31 May EU4EU – ECOBUBBLE: Interview

Rome, 31 May 2023

The EU4EU — Erasmus+ programme is once again having great success this year, not only among students who want to have a unique experience in Europe, but also among European companies. Many of them have now joined the program and every year they confirm their satisfaction. But no one better than them to tell what it means to be part of the EU4EU programme. That’s why we asked a few questions to Ecobubble, an Italian start-up founded in 2019.

ECOBUBBLE

1 — What does your company do?

Ecobubble is an innovative start-up that operates in the Green Tech area, i.e. technology applied to the design and management of green areas. The company’s main goal is to spread a new culture of green design in the national and international territory. It is aimed at protecting the environment and promoting technological progress, particularly in the sector of parks, agrivoltaic, bio-garden and green roofing.

The team designs and develops public and private green spaces, even small ones, with high environmental performance, mitigation of noise and low water consumption, through the introduction of innovative, high-tech products and services. The group also provides consultancy services for the quantification and compensation of pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions absorbed by plants.

2 — Why did you decide to join the EU4EU programme?

We work with the intention of making a contribution with actions to fight climate change and to support environmental sustainability, therefore our principles can only be applied if shared. An international internship program is a way of sharing, comparing and collaborating in harmony with our way of thinking.

3 — Was it easy to join the programme?

Yes, it was.

4 — How important do you think it is for a company to work internationally?

In our way of thinking, for a startup it is almost an obligation.

Collaborations and market competition are mostly boundless. Innovations and related products are rapidly exported on a global scale and this is true for almost all sectors, especially for those startups engaged in complex problems solving. It is important to have a network of worldwide excellence in the industrial chain, capable of communicating and collaborating easily and efficiently.

5 — What are the advantages of working with a European student in your team?

In general, working with people from other countries can facilitate the emergence of new collaborations or connections. For example, students may arrive from research centres that have different skills from ours. Therefore, together with the trainees, the projects can be carried out in synergy with international universities, or it is easier to have clarifications on some methods of experimentation or specific information.

6 — Based on your experience, how fast do the students learn what they have to do?

Of course, it depends on the tasks and the student, we cannot make an average. Based on our experience, to get a collaboration that is fruitful for both students and startups, we can indicate a quarterly period.

7 — How well do trainees manage to adapt to the working environment?

We try to give the trainees as much autonomy as possible, because each person adapts to change differently and usually when this is not imposed, we seem to get better results. There are rules in Ecobubble, but they are mostly common sense indications… which makes adaptation mostly trainee-based.

8 — Will you participate in the EU4EU programme in the future?

We have already participated several times, and we are very satisfied with the programme. We will certainly continue to participate.

9 — Would you suggest another company to join the EU4EU programme? Why?

Yes, because the connection phase with the trainee is facilitated as well as the usual bureaucratic documentation. The network of trainees is vast and differentiated on different disciplines. Also, the support of the EU4EU team is efficient, ironic and professional.