Work-Related Learning
Year Abroad through the European Voluntary Service (EVS) in Poland
I would like to reflect on one very profound work experience in this segment. Currently, I am working at PlanBConsulting as Marketing Manager and will reflect on the experience after completion. I aim to add further internships and work experiences the more I grow and develop throughout my University Degree.
Before coming to University, I chose to volunteer for a year in Poland to improve my Polish language skills and come to terms with my German-Polish heritage and history. This voluntary service was also a chance to orient myself after graduation, learn to live independently and understand what subject areas I wanted to pursue.
As a Volunteer, I was funded by an NGO called “Pax Christi” as well as the EU through their ERASMUS+ programme. This means I received training from my sending organisation Pax Christi as well as seminars funded through the EU. My host organisation was the Foundation Krzyzowa for Mutual Understanding in Europe, which provided me with accommodation in the 100-person village the NGO was located at as well as additional support and training. This Foundation is where I worked up to 60+ hours a week, depending on project type and season.
Before coming to University, I chose to volunteer for a year in Poland to improve my Polish language skills and come to terms with my German-Polish heritage and history. This voluntary service was also a chance to orient myself after graduation, learn to live independently and understand what subject areas I wanted to pursue.
As a Volunteer, I was funded by an NGO called “Pax Christi” as well as the EU through their ERASMUS+ programme. This means I received training from my sending organisation Pax Christi as well as seminars funded through the EU. My host organisation was the Foundation Krzyzowa for Mutual Understanding in Europe, which provided me with accommodation in the 100-person village the NGO was located at as well as additional support and training. This Foundation is where I worked up to 60+ hours a week, depending on project type and season.
These were some of the tasks I was given as a volunteer:
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The European Voluntary Service has been my most significant learning experience so far. I have gained valuable communication and collaboration skills and grown immensely as an individual by improving my resourcefulness, confidence and investigative nature. Volunteering has also directly affected my career choices as I changed my Bachelor degree from Film & Television to pursue Politics & Business Management instead. I wanted to learn about the structural processes shaping society and broaden my leadership skills.
Learning Office Work
As volunteers, our main work consisted of supporting the department responsible for organising youth exchange projects at the Krzyzowa Foundation. We shared office space with our 8 co-workers, the internees and the marketing department of the NGO. Despite officially belonging to the pedagogue department, we also worked for the European Academy (which offers training and seminars to adult groups), the Memorial Place (which offers historic and ecological tour guides) and the Marketing Department (translating texts, organising photos and designing logos). This often led to an insurmountable workload as each department would hand out work separately, unaware of the other functions’ expectations. Managing my time and evaluating each task on its importance was a necessary skill to acquire during my year.
© Alex Miller
Because I was extremely motivated I often found it difficult to achieve all my deadlines, as I took on more work than I could handle. As a volunteer, my intrinsic motivation highly outweighs external factors as I aim to give as much as possible to the cause, which however can upset my own work-life balance. Often, I would find myself working on an important task when the marketing department head would walk in and ask me if I could complete another urgent task by tomorrow morning. Seeing as I was one of the few individuals who could translate texts from German to English, I would accept the task, despite knowing I would do overtime to complete it. ->
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-> Not only was I highly motivated, I also had difficulty organising my priorities, seeing as this was my first experience of an office setting. Furthermore, I lacked the assertiveness to rearrange deadlines and delegate tasks to others because I did not want to disappoint my co-workers and cause conflict in the office. These actions, however, directly affected my productivity and the atmosphere in the office.
Although it was at first difficult for me to communicate my concerns as well as overcome the fear of asking for assistance, I found my co-workers to be open to discussing the issue. I was able to negotiate deadlines and delegate some of the work to the other volunteers, who dealt with less time pressure in that period. I also found it effective to communicate directly to avoid long email correspondence which usually lead to further misunderstandings. This helped the office work run smoothly, as tasks were more evenly distributed. Reading up on how to set one’s priorities and adapt to the circumstances also helped me recognise my top concerns. Monthly calendars on my office wall ensured I check my schedule before taking on more work. I was also less distracted by co-workers through listening to music on my headphones, which fostered my concentration.
Despite the office situation presenting a constant learning process for me to practice scheduling, assertiveness and prioritisation, I improved my skills vastly by the end of the year. I researched, reflected and tried numerous scheduling task techniques, tested my assertiveness daily and worked on my time management skills. Understanding that these were my weakest areas, I worked hard improving in them and learned vastly about myself and others in the process. |
Graduate Attributes Developed
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Effective communicator
Resourceful and responsible
Reflective Learner
Time Management
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Effective communicator
Resourceful and responsible
Reflective Learner
Time Management
Impact on university studies and future employability
These time management and collaboration skills have had a huge impact on my University career. Through resourceful and responsible behaviour I have developed a realistic 1 - hour task system to structure my day and leave emails and errands to the less productive afternoons, which helps me focus on important tasks. Keeping a clock close by or setting myself an alarm gives me the efficiency I need to balance University work with my Internship deadlines.
