Associacao International Life Lisboa

Placement organization

Name of organization: Associacao International Life Lisboa
Town/city: Lisbon
Country: Portugal
Website: http://www.erasmuslifelisboa.com

Student

Name of student: Valentina Petre

Specialist area: Tourism Management (EN)
Placement period: 2019-2020

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Non-profit organization
Organization’s activities: AILL/ELL provides support to international students in Lisbon through more steps – finding accommodation, daily life Portuguese tips (phone number, bank card etc.) and organizing events to connect people between them but also with the country itself. That is why the organization plans over 100 trips & activities such as city tours, wine tastings, parties, skydive, BBQs, walking tours, surf lessons, trips to Algarve & Porto, boat parties, excursions all over Portugal and more.
Target group of the organization: Internationals
Company culture: Clan culture – family-like, with a focus on mentoring, nurturing, and “doing things together.”
Number of employees: 30
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?
Events and Communication Department

Brief description of your daily activities: During the placement I will have multiple tasks to perform in the mentioned department. The first one is keeping interaction with the current international students in Lisbon, help organize events and trips for them with the help of the other colleagues within the department and the social media tools. Promoting these events on the channels of the company is part of the objectives of my internship as well as applying the knowledge gained until now of marketing.

Brief description of your company assignment: The main assignment for the placement is making an events guideline. The purpose of this guideline is to solve the management problem that the company is experiencing. The company already has an event guideline, but this old version needs to be updated. The old version only contains just a few of the events that they organize, as it is the first guideline they ever had since they exist, and with information that might not valid anymore.
The new guideline will be based on the old one, the feedback of the team of each event organized, the knowledge and skills gathered in the two years of University and the actual experience collected by me on the field (as a main organizer or team member). The company created a google document in order to stimulate the team and the main organizer of each event to leave feedback and remarks. The opinions of the events and communication department will bring plenty of innovation and up-to-date information useful to create a brand-new guideline.

Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I have a supervisor in the company who is the manager of the Back Office. I have done with him some events and, in my opinion, they were the best ones. Anyway, all the managers are very sociable and always happy to help you. I never had any problems.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? team-player, flexible, stress-proof, sociable
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Office, writing skills, language skills, marketing and management
English: Advanced

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? myself
How did you go to work every day? public transport

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? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? not necessary

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 250
Accommodation (monthly): € 350-500
Local transport (monthly): € 40
General costs of living (monthly): € 300
Costs of visa: € –
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? In compensation

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I have been to Portugal before and I experimented the culture so I did not have a shock when I started my internship. I advise for people to go at least 2 weeks before hand starting the internship to get accustomed to the way of living.
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: 171703@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: You need to be a really spontaneous person and flexible because working in the events department it is not that easy, steady and clear. Every event is different, and because this is a non-profit organisation makes it even more energetic and “chaotic”. If you like to always socialise, be awake at 6 to leave for a trip or stay until 2-3am to organise a party, be present in the events you are organising (so not only back office) then this is the place for you.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are plenty stuff to do in Lisbon as it is the capital. You have the city centre with plenty of bars, you have the football stadiums of Benfica and Sporting, shopping streets, museums, malls and, of course, the river which once you follow you arrive at one of the most beautiful beaches in Portugal.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link