Hola,
It is Monika here writing to you from Logrono, Spain. Let me tell you the thrilling details about my adventure with the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme so far. I am here in Bosonit, Logrono for more or less three weeks and it is full of surprises. But let me start from the beginning to get things in context.
What you need to know about me is that Spain is the 8th country I am living for longer than 2 months in the last 5 years (Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Turkey, The United Kingdom in order). So we could say, I am kind of a global citizen. But I was aiming for this title from my university years, so I participated as many international student organisations as possible. Erasmus Student Network, AIESEC or any other international exchange what was possible at the University of Pannonia. I studied Leadership and Management and my main interest were organisational behaviour and human resources topped with research methodologies. I was mesmerised by statistics, collecting my data, designing the research models and data visualisations.
One day, when I was on my Erasmus Exchange in a HR office in London, I came to the realisation the I would like to learn coding and fuse it with my statistical interest and scale my research capabilities to a higher level. Then a Hungarian friend of mine recommended the EYE programme to me and I wanted to give it a try. I feel like I could create more value outside of the corporate limitations. The EYE programme is the perfect opportunity to test this hunch and see how things are getting done in the real world.. I think about EYE as a safe playground for entrepreneur want-to-bes, so I took my chances and I am optimistic about the future.
I was looking for a host entrepreneur who had a company connected to data science and machine learning. I was curious how different data projects flow and have a grasp of their complexity. So Bosonit, was a perfect match from the database. I hope in the end, I will have a clear understanding how to carry out a data science project confidently on my own. I think Bosonit is perfect to foster my programming and client management skills.I feel like these are the main areas where I can grow the most. I am planning to stay as long as I can. I applied for the full 6-months-period. Hopefully Brexit will not disrupt this fantastic opportunity.
So that was the prologue for my Spanish adventures. So let’s cut to the chase. When I arrived to Logrono I felt like a had fallen down the rabbit hole, into this sweet chaos. The whole city was celebrating its patron for a week long. Logrono was bustling with life, and colleagues gave me a warm welcome. I was immediately invited to a 4-day-long business trip to Madrid, where I could witness the merger of different companies and met with all of the project leaders. I am grateful for this helpful and supportive environment. I was given free hand to participate and study projects to my liking. I was invited to some business meetings as well. I quite enjoy, that everything is possible and spontaneous. Each day is a new opportunity, so I feel like this truly represents the entrepreneur environment.
I started to learn Spanish as well, to have a more authentic experience in the following 5 months. I would recommend for anyone who wants to go to Spain to learn at least some Spanish before hand as it is much harder to get around with only English. Luckily, my colleagues help me with anything that I need. if I have to describe my first 15 days with a piece of art somehow it is Ricky Martin’s La Vida Loca that comes to my mind. It is fun, energetic and full of possibilities.
I will let you know later how the story goes. To be continued…
Muchismas gracias,
Monika
