EDEN servisni, s.r.o.

Placement organization

Name of organization: EDEN servisni, s.r.o.
Town/city: Bystrice nad Pernstejnem
Country: Czech Republic
Website: http://centrumeden.cz

Student

Name of student: Shirin Sarvi

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2014-2015

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tourist attraction
Organization’s activities: Aiming to attract more visitors to the area of Bystrice nad Pernstejnem. With a museum, sustainability exhibition, historical village, brewery, biological pharmacy and a restaurant they have the goal to educate people about our planet and about how you can start living more sustainable. Through themed monthly events Eden tries to attract visitors from all age groups and backgrounds.
Target group of the organization: Mostly families and schools
Company culture: There is Michal, the manager of the organization, with his right hand Tereza and the head of marketing Pavel. As Michal and Pavel have a long history together (they both work at ECEAT as well), they form a strong bond. Together with Tereza, the three make up the most significant level of the company. Most of the other employees do not have any background in their position (not even education), so they work together and have more general positions to fill. This can range from organizing and executing events to writing content and working in front office. All employees come together each day, to evaluate and discuss future plans. Unfortunately, the majority has trouble speaking English, so the meetings are always in Czech. The culture is definitely not formal, as Michal is a very kind and understanding man who sees himself as equal to his employees. Beginning or leaving early is no problem, and he often comes by to have a friendly chat with one of his employees.
Number of employees: 12
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Marketing
Brief description of your daily activities: Researching and analying foreign markets, researching online patterns, writing content for the blog, updating and analysing social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram), acquiring followers/fans, interacting with other businesses and travel bloggers. Next to that I occasionally help with monthly events: creating new products, brainstorming for next month’s themes, moving chairs and carrying wood.
Brief description of your company assignment: To analyse the European target market and draft a promotion plan to attract European visitors to Centrum Eden. As Eden wants to attract international visitors, their first focus is on Europeans. In particular, their target market is families and schools. According to the research, a promotion plan should be drafted to go online and create a stable and dynamic platform of connections.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: While my supervisor Pavel did all he could to help me, he was always very busy. We often had to communicate through emails because his pile of tasks was so high he couldn’t make it into the office that day. All in all, he did really keep track of what I was doing, and he gave good feedback on what I could add and what was expected from him. The English could be a barrier sometimes, but eventually we could communicate our message.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, creativity and own initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, writing skills, photography and editing skills, research skills
English: Intermediate
Spanish:
French:
German: Basic
Italian:
Other languages: Czech would be very convenient, but not necessary

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Train and car

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company
How did you go to work every day? By foot and sometimes picked up by car

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 200
Accommodation (monthly): € 0
Local transport (monthly): € 20
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Accommodation and €100,- (however you get it in the local currency)

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did some research on the Czechoslovakian background of the country, and I made sure to learn a few Czech words as soon as I arrived.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: shirinsarvi@outlook.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Bring both winter and summer clothes, because the weather here is crazy and ever-changing. Don’t expect the Czech to be influenced my communism, because they are not. They are modern-thinkers and over 60% is atheist. If you have a driver’s license, bring your car. The public transport is good, but the connections aren’t. If you want to see the Czech Republic, you should either have enough money for a taxi or you should have a car. Otherwise you’ll be travelling 4 hours by train, while it’s 1,5 hours by car.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are some local leisure activities such as a gym and an outdoor swimming pool, and the train station is on 20 minutes walking distance. From here you can visit beautiful places like the Pernstejn castle or Brno. The area is great for cycling and walking, and the bus can take you to interesting cities like Zdar nad Sazavou (with a UNESCO heritage site). It’s not really a place to go to if you like clubbing, as there are no real clubs. Most Czech people here just go to restaurants or bars where they continue drinking until the night’s over.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link