Lina Jasaite. SHIPCON LIMASSOL LTD, Limassol, Cyprus

SHIPCON LIMASSOL LTD is a leading Research and Consultancy business entity offering highly added value services to clients and investors both in the private and public sectors. Operating in the island of Cyprus the company aims to offer pioneer solutions in a wide range of services and sectors of the Cyprus economy.

Lina with her Greek colleague

My every day is a bit different, however, usually my working day starts in the car of  my colleague, who is picking me up in the mornings. This is the only solution to get quickly to the office because even though Limassol is not a big city, public transportation is not the most convenient here. My tasks are quite diverse, I promote activities of the company, manage and coordinate present projects, create proposals for future projects. I work alongside colleague who is coordinating my works.

Maria (Cypriot) helps Lina with translations

My colleagues are friendly, Shipcon Limassol Ltd can be described as an innovative company which leads me to the communicating with most of my colleagues online, cause some of them are so called external consultants and work for this company in foreign countries. I am always next to my coordinator, so all questions are answered. The atmosphere here is very informal, however, everybody is working a lot. Team is results oriented.

Lina with her Polish colleague

There were some problems with finding a proper place to stay, however, I am living in an apartment with the sea view at the moment, so all went good in the end. There are plenty of expats in Cyprus, so you do not feel awkward here. Most of the people speak English here, which makes my stay much easier.

Cyprus lies at the crossroads of three continents and you really feel it’s diversity in that sense. Cyprus is an island full of foreigners; you do not feel weird, because the diversity of nationalities here reminds cosmopolitan cities. Tourism, financial services, and shipping are significant parts of the economy. I am staying in Limassol, which geographical location is very convenient, you can reach all main cities, towns and nice areas in about an hour. As I have mentioned above, Cyprus is the country where it is not difficult to adjust. What I found most challengeable is the opposite direction of driving.

Lina's first brunch at Limassol

All work is result oriented  in my internship . We do not necessarily lead typical working hours which means that there is a room for  time management skills development. I enjoy my leisure a lot, there are many things to do in Cyprus: travel, relax next to the beach or get the party started.

Secret beaches out of the city

I enjoy seeing how people can break stereotypes: this company operating in Cyprus does not match my typical imagination of Cypriot style company,  I find  inspiring when you can see hard working people who are results oriented and always in the developing stage.

I knew what I am looking for as well as I have figured out a lot about company’s profile and it’s activities before coming here, this is the reason why my expectations were met. I have never done “Erasmus” internship, so I could not compare. However, I can assume that  “Partners 4 Value” internship has an advantage towards “Erasmus”, because the companies which are offered for students from UNDP are diverse and reliable.

What would I say to somebody who is thinking about applying for the internship?! Just go go go !

Mantas Puidokas. Enterprise Ireland, Warsaw, Poland

Where are you interning at?

 Enterprise Ireland – the Irish embassy's commercial branch in Poland.

The building of Enterprise Ireland 

What daily assignments do  you usually have?

My simple everyday tasks are market analysis, information research which we later represent to Irish companies. Currently I am working with data research on renewable energy sector and dairy products sector.

Mantas together with colleagues organized conference on what Irish companies have to offer for Poland in IT sector

  

The conference was held at the Warsaw Stock Exchange

How were you accepted by the company?

I am very satisfied with the reception, had a supervisor who is an executive of the branch. Also had everything I needed for the internship: my own working table, a computer etc.

Neigbours: Irish Ambassy

How did you settled in a new place?

Rather easily as I quite easily found an apartment on the internet and settled very quickly.

Warsaw is a very big city and as it is Poland, nothing exclusively different that is why I did not have any cultural shock just missing proper specific Lithuanian food like bread and ‘sūreliai’.

Modern side of Warsaw

Do you have some spare time after a working day at the office?

Yes I do, mostly I do sports (jogging, playing football, going swimming to a local swimming pool), play poker with roommates.

