Jekaterina. The Council of the Baltic Sea States. Sweden, Stockholm.

I am a Master degree student in Real Estate Management with the Bachelor degree in Business Management at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. It is International Relations Office in VGTU who provided me with the information about Partners4Value internship opportunities and now I am very thankful for that. Cannot mention UNDP team here, who I also should THANK for given amazing advises and for the support they provided while arranging the documents. The experience I gained during my internship is extremely valuable and some sort of kick-off to my future career. The internship I chose in Stockholm was a perfect combination of my interests linked to both my Bachelor degree studies and my current Master degree.

The internship and working experience

The Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a political forum for intergovernmental cooperation in the Baltic Region which addresses the five priority areas of the environment, economic development, energy, education and culture, civil security and human dimension, including trafficking in human beings. Being a Core Team assistant in the CBSS Secretariat I learned how an actual high level work is realizing. Participation in the meetings of The Committee of Senior Officials (high ranking representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the 11 CBSS Member States as well as of the European Commission) helped me to have a clear understanding how an intergovernmental organisation can influence the environment around the Baltic Sea and beyond, and this is something that really happening! In this organisation as a core team assistant I had a chance to improve my working individually skills, because during my previous work experiences I became more a team worker. You will never get bored in the CBSS! Secretariat consists of several units who are developing different projects in different priority areas, so if you have a wish you are very welcome to take an interest in others works! Thus, I used my chance and got an experience in Communications department where we developed and realized the project designed for young emerging talents in creative and business industries / project start-ups in selected countries in the Baltic Sea Region. The programme aimed to give participants intercultural training and practical tools for successful project development. It also aimed to help them build a network of innovative individuals in the region. 

So all in all, extremely valuable experience, environmental business knowledge and beneficial network gained during my internship in Stockholm, CBSS Secretariat.  

My personal office in the CBSS Secretariat.

Living in Stockholm

Fascinating Stockholm

Expensive. Charming. International. Snowy. Royal. AWESOME city tours for FREE. Intercultural. Easy to communicate. Art. Subway. Nature. H&M. Water all around. Bridges. Ravishing. Crowded. Safe. New technology even in elderly people’s hands. Honest.  Islands. Gamla Stan (Old town). Boats. Sober. IKEA. Lack of day light. Nobel. Fantastic. City and house decorations. Sublime. Work. All-sufficient. Sun appreciation. Trust. Friendliness. Elegant. Modern. Attractiveness. Museums. Comfort. Sky bar. Celebrations. Renting. Education. Business. Rich. Fabulous. Worth!

Astonishing Gamla Stan (Old Town) 

  Marvelous City Hall

Marija. Tarptautinė praktika Latvijoje - Eurofortis SIA

Nedvejok, dalyvauk „Patirties Partneriai“ programoje! 

Esu Marija, trečio kurso Vilniaus Gedimino technikos universiteto studentė (studijų programa: verslo vadyba/marketingas), kuriai kaip ir kiekvienam 2/3-ojo kurso studentui reikėjo atlikti praktiką. Atrodo praktika Lietuvoje buvo pasiekiama ranka, bet kažkas viduje pastūmėjo aplankyti mūsų mielos Urdutės (Užsienio Ryšių Direkcija) svetainę dar kartą. Ne veltui, nes čia – puikus pasiūlymas, kviečiantis atlikti tarptautinę praktiką. Tokia galimybe, manau, privalo pasinaudoti kiekvienas studentas!! 

Mano pasirinkimas – EuroFortis SIA, tai Čekijos ir Latvijos švietimo ir konsultacijų centras, įsikūręs Rygoje, Latvijoje. Įmonė, bendradarbiaudama su kitų šalių partneriais, dalyvauja tarptautiniuose švietimo projektuose, remiamų Europos Sąjungos. Vykdomi projektai yra glaudžiai susiję su įmonės ideologija: padėti mokykloms, bei smulkioms/vidutinėms įmonėms, kurti bei diegti naujoves versle ir taip skatinti jų augimą.

