EUCC / Coastal & Marine Union

Placement organization

Name of organization: EUCC / Coastal & Marine Union
Town/city: Alonissos / Leiden
Country: Griekenland / the Netherlands
Website: http://www.qualitycoast.info

Student

Name of student: Malou van Kempen

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: NGO
Organization’s activities: Research into sustainability in destinations
Target group of the organization: Destinations mainly
Company culture: You get a lot of responsibility and flexibility but also a lot of supervision if you wish. Contact with company supervisor is good.
Number of employees: 25
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Research & marketing
Brief description of your daily activities: A meeting twice a week, doing sustainability scans, Facebook updates.
Brief description of your company assignment: Improve application of Alonissos for 2014, create visitors profile of Alonissos & make suggestions for marketing
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Very close supervision if you wish, very good.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Independent, motivated, take initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excel (above average)
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Other languages depending on destination

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplan and boat

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? My company made suggestions
How did you go to work every day? by foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: There were not many documents necessary, only the ones from school and the Erasmus scholarship
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? No

Language course

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

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 400,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 250,00
Local transport (monthly): € 50,00
General costs of living (monthly): € 600,00
Costs of visa: €
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Nothing

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did not
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? Yes, Greek working culture is different which made it sometimes more difficult for me in the beginning.

Future students on placement

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

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Doing an internship for QualitCoast is very interesting and you will learn a lot from it. However, I think the combination of work in the office in Leiden and an independent research abroad is perfect.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Alonissos is a beautiful island with a lot of opportunities for exploring. Don’t expect a vibrant nightlife though, since the island is quiet and green and not focused on youngsters.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link