Through constant check-ups and improvements, I am able to set priorities for the future, adapt to workload changes as well as being independent and effective in an office environment.
Practicing assertiveness is something I still struggle with today, so that I have established some firm principles. Before doing any favors or taking on extra work through societies or university, I check my planner and ask for a day to reflect on the offer. This gives me time to understand my priorities and see if I can take on the task without it affecting my health and wellbeing.
Effectively communicating with others is a key skill when working in new office spaces, where creativity and productivity is often required under high pressure and daunting deadlines. With the combination of my time management skills, I recognize the importance of mastering such challenges to pursue a career successfully.
These time management and collaboration skills have had a huge impact on my University career. Through resourceful and responsible behaviour I have developed a realistic 1 - hour task system to structure my day and leave emails and errands to the less productive afternoons, which helps me focus on important tasks. Keeping a clock close by or setting myself an alarm gives me the efficiency I need to balance University work with my Internship deadlines.
Through constant check-ups and improvements, I am able to set priorities for the future, adapt to workload changes as well as being independent and effective in an office environment.
Practicing assertiveness is something I still struggle with today, so that I have established some firm principles. Before doing any favors or taking on extra work through societies or university, I check my planner and ask for a day to reflect on the offer. This gives me time to understand my priorities and see if I can take on the task without it affecting my health and wellbeing.
Effectively communicating with others is a key skill when working in new office spaces, where creativity and productivity is often required under high pressure and daunting deadlines. With the combination of my time management skills, I recognize the importance of mastering such challenges to pursue a career successfully.
Acquiring Research Skills
One of the departments I worked for was the Memorial Place, which offers historic and ecological tour guides to groups ranging from 2 to 50 people and individuals of all ages varying from 16 to 70 years old. This task seemed very daunting at first, as we were expected to learn about the history of the Foundation and with this knowledge deliver interactive and interesting 2-hour long historic tours of the grounds. Due to my fluency in German and English, I was asked to hold tours in both languages. This meant a further amount of study to ensure dates, places and historic vocabulary were correct in English and German. Thus it was not only important for me to gain insight into the material through appropriate resources but to deliver the history effectively and accurately, adapting on the group in front of me.
This was a tremendous task which involved a lot of self-study and practice, which in turn has deepened my resourcefulness and responsibility. I took practical notes watching other tour guides deliver the information, read books on the subject and developed my own notes in English and German. Because there was little information available in English, I often found myself translating texts and words from German, which was not always ideal. Through speaking to other English historians, I was able to address the subject and utilize the appropriate vocabulary. Overall, researching and delivering tours sparked my investigative nature, so I continued to add on material throughout the year through extra reading and discussions with other tour guides.
Giving tours was as much a process of research as it was of “learning by doing” - the first few comments I received were that I spoke too softly, and so I learned to adjust my voice and speech to the needs of the guests. Despite not knowing all the dates by heart at first, guests perceived my note cards as a sign of preparedness rather than lack of knowledge. Through watching others on their tours and gaining feedback from my mentors, I gained confidence commanding an audience, added anecdotes in for laughs and made sure to engage the audience through questions and voice variation. Reading up on the difference between auditory and visual learners, I prepared A4 images of maps, important dates and family trees for clarity. ->
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© Milena Kula
-> Lastly, I learned to effectively communicate the history - varying my vocabulary, focus and stories- while also adapting it whenever necessary, in order to suit my audience. To engage bored high school students covering World War II material in class, I asked questions so they could contribute their knowledge to the tour. For older generations, it was important to leave more room at the end of the tour for questions the audience might want to ask. Varying my tours increased my adaptability and confidence to adapt to the situation accordingly.
Giving tours was satisfyingly challenging and rewarding. I especially enjoyed the direct interaction with my audience and the tremendous amount of invaluable and positive feedback I received. Most of the over 100 groups I was a tour guide for were absolutely impressed by the presentation of the material and often asked me if I was a historian. Many were surprised to hear I had not finished a University degree and just finished my A-Levels, assuming I had a History Degree. At the Seminar Model International Criminal Court University (MICC) I was even asked to come back the following year as a trainer because of the quality and presentation of my tour.
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Graduate Attributes Developed
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Adaptable
Confident
Effective Communicator
Investigative
Resourceful and responsible
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Adaptable
Confident
Effective Communicator
Investigative
Resourceful and responsible
Impact on university studies and future employability
Having guided over 100+ groups through the Foundation in under a year, I have gained immense confidence in my public speaking abilities, which I am to utilize in my future workspace. I feel entirely comfortable speaking and presenting in front of a large group of people. Having learned to read my audience, I can easily adapt my speech volume or vocabulary to the group and ensure effective communication takes place.