Iš tiesų, esu laiminga, kad turėjau galimybę atlikti praktiką Rygoje bei patirti neišdildomų įspūdžių visam gyvenimui. Įmonėje dirbau kaip lygiavertė darbuotoja, buvau aktyviai įtraukta į kompanijos veiklą/diskusijas/susitikimus. Buvau supažindinta su Europos Sąjungos vykdomų projektų stuktūra, įmonės role juose. Praktikos metu koordinavau bendravimą su projektų partneriais, rengiau įvairias ataskaitas bei analizes, reikalingas projektų vystymui, ieškojau potencialių įmonių, kurias domintų projekto idėja, būsimi rezultatai. Įdomiausia tai, kad toks darbas niekada netampa tik nuobodus ir monotoniškas „paperwork“, nes skirtingi projektai – skirtingi tikslai bei užduotys.

  

 

Be to, įmonės veikla neatsiejama nuo partnerių susitikimų, kurie vyksta tiek Rygoje, tiek kitose šalyse – tai žavi. Savo praktikos metu dalyvavau ir tarptautiniuose susitikimuose. Pirmasis vyko su Skandinavijos šalių partneriais, kurie atvyko iš Danijos, Švedijos ir Islandijos. Projekto idėja – parengti programą bei kursus žmonėms (50+ amžiaus), kurie netekę darbo dažnai netenka ir galimybės įsidarbinti iš naujo. Tokia programa padėtų bei suteiktų žinių kaip įkurti nuosavą verslą. Tuo tarpu antrojo susitikimo metu partneriai atvyko iš Lenkijos, Prancūzijos, Ispanijos bei Italijos. Pagrindinis tikslas – skatinti profesinio švietimo ir mokymo patrauklumą bei gerinti mokymų kokybę, IT specialistų srityje. 

Jeigu manęs paklaustumėte ar verta dalyvauti šioje programoje, aš be abejonės atsakyčiau tik „TAIP“, nes neišdildomi įspūdžiai ir patirtis – garantuota. Nauji žmonės, aplinka – tai negali tavęs nepraturtinti, o kur dar iššūkiai, su kuriais susiduri užsienio šalyje. Svarbiausia tai, jog įmonės, dalyvaujančios programoje turi aiškią praktikos struktūrą, t.y. jos yra pasirengusios priimti studentą. Tuo tarpu Lietuvoje – kitokia situacija, juk kiekvienas esame girdėję, kad dažnai studentai yra „išnaudojami“ atlikti tik administracinio pobūdžio užduotis, dėl to dažnai neįgyja taip reikalingų praktinių žinių.

Tiesiog įsivaizduok situaciją: TU baigi universitetą, kartu baigia dar 100 studentų tik iš tavo kurso, kiek baigiančių iš viso universiteto, o kur dar kiti universitetai, kolegijos? Visi ieško darbo, visi atlikę praktiką, bet TU atlikai ją kitoje šalyje. Darbdavys tikrai atkreips į tai dėmesį!

Marija Bieliauskaitė
Jei turite klausimų man, rašykite el. paštu: meriddda@gmail.com

 

Reflection on the Internship in ENAR`s Policy Department, Brussels

I am a student at Institute of Political Science and International Relations of Vilnius University. After graduation, I would like to pursue a career at the non-governmental sector. I came to the ENAR with a genuine interest in being part of the international team and in gaining experience on anti-racist advocacy and networking at the European level. Eventually, the ENAR staff valued my insights and appreciated my daily input. 

The European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is an EU-wide network of vibrant NGOs, which combats racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and promotes equality of treatment between European Union citizens and third country nationals. The main objective of the ENAR to bring about political and social change throughout Europe by lobbying, campaigning, and carrying out advocacy activities on issues pertaining to anti-racism, anti-discrimination, equality, the protection of fundamental human rights and integration/migration.

International internship requires hard skills 

It’s not enough that you want to ‘help people’… you must obtain the specific skills that will help propel that change forward.At the ENAR, I have learnt that nonprofits have a desperate need for hard skills—skills like monitoring relevant policy development, undertaking specific research or attending and reporting on external meetings. It’s not enough that you want to “help people” and you “hope to change the world”. You must obtain the specific skills that will help propel that change forward. Hard skills are just as crucial in the nonprofit sector as in the corporate or for-profit world. 

