Lille, November 30, 2020

Dear Erovet friends and colleagues,

Hello from Gaston Berger Campus!

Life in our northern France campus can’t be much different from what you have been experiencing in your own schools since March. So like every educational structure we’re coping and doing our best so our 2800 students (800 students/salaried-workers in work-study programmes and 2000 academic students) suffer as little as possible from this hectic situation and keep on their studies with as much face-to-face teaching as possible.

 

Since March, besides the exam sessions our main concern has been our students in their internships. Exam certificates cannot be delivered without the requisite 12-week internships over the two-year courses.

Most of our second-year students were not able to do their original 4-week placements last June.

The French Ministry of Education decided to reduce the official internship time to 7 weeks (instead of the original 12 weeks). In the meantime it was locally decided this internship would preferably be combined into one with the second-year compulsory training time.

 

Unfortunately some internships were, yet again, simply cancelled and postponed to spring 2021 (the hospitality industry is just hoping for better days).

A number of students who originally intended to go abroad had to consider staying in France.

We have 330 first-year and second-year students currently interns until the Christmas holiday-time.

Naturally our partner companies are trying and working to minimise the impacts of Covid-19. In spite of their own specific constraints our students’s company tutors didn’t fail us and manage to bring and share useful professional skills.

 

While some students (notably in banking and transports and logistics) are enjoying smooth trainings in their companies and agencies, some others (in communication and digital design, international trade, managing assistant) have had their internships main-tained in mixed adjustments and are striving in a home/office schedule. One last group of interns work part-time in their companies and come back to school for lessons for the rest of the week. Everyone knows the situation is tricky and everyone is doing their best. 

 

Following are a few testimonies from our students sharing their current corporate experiences:

For the moment I can go to the company to work (with a mask on) but 50% of the workers are in telecommuting and it’s turning I am the only one who can see all the staff members.

They don’t want every employee to telecommute especially the interns because it’s too complicated to watch what I do and explain how to do the tasks if I stay at home.

They are happy to work with me and give more and more autonomy so yes I think I am adapting quickly but unfortunately I think it’s really not a job for me. I won’t stay behind a computer the rest of my life… But it’s interesting to manage the import/export operations for my future even if I want to be a purchasing manager, a commercial agent or another position in the field. 

Have a good weekend

Quentin

an International Trade student

Working in a company as an intern requires energy and self-indulgence. When you start, you need to learn and memorize so many things, and you want to be perfect so in my opinion it is important to remember that you just arrived and you need time to swallow everything you have seen.

Then, working in a company the size of mine (a leading European supplier of industrial food staples) is really not where I would love to work. (…)

However, I’ve been taking it as an opportunity to learn as many things as I can and I know it has already taught me a lot! For instance I know If I would have been in an SME (I would have probably loved it!!) I wouldn’t have seen Japanese orders!

Also, I have to say that this internship makes me realize I do not see myself working in a company like this. And this is very interesting because It clears my mind about my future plans… 🙂

To finish, no, I’m absolutely not mistreated!! Everything is going well for me 🙂 And tele-working is not allowed, it is taboo here to talk about it because employees wish they could but the superiors are against it. It sounds a bit old-fashioned spirit to me.

Warm regards,

Emma

an International Trade student

I telework on a full-time basis in my internship at Bières et Brasseries (Beers and Bre-weries). I’m in contact with my tutor, Damien, everyday by email, and we talk on the phone once a week to check on my assignments. 

I have been in charge of referencing the existing blog/Internet beer sites contacting each of them by email so as to write a blog article to increase their SEO. I’ve had to update and expand the data regarding other breweries. I’m currently working on creating a social network strategy to promote Xmas beer packages.

I feel like working from home is quite productive but I miss the human contact I would have had if I could have worked in the company site. I have great contact with my tutor but I wish I could ask him questions directly without writing emails.

All in all, I believe this is a valuable experience as I’m learning to work in different ways.

Best regards,

Paul

a Communication and Digital Design student

Because of Covid-19, it was hard getting an internship. Last June’s internship was can-celled. Companies have been quite reluctant to take interns in the current pandemic. But I was lucky to meet some professionals who were starting their catering business. I’ve been working on their communication visual design, their Internet site, on their presence on the media and social networks. I contact the various providers and then can attend the meetings with them. This budding company is based in Belgium so I benefited from an Erasmus+ grant to get a local accommodation and be able to be on time in the various meetings. I live every minute of my internship.

Yours sincerely,

Emma

a Communication and Digital Design student

Best wishes for the end of year time and celebrations,

See you next year,

 

J-F. TOPIN       |          S. LHERBIER

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