INTERVIEW TRAINEE – MARTINA COPPOLA

1 – Why did you decide to join the EU4EU programme?

I decided to join because I saw it as an amazing opportunity to learn and develop new skills and competences.

2 – Was it easy to join the programme?

Yes, it was. The guidelines in the website are enough to understand how to apply and all the stage processes.

3 – Could you elaborate on your daily experiences and routines during your EU4EU internship, highlighting how it shaped your professional and/or personal growth ? (finding a home, social relationships, friends, language, ecc…)

Finding a house in Athens was not that easy. I was lucky because I got a really nice private room. In the house, I met my flatmate and we became very good friends. Afterwards, we went around together, allowing us to have a lot of new friends here. Also, in the company I was doing my internship I met other interns and we went for a lot of trips all together. Overall, the first difficulty is that the language is unintelligible if you do not have a background. But the company provided me with Greek courses, which I really like and I am actually learning a lot ! During this internship I had the opportunity to join the Greek Easter with Greek people, following their traditions. It was such a great experience ! Furthermore, I participated in a lot of different events in a cultural foundation, it enriched me a lot in terms of knowing myself ! The most challenging aspect of living abroad for me personally, was at first to find my routine rules. Every time I am moving to a different country or city it takes me at least 3 weeks to find it, but once I get it : here we go!

4 – Tell us about your experience working in another country (it was hard/simple, my supervisor was great/bad, my colleagues were great/bad, difficult to understand, ecc…)

The supervisor, the colleagues were all amazing ! I had a really great time in Greece and I am really sad to leave soon. IDEC is an amazing environment where to work. It looks forward to being an enjoyable, safe and equal working place. Working here invited me to address different challenges by learning a lot and by upskilling my competences. As far as the company has different management activities, I was always assigned with the ones that reflected my studies and my passions. This is an added value to this company, as the team helps the trainee to pursue his/her objectives by following his/her interests. This effort from the company made the working routine much easier and exciting! Finally, respect and caring about others is at the top of their values, allowing the internship to take place in good conditions. For all these reasons, I would definitely recommend IDEC to EU4EU students.

5 – How important do you think it is for a university student to get an internship in Europe?

In my opinion I think that everyone should have an experience abroad because by living in another country you develop a lot of skills, like problem solving and you also learn to face problems by yourself. I really recommend and suggest to all universities to put in their Educational Offers one mandatory experience abroad of at least 3 months.

6 – What benefits did you gain from this experience, and did it meet your expectations?

The EU4EU program enabled me to develop new skills and competences as well as providing personal enrichment. My internship truly exceeded my expectations. In only 4 months I learned a lot. I gained a thorough understanding of a new profession and I was not expecting this. I am super happy and proud of the objectives achieved.

7 – Would you suggest another student to join the EU4EU program? Why?

I definitely recommend other students to go. They can learn a lot in terms of skills and competences that can fit their curricula. Furthermore, they can get new friends all over the world and become familiar with new cultures, traditions, mindsets and break certain stereotypes.