Is there a difference from project “Partners 4 Value” and Erasmus?

Well, I received a smaller scholarship than I expected, but anyway I suggest thinking about applying for the scholarship and consult with your university international relation department for any further details.

Simona Leonavičiūtė. ACEEEO, Budapest, Hungary.

My internship place is the Secretariat of ACEEEO – Association of European Election Officials. It is non governmental organisation dealing with election related issues. The ACEEEO organises annual conferences where the officials of electoral management bodies from different member states have a forum to discuss actual questions. It also holds trainings for officials, various programs for citizens, especially young voters. The organisation is composed of the General Assembly, the Executive Board and the Secretariat. The main function of the Secretariat is to organise various events, deal with financial issues, projects and administration of the ACEEEO.  I have my tasks in the Secretariat: to check whether there are any news about upcoming elections, to renew information provided in the webpage of ACE project. I spend most of my time looking for national legal regulation of various countries.  This is what I like the most.  I also look for new partners, help to organise trainings for students, etc.

A group photo with the General Secretary of ACEEEO and other co-workers 

The people in the organisation are very nice. I have met everybody working in the Secretariat. We work together, have lunch together, and discuss questions related with election. Everyone gives me advices where to go, what to see or what to do after the work. I usually get tasks from all the persons working in the organisation. But actually I have never got something that I could not deal with. The concept of the organisation is that we work from 10 am till 5 pm.  So all my free time I spend walking in the centre of Budapest. The weather is usually very good (it is always 10 degrees more than in Lithuania), that is why I try to take a walk and to go somewhere where I have not been before.

Looking across the Buda Castle

Talking about life in Budapest, it was not hard to find a place to live. I had had several contacts of the people renting rooms before I came to Budapest. I found them in various groups of Erasmus students in Budapest in Facebook. There are more people renting the flat than people who are looking for one! The first flat I entered is the one I am living in right now. The best areas to live are the districts Nr. V, VI, VII, and XIII. I live in the VIII district. It is considered to be a central place. Moreover, I need only 10 minutes to reach my organisation. I like Budapest very much. I have not been out of Budapest but I still have some plans, because Hungary is very interesting country where one can find good vines, food, spectacular views and nice people. Even in Budapest a few months are not enough to visit all museums, cafes, restaurants, street events and thermal water baths.

Pest side of Budapest

There are not so many cultural differences between Lithuania and Hungary. We have some common things. When I say that I am from Lithuania usually I receive only good comments about Lithuania and Lithuanians. Till now I have not met any difficulties. The people I met speak English very well, thus, I have no difficulties to communicate.  The hardest thing is, perhaps, to find a place to live. Of course, there are things that surprise me as well, for example that there are so many homeless people in the streets.

This internship has many good aspects. I try to deal with my tasks and in this way to learn many new things related with elections. I did not have such a deep knowledge in the field, but I have improved it during practical tasks. I can also see how the non governmental organisation works, how the partners can be found, what problems they face and what results they can achieve. I have opportunity to get acquainted with the legal regulation of various countries, with politics, the newest result from election observers. The internship as other international practice develops one‘s personality. Besides these things, one can improve both legal knowledge and English language skills. Even though there can be some disadvantages, the internship abroad has much more advantages. You can develop your personal skills, your knowledge acquired at university and see many new things.

Simona by the Hungarian Parliament

I do not know whether there are many differences between internships of ‚Parters 4 Value‘ and ‚Erasmus‘ . When I compare the experience of my friends who were with Erasmus internship, I think ‚Parters 4 Value‘ provides better grant, it has much more options to choose for lawyers, especially for those who are interested in international law. Thus, one can choose the internship place in the country of particular interest. I would recommend to choose an internship place which is the most interesting from the professional point, to choose the country and the city always wanted to visit. It is always worth to have some information about culture, traditions or way of life before coming to the new place. 

And do not spend all the free time at home, use all the opportunities and try to get as much as possible from this perfect chance!