As an intern in the Policy Departament, I supported the Policy Unit and Secretariat based on ENAR`s current work programme. Because of ENAR`s expansive work programme, permanent staff have some flexibility in the tasks that an intern could perform. They always discuss and strategize the activities of the intern based on the intern`s topics of interest and skills. 

International internship is the best place for career exploration 

The dearth of nonprofit employees with hard skills can sometimes work to your advantage as an intern. However, you will have the chance to try a range of projects simply because there aren’t enough people with the both the skills and the time to complete them. 

I got to explore a variety of career paths in the ENAR`s Policy Department. Attending and reporting on external meetings gave me insights about the lobbyist daily routine. Monitoring relevant policy development within the European institutions opened my eyes to the possibilities of a career in governmental sector. 

Who you work with is just as important as what you do 

Currently, ENAR has a permanent staff of less than ten persons and as such, interns become fully integrated and key team players. There are always a few interns in every department. Active interns are always welcome not only because they help in easing work load, but because the organisation values their insight as newcomers to the team and appreciate their suggestions and energy. 

Although I loved the work I did with the ENAR, my team members made my internship so much more enjoyable. I was surrounded by some of the kindest, smartest, and most talented people I have ever met. From my supervisor with an impressive background in cultural policies and intercultural dialogue, to the Deputy Director who is experienced on migration, ethnicity, and anti-discrimination issues. Each member of the ENAR team helped me grow by sharing new perspectives, knowledge, and friendship. I have learnt that great teammates are an essential component to finding satisfaction in your work.

Ambiguity is a blessing and a curse 

The ENAR is a network of social entrepreneurs, so entrepreneurialism is highly valued and assignments are not always spelled out for you. It can be a great learning opportunity when your supervisor comes to ask your opinion. With few specific guidelines, you have the opportunity to add your own ideas and perspectives to the project. However, loose project guidelines can also leave you feeling a little lost, confused, or stuck. In a workplace that thrives on ambiguity, you must be willing to hit the ground running and ask for more direction when you need it.

Don’t lose sight of the “why” 

In the day-to-day grind of meetings and project deadlines, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture—the “why” of all your work. Taking the time to regain some perspective about why you do what you do can serve as powerful motivation. Hearing the fellows explanations how their ideas are solving discrimination problems and how the ENAR has helped them to get those ideas off the ground served as a reminder and a strong motivator for me. 

I had a great experience at the ENAR, and the things I have learnt will be applicable in my future whether I decide to stay in the nonprofit sector or try my hand and the corporate world. Hopefully. my experience will inspire other students to search international internships with Partners 4 value program.

Jolita Staselyte

Julius. UNICRI, Turin, Italy. 2012 Autumn.

I am sociology student at Vilnius University. I found the information about this project on my University career center website and I have to say I was very happy because of the opportunity, the amount and range of the organizations. There were a number of suitable places for my (sociological) internship. Frankly speaking it took a long time and a lot of endeavors to finalize the documents, but at the end it was totally worth. I would like to confirm Ieva’s idea mentioned below, that Lithuanian UNDP office staff and especially Ruta Svarinskaite was acting very quickly, clear and motivating and they helped me a lot. I would like to HIGHLIGHT that I am not a best student at all, not even close to top 10 of my course, but this does not mean that you are not able to apply for it. The marks often does not show the real knowledge neither reflect the characteristics of the person. I honestly strongly encourage all the interested people to take this opportunity which could (should) lift sky-high you and your future career.

The internship and work experience.

As I mentioned before the plenty of organizations participating in this project let me even to choose the organization and thanks for the Partners4Value project, it gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dream. Honestly the primary criteria why I took Torino city was my passion for the Juventus football club and the Italy. Though, the organization was also excellent and now I think that I took the best organization for the sociologist who sympathizes to the criminology. UNICRI – United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, in my view is the perfect example of the office as of itself. At the beginning, of course, the mainly tasks were reading to get in touch with the on-going projects and administrative assistant for Emerging Crime Unit colleagues. But step by step I have got involved in couple of a big projects and have been working on it for all the rest period. I was also trying to adopt UNICRI’s method of research, I had to write reports, work in the team with very frequent short meetings which, in my view, are very effective. Not only the physical condition (office) but also the atmosphere was quite perfect for learning and working. I mean the colleagues and supervisors were very kind and helpful, I believe because of the huge experience in working with interns, when I arrived there was around 8 interns throughout all UNICRI. Before coming I was a bit skeptical about the UN as a slow bureaucratic mechanism, but now I can say that UNICRI is really effective institute (branch of the UN). The activities match the announcement of what UNICRI is doing and doing it quite fruitfully. The projects I was involved was about IP (intellectual property) counterfeiting and environmental crime (green criminology). Now it is my last week and I feel like I have got quite dept knowledge about these two subjects, in addition, I feel that I achieved at least basic knowledge on criminology and UN managerial system. Moreover, I was inspired by EcoCrime conference and decided to write my final thesis on the topic of green criminology. However, this is certainly not the maximum of benefits you could gain during the internship at UNICRI. Leave your doubts and go on!

