Erasmus experience – Ricardo de Freitas February 25, 2012

Full name: Ricardo de Freitas
Age: 24
University: ISCTE-IUL
Period of Erasmus participation: First semester of 2010/2011 (5 Months)
Study year: 4th year of my degree.
Degree name: Informática e Gestão de Empresa (Information Technology and Management)

• Could a young individual who has participated in one of these projects have a larger demand in the labor market?

– It was only after I completed the programme that I realized how important the experience was. I started going to job interviews and one of the fist things almost all the interviewers used to ask me was if I studied abroad. I was amazed because I thought that they would think of us Erasmus students as “party people” but that’s not the case. Turns out that companies prefer to hire people with these type of international experiences because every year companies are expanding to other countries, and they want young adventurous employees who are more willing to pack their bags and accept these professional opportunities abroad.

• What skills does the young individual gain and why is it important?

– When I first enrolled myself in the Erasmus programme I did it because I have always been a person who loves interacting with people from different countries and I have always been fascinated with other cultures so when the opportunity presented itself I did not think twice.
Everyone is different but speaking for myself I can clearly say that I grew in so many ways because the experience forced me to do things that I would never had done if I hadn’t participated in Erasmus. It forced me to speak and read a foreign language, and it made me see the world in a whole new perspective with regards to how different certain things function in another country. Another advantage in doing such programmes is to get to discover the other country, not just as a tourist but also as a possible future work destination.

• Is it easy to study in another country?

– I would say the hardest thing for me was to communicate, because not many people in Spain understand English. Fortunately, after a few weeks I knew enough Spanish words to get around. It was tough to find a place to stay but that’s part of the experience and of course I had to live with people that I didn’t really know and it caused some conflicts.

• What are the countries that you advise?

– I’m not the type of person who would recommend going to a country without being there. I was in Spain and I do recommend it because it has some renowned universities and friendly people. I think that when possible the student should always choose a country with a good university because it really can enrich your CV. In regards to the country I honestly think any country, far or near, is good as long as the student goes there with an open spirit and willingness to accept and learn new things.

• What were the financial costs?

– I studied in Madrid which is a very expensive city to live in, and for someone who is still living with their parents it’s quite hard to handle. Besides rent you also have to pay for food, electricity and water. I would recommend students with financial difficulties to get a job and work for a few months before studying abroad.

European Union February 24, 2012

• What is the European Union?

– The European Union, or EU, is a collaborative effort between 27 European countries to form a mutually beneficial economic and policy community. The EU works to increase economies and spread human rights advances worldwide. The goals of the European Union include uniting Europe towards common goals and providing aid to developing nations. For a country to join they have to agree to follow the rules and in return they get certain benefits. Each country has to pay money to be a member. They mostly do this through the income they gain by taxes. Countries join because they think that they will benefit from the changes the EU makes.

• What is its history?

– Due to the constant bloody wars between neighbor countries and the fear of the coming back of Germany after the World War 2, a number of European liders became convinced that the only way to secure a lasting peace between the countries was uniting them economically and politically, so in 1951 the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created, with initially six members(West Germany, France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Italy and Netherlands)and the power to take decisions was placed in the hands of Jean Monnet, its first president. In 1957 the six countries signed the treaties of Rome, originating the European Atomic community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC), uniting the countries economically and politically. Finally, 1992 the Treaty of Rome was signed and, by adding inter-governmental co-operation to the existing Communities, the European Union(EU) was created, and ever since, its number of members have increased and it has started to deal with many other subjects regarding citizenship and human rights.

• What advantages and disadvantages does Portugal have due to it being part of the European Union?

Advantages:

– The access to the free trade zone. Any country that is a member of EU has access to the markets of all the other countries in the EU, wich increases the market potencial in every sector.

– In science, national budgets are being seriously cut but luckily the EU has its own science research funding and therefore can buffer some of the negative affect of nations’ budget cuts.

– Travel and work between member nations is unrestricted, so people can more easily move between nations to find employment abroad.

Disadvantages:

– EU membership brings with it some limitations on sovereignty, such as: EU members cannot enact laws that violate provisions of the basic EU law, wich means that the countries are not free to enact any sort of laws that they want, something that sovereign countries are thought to be able to do.

– Laws that work for some countries of EU may not work for others, because of their different cultures and backgrounds. This can be an explanation for the crisis that many member countries are facing;

• How do you describe the current European civilization and what values does it stand for?

– «Dignity, liberties, equality, solidarity, citizenship and justice, as defined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (2001), the Amsterdam Treaty and theEuropean Convention on Human Rights (1951).»

– «Peace, economic and physical wellbeing, security, participatory democracy, justice and solidarity» are the values Europeans care most deeply about.

– «Afirm the european ideal in a time where, in and out of Europe, nationalisms,xenophobia and identitary radicalisms are rising as the most dangerous and deadlyalternative to the ideals of democracy and peace that define and identify the European Union.» by Álvaro de Vasconcelos

Sources:

– http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-european-union.htm (consulted on: 3rd of January of 2012)
– http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandlaw/a/europeanunionhist.htm (consulted on: 3rd of January of 2012)
– http://ec.europa.eu/governance/contrib_fheur_en.pdf (consulted on: 5th of January of 2012)
– http://www.enotes.com/soc/discuss/what-advantages-disadvantages-european-union-96207 (consulted on: 15th of February of 2012)
– http://europa.eu/abc/12lessons/lesson_12/index_en.htm (consulted on: 15th of February of 2012)

The experts’ opinion February 23, 2012

• What Europe awaits the young people?