Furthermore, the research and acquired knowledge has improved my investigative nature, which has been very useful in my assignments and my critical thinking skills. I have also become aware of the importance of adapting the information to the required language and have thereby increased my translation skills from German to English (and vice versa).
Having guided over 100+ groups through the Foundation in under a year, I have gained immense confidence in my public speaking abilities, which I am to utilize in my future workspace. I feel entirely comfortable speaking and presenting in front of a large group of people. Having learned to read my audience, I can easily adapt my speech volume or vocabulary to the group and ensure effective communication takes place.
Furthermore, the research and acquired knowledge has improved my investigative nature, which has been very useful in my assignments and my critical thinking skills. I have also become aware of the importance of adapting the information to the required language and have thereby increased my translation skills from German to English (and vice versa).
Engaging with Diverse Groups
Graduate Attributes Developed
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Confidence
Effective Collaborator
Effective Communicator
Social Awareness
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Confidence
Effective Collaborator
Effective Communicator
Social Awareness
Impact on university studies and future employability
This year abroad has given me an insight into working in an international setting within a fast-paced NGO environment. Not only have I learned to love international and tricultural meetings because of the tolerant atmosphere created, but I have gained practical experience of working in a small organisation. This in turn will be very helpful in communicating and interacting within a global workspace, as I plan to work for multinational creative or consultancy companies or start my own business. It has also given me great practical insight into organizational behaviour, which I intend to utilize in further work experiences and has also been useful in my Business & Management Course, as it helped me become a subject specialist. .
This year abroad has given me an insight into working in an international setting within a fast-paced NGO environment. Not only have I learned to love international and tricultural meetings because of the tolerant atmosphere created, but I have gained practical experience of working in a small organisation. This in turn will be very helpful in communicating and interacting within a global workspace, as I plan to work for multinational creative or consultancy companies or start my own business. It has also given me great practical insight into organizational behaviour, which I intend to utilize in further work experiences and has also been useful in my Business & Management Course, as it helped me become a subject specialist. .
Gaining Independence & Adaptability
Lastly, living in another country provided me with challenges in communicating, understanding the culture and living in a small village. Although I have lived in Warsaw during my childhood, it is very different to experiencing a country as an 18-year old. I mastered all these adversities through immersing myself in Polish culture by making very good Polish friends, organizing tandem lessons and using every opportunity to increase my vocabulary and grammar through communicating expansively . Moreover, I learned important slang words (which I had not heard as a child) which helped me feel part of the youth culture in Poland.
I also gained independence by using (sometimes incomprehensible) transport, asking for directions and learning how to move around numerous cities around Poland (without a map). Furthermore, although living in a village was sometimes lonely I used the time to practice nature photography through long walks around the country side. This independence culminated into gaining confidence to plan and execute numerous trips to visit friends across Poland as well as travelling on a longer summer trip independently through Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Bosnia to the Sarajevo Peace Event 2014. Ultimately, by the end of the year I had a sound knowledge of most large cities in Poland and had effectively adapted to the culture. -> |
© Alex Miller
To reflect on my year volunteering, I decided to write an original song about the experiences I had had. Not only did I write the song, but I challenged myself to record it in Poland independently. Through networking and connecting with others I was finally able to organize a studio and producer to record “Build Up Something New” in the city close to the village I was living in. This immense task of planning a creative project in another country has enabled me to network quickly and gain confidence- which in turn has led to recording and performance experiences in Glasgow in the past year.
© Alex Miller
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Graduate Attributes Developed
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Adaptable
Confidence
Effective Collaborator
Resourceful & Responsible
(See Graduate Attributes Defined for more information)
Adaptable
Confidence
Effective Collaborator
Resourceful & Responsible
Impact on university studies and future employability
Gaining independence has made settling in a new city - Glasgow- and the start of University life easier, as I have learned to live away from home and rely on myself. This reliability and resourcefulness helped me complete my first year of University with top grades and become highly involved in numerous societies, such as GUCA and ENACTUS. It also gave me the confidence to make the decision of moving out of student halls into a communal private flat closer to the University mid-way through the year.
Because I have learned to easily adapt to new surroundings, working in an international setting involving travel and movement will not be a challenge for me. Quite to the contrary, I enjoy exciting new settings and thrive in diverse groups, making me highly adaptable in the global workforce.
Gaining independence has made settling in a new city - Glasgow- and the start of University life easier, as I have learned to live away from home and rely on myself. This reliability and resourcefulness helped me complete my first year of University with top grades and become highly involved in numerous societies, such as GUCA and ENACTUS. It also gave me the confidence to make the decision of moving out of student halls into a communal private flat closer to the University mid-way through the year.
Because I have learned to easily adapt to new surroundings, working in an international setting involving travel and movement will not be a challenge for me. Quite to the contrary, I enjoy exciting new settings and thrive in diverse groups, making me highly adaptable in the global workforce.