Living in Turin (Torino).

Torino destroyed one more of my stereotypes. The stereotype was of simple, hardly industrialized city, keeping in mind that the FIAT factories is situated in Torino. At the beginning I hardly believed all the people I met which were saying that Torino is much better than Milano, but now I am really falling in love with the city. It is way much better than Milan in all aspects except popsism, fashion, shopping and sex industry which totally are not priorities of my life. The architecture, cultural live, city center, open markets, student’s nightlife with wide Erasmus network even public transport with the newest metro in Italy is at least not the worse than in Milano (spent there 2 weekends). And the most important the Alpes which you can see on clear days (not very often, sunny day in this case does not mean clear) green areas all around the city in mixing with really simple but in the same time unique architecture creates the face of harmony and really cute city.

However, the heaven does not exist, so I have to say, that the Torino people is not so open  as you can expect to meet in south Italy or Spain, but the majority is well educated and interesting. Also, if you are going to live in Torino prepare yourself for the nightmare then searching the room to rent, it could take even 2 or more weeks. Regarding to this, I could help, but please write the constructive and clear emails (JuliusBertasius@gmail.com). In addition, it is still Italy thereof I had to deal with several public transport drivers strikes and sometimes the barrier of the language…

To conclude, the Torino after some time makes you say – awesome… Please note that this is only my opinion.

                                                                  Clear day in Torino.

   My favorite spot to chill in Torino.

 My office room at UNICRI.

                                                 

Ieva/ The internship in Vienna/ 2012 autumn

I am a political science and international relations student at the Vilnius University in Lithuania and now an intern at the Research Institute for Managing Sustainability in Vienna, Austria. Me and my fellow colleague and friend Vaida, in the beginning of this spring accidentally found out about the Partners4Value internship opportunities and decided to take a leap of fate and try to apply. We looked trough the internship notices that were available, we met with the Lithuanian UNDP office staff that helped us a lot and finally our choice was Vienna. The internship offer matched our study programme requirements, our interests in politics, global problems, diplomacy and etc., so we thought that this chance will go best in line with our career prospects.

The internship and working experience

Research Institute for Managing Sustainability (RIMAS) views a sustainable development as an important challenge for our time, so  here this topic is addressed from a variety of angles including Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility, Good Governance, innovation research, and sustainable consumption. I got a chance to join the team of researches, help them in preparing projects, conferences, analyzing United Nations Development Goals, doing literature research and bunch of other interesting tasks, that I hope will be useful in the future. I believe that this experience will help me improve my personal communication skills, academic knowledge. I hope that I have contributed the think-tank office‘s broader politics and work. This internship has thought me confidence to take initiative and successfully organize work related tasks.

Living in Vienna

It's always hard to choose a favourite travel and living destinations, but Vienna must be close to the top of mylist as it offers so much to do and see. The noble architecture of the city can be a sweep at first glance, but if you take a better look at Vienna, you’ll see that there are many more things that will make you stick with it. The autumn is perfect in here: the weather is warm and pleasant, you can walk around and enjoy every little park, tourist spot or small beautifull street in the city. In my free time I had a chance to enjoing travelling around, getting to know the culture, the history, the people and the elegance of the city in the night – everything is worth seeing and especially when living here for a longer period of time! Vienna is a beautiful, orderly, and city with equal doses of old world charm and metropolitan sophistication.

I had a time of my life here!

Ich hatte eine Zeit in meinem Leben:)