– João Tiago Louzeiro, from JSD in Faro, says: «The EU is an asset in a world more and more globalised. It is supported in the self-government and the constitution that defends common, cultural and social values that allow and encourage the respect for each one’s differences. (…) should be a fundamental aspect to consolidate the Union in a civic action who values and acknowledges different people, beliefs and cultures’ values.»

– «The beginning of the 1980s is marked by a big sense of “europessimism”: world economic crisis, accelerate rise of the unemployment, internal disagreements about the division of the financial encharges and disbelieve about the future.» – draw a line with the present time. – CES study, May 2005

• What can we expect for its future?

– «The ambition of full employment, a highly competitive social market economy and an elevated protection level and an environmental quality improvement , as well as the promotion of the economic, social and territorial cohesion, the solidarity between the member States and yet the need to give the citizens of Europe a space of freedom, safety and justice» – CES study, May 2005

• How does the crisis affect Europe?

– «The European economic growth has been slow and it is noticeable a deceleration on the productivity’s increase rhythm. (…) on all aspects, (…) the EU is very far apart its initially proposed goals» – CES study, May 2005

• At this point, are the migrations an opportunity or a threat to young people?

– João Tiago Louzeiro says: «In education, the exchange of teachers and students can and should be an asset in the relationship between people, aiming for the society’s development and specialization.»

• What are the challenges that await us?

– «The preparation of future widening processes, population aging and the migration phenomenon, the sustained development of the social protection systems, the promotion of gender equality, the impacts of the economic globalization, namely, outsourcing, sector and company restructure, changes in the work organization, the future financial scenario and the cohesion policy, among others» – CES study, May 2005

• What institutions decide the lives of these young Europeans?

– The European Union says: «the EU’s broad priorities are set by the European Council, which brings together national and EU-level leaders; «directly elected MEPs represent European citizens in the European Parliament; «the interests of the EU as a whole are promoted by the European Commission, whose members are appointed by national governments; «governments defend their own countries’ national interests in the Council of the European Union».

• What evaluation do you make of the institutions and politicians who represent them?

– «The trust levels and the knowledge itself the European citizens have about the European project and its community institution do not seem to be enough, which leads to a distance between the represented citizens and their representatives.» – CES study, May 2005

• What interventions can and should be done by the young Portuguese, as citizens of Europe, (professionally and civically) to overcome the crisis?

– Álvaro de Vasconcelos says: «Since 1992, at least, the portuguese know it’s not enough to look at Europe as a safe haven where all the calm comes from. Portugal is, since its first presidency, in the centre of Europe, and in order to keep itself there, it has to continue to shape the future of Europe. (…) put the citizen in the centre of the european construction and preserve the european diversity.»
– João Tiago Louzeiro says: «Portugal, like other former colonial powers, should narrow their bonds with the countries they have cultural bonds, as well as develop solid social, cultural and economic relationships that allow both the countries development and a bigger participation of the european space in the world, allied to a strong cooperation in both education and economics.»

Sources:
– http://jsd-faro.blogspot.com/2008/04/o-futuro-da-europa.html (consulted on: 20th of February of 2012)
– http://www.ieei.pt/file/Portugal_constituicao_europeia_Alvaro_Vasconcelos.pdf (consulted on: 20th of February of 2012)
– http://europa.eu/abc/12lessons/lesson_12/index_pt.htm (consulted on: 25th of February of 2012)

Interview with Diana Duarte February 21, 2012

– In order to achieve a more detailed opinion of how the youth of our town think regarding the European Union and the Lifelong Learning Programmes, we interviewed Diana Duarte, which is a student from our school.

– This interview will also be useful if used to contrast the opinions provided, in the previous post, by the experts’. Please view more to see the videos!

Objectives of the questionnaire February 20, 2012

– We questioned Portuguese individuals from our school, of both genders, from the region of Torres Vedras, in the age group between 13 and 25 years and with two different levels of qualifications. We questioned 37 individuals from the 10th grade and 48 from the 12th grade, frequenting the scientific humanistic course plus 11 individuals from the 10th grade and 23 from the 12th grade, frequenting the professional courses.

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– Our questionnaire was made via our school website, using the MOODLE platform and was restricted to the population we wanted to enquire. We were interested in seeing what do school teenagers think and do about their future in various dimensions.

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– Our objective is to present conclusions regarding the young Portuguese who are in our region today, their lifestyles, with whom they live, what they want and what they do, what they study, what they think and what they feel, what is their culture and what are their major fears and concerns.

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– The questionnaire is divided into two parts: one part is related to personal aspects of the respondent and the other part is related to the view that they have of their future and that of Europe.

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– A total of 119 individuals replied to our questionnaire, which corresponds to approximately 10% of our school population. We questioned 37 individuals from the 10th grade and 48 from the 12th grade, frequenting the scientific humanistic course plus 11 individuals from the 10th grade and 23 from the 12th grade, frequenting the professional courses.

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Click here to see the questionnaire and the analyze the questions we consider more relevant.