stage I would recommend to anyone," she says.
José Javier Quintana
As he defines it, "science is international" and moved by his research vocation, Jose Javier Quintana, a 3rd year Biochemistry student, was pushed by his academic mentors "to fly" to the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
During the months of June, July and August, José Javier is working with four other students on a research project related to the damage caused by ALS in motor neurons or motoneurons - a subject cell responsible for voluntary movement that sends signals from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles.
Getting out of her environment has allowed her to open her mind to new cultures, friendships and ways of looking at life. "The experience has given me the chance to get to know myself and test myself," she says.
In addition to the academic value of the University, students can continue to cultivate the human dimension during the summer through internationalvolunteer activities . Collaborating in international cooperation projects, helping to alleviate inequalities and supporting health and education projects are some of the tasks performed by hundreds of students who choose to open the window to the world to go out and help.
The NGO Rafiki Projects for Development and the ACOES Foundation are two of the Spanish entities in which the students are collaborating this summer.
Rafiki Projects for Development works in the development of different villages and districts to eradicate poverty and improve the quality of life of their neighbors. Pablo FrancoPablo Franco, 6th year student of the double Degree in Law and Bilingual Business Administration, Elisa Castillo2nd year student of the Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and Juliana Montoya2nd year student of ADE and General Management & Strategy headed to Tanzania as volunteers.
Pablo knew he was going to "learn a lot" before landing in Leganga (Tanzania) for his international volunteer activities and Elisa still remembers how the welcome from a group of children who hugged her made her ask herself "what did I do to deserve so much love? Integrating into the community and working on her development and well-being has given Juliana "a new perspective on what really matters in life".
During their partnership with the Rafiki NGO, the students combined their role as monitors at Blue Sky School with children between the ages of 4 and 12 with visits to senior citizens with the project nurse. "We took their vitals, kept a tally of new symptoms and monitored their medications," recalls Elisa. While caring for patients, Juliana discovered the value of "listening and being present. Sometimes you don't need to do much to have a positive impact on someone's life."
"The children asked us about our country and for Spanish words, about La Liga and what team we were from. They welcomed us with hugs and sent us off with great sorrow. They are very grateful and many of them ask you to stay in contact," confesses Pablo. Although their desire to help and teach led them to the international adventure, they were the ones who ended up "learning" about the community's neighbors. Their way of facing life with joy and dignity despite their limited resources made Juliana rethink "my own priorities and concerns.
Pablo Franco confesses that "the children received us with hugs and sent us off with great sorrow. They are very grateful and many ask you to continue in contact".
Students Pablo, Elisa and Juliana have collaborated as monitors at Blue Sky School with children between 4 and 12 years old.
Juliana's experience, traveling alone for the first time to an unknown country, exceeded her expectations and became a "transformative and deeply human" opportunity in a land that is lived "pole, pole" ("slow, slow" in Swahili) "without the rush of the big cities," she explains.
When faced with possible doubts or insecurities that the volunteer activities may generate, Pablo assures that "there is no need to be scared by what one imagines or is told, adaptation is easy. People contribute to it and if there are any buts, they are compensated by the good things".
Elisa, Juliana and Pablo are grateful for both the advice and the "unceasing support" of Tantaka, which has made possible an experience that "we will never forget," they confess.
FOCUS ON OTHERS
The ACOES Foundation is a Spanish organization that works for development, peace and solidarity in the most disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of the population in Honduras. Attracted by Honduras and the ACOES project , María Serena Vallverdúa 4th year Pharmacy student, decided to take the plunge this summer and chose to "take a back seat" to "focus on others". Since she arrived, she has not stopped asking questions about how the organization works, how she could be useful or what financial aid was needed. It was then that he understood that being a volunteer is all about "listening first and then taking the initiative".
Maria Serena feels "immensely grateful" to have volunteered and traveled to Honduras.
During the month of July, Maria Serena taught classes in children's centers in Tegucigalpa and to students preparing for the university entrance test . She has supported Chemistry classes with high school diploma students in rural communities and has organized artistic activities, zumba classes, painting workshops, dance competitions and accompaniment for children between 3 and 8 years old.
Her experience as a volunteer has taught her how to adapt to the unknown, leaving behind her "square vision". She now admits to having acquired a "more flexible and tolerant" outlook.
Maria Serena remembers the students of Musula, the first community she visited, with special affection. She was fascinated by the immense gratitude with which they received her. She remembers the students' fortitude and "their willingness to attend in class, despite having to get up before dawn to work in the corn fields, walk an hour to school or work an afternoon unloading sacks with their parents". Maria Serena feels "immensely grateful" to have been a volunteer and to have traveled to Honduras "by the hand of Tantaka and on behalf of the University".