5-day job shadowing in Valencia

Each course day began with a session they called a wake up session. This involved different themes for each day, including suggestions on how to think differently, work in groups, change the working environment, practical handling and implementation of large groups. This was something that most people could relate to, or draw parallels to in their everyday working life.

We then had some job shadowing, where we got to know different parts of the university and how the departments were organised. The course participants who took part were all in administrative positions, so the job shadowing was set up so that everyone could relate to it. The sessions we otherwise attended during the week were communication, finance, student management, quality and HR.

Furthermore, there was an English course, before we were divided into different groups within culture and food where our session was called Mediterranean View. The English lessons consisted of methods to be able to learn the international language better on your own after returning home. We had a very committed, clear coach who was good at communication and managed to inspire both of us to continue this work ourselves. In the last session of the day, we got to know the city of Valencia and their culture. We are very grateful that we got to experience and learn so much about Valencia, thanks to a very good local guide from the school.

Some of our goals ahead of the trip were to be pushed a little out of our comfort zone and to be challenged in a language that none of us normally use very much in a work context. We feel our goals were met and we are left with a very positive experience with new acquaintances, experiences, tools for work, language and cultural replenishment. It has been very instructive to have the opportunity to get to know the school system and organization of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and the other participants on the course. It has been very exciting to learn about differences, and to start discussions across the 14 different nations that were gathered.

We would like to recommend this course to our good colleagues here in Norway

The project is supported by Erasmus+
Erasmus+ is the EU's program for education, training, youth and sport. It is the world's largest education programme, with a budget of 28.8 billion euros for the period 2021–2027. Erasmus+ supports mobility and collaborative projects in the entire educational process: kindergarten, primary school, upper secondary education, higher vocational education, higher education and adult education.

The Vocational School in Viken is accredited for Erasmus+ mobility projects and works hard to get international mobility into the school's educational programmes. The Vocational School in Viken is committed to internationalization and annually seeks new funds to be able to offer both students and staff a golden opportunity to raise their skills, acquire new knowledge, cultural understanding, tolerance, flexibility and independence - and in this way simultaneously raise the quality of both the studies and the school.

Are you interested in what possibilities we have for mobility?