The Interns: Past & Present

At the end of their stay, interns are asked to write a report on the kind of tasks they undertook during their time at Universpain.  We have made these reports available to you, in order to give you a first hand account of exactly what doing an internship at Universpain involves!

Emma Gordon

I have been working on Learn-Languages promotion in particular, going through the English-speaking country directories (including USA, UK, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa and more).
I have proceeded to check-up on the existing links, confirming their presence and updating the database accordingly. Any links that had expired or did not exist, I added (or applied for) – at a rate of 3 per day.
As well as submitting the Learn-Languages links, I am continuing to add new free directories to the databases - eliminating any unsuitable ones (which require payment or a reciprocal link).
Once a week, I will look over the added links to check if they have been listed.
Ontop of link-building, I have begun the process of writing up information on each of the Learn-Languages locations in Great Britain, with photographs and ‘inside’ knowledge for Spanish/foreign students.

Together with Natalie, I helped to update the UK schools databases for Universpain. Having worked our way through the list of schools, we have called them to conduct phone surveys, using a set list of questions. Any positive outcome has been dealt with accordingly (sending further information by email, completing the survey and inputting the answers into the database etc.)
Of course our main objective was to promote Universpain by sending a brochure and language holiday offer to the school/department directly. In the cases where this was achieved, I prepared the promotion packages to be sent, and confirmed this status on the database.
Furthermore, I created a new database for storing the addresses of the schools that wish to receive a brochure, in order to make it clearer and easier to arrange.

A new project which I was given was to help create an English website aimed at students, about Salamanca.
This involved a lot of research, which was primarily conducted via the internet.  I made lists of important topics and factors about Salamanca and student life here.
Firstly, we realised this website had to have a different style from the existing ones, which are mainly aimed at tourists and a slightly older target audience. Ours had to appeal to people of a young age, who would be coming here specifically to study or take part in an educational trip of some kind. This meant I had to research areas which I myself would find interesting as a student. We came up with different ideas, such as quirky categories (‘Culture Vultures’ etc.,) and tried to stray from the ordinary as much as possible. Once we had completed this list of categories, I began to write up the content for each one. As well as adding important facts, I aimed to write in a style that would appeal to students, using personal hints and tips, with an element of humour.
I also helped to suggest the lay-out of the site, adding unusual or particularly interesting photographs, as well as extra information and links (ie. to Universpain, Learn-languages, Facebook).

In order to help improve the post-course program for students, I created a questionnaire.
This can be adapted for email use or over the telephone, with a short introduction to check that the pupils have settled back in at home and that the end of their stay here went well (journey home etc.). This is followed by a few questions to evaluate the student’s opinion of the school here - its facilities, efficiency and all-round atmosphere.
The idea is that after having a friendly, relaxed conversation the student will be more inclined to give honest answers and put forward further comments or suggestions on Universpain and the service it provides.
Keeping in touch with student and continuing to send them information, such as our newsletter, also increases the chance that they will come back the following year. 

Marco Masserini

Vivere a Salamanca è stato il modo migliore per entrare in contatto con la cultura spagnola più profonda, forse quella più di provincia rispetto alle grandi città ma anche quella che maggiormente rappresenta uno spaccato reale della Spagna. Lavorare sei mesi a Universpain mi ha permesso di conoscere meglio il funzionamento di internet e delle reti sociali che lo stanno trasformando da alcuni anni. Nella scuola si respira un aria estremamente familiare grazie all’allegria e alla disponibilità dello staff e degli studenti, quasi sempre giovani, che vi studiano e lavorano.
Credo che trovare un ambiente positivo e confortevole sia il modo migliore per imparare una lingua ed essere seguiti al meglio dai professori. Si può venire tutto l’anno, in estate la scuola è decisamente più affollata ma l’assenza dei corsi all’Università di Salamanca fa perdere alla città il vero carattere studentesco che invece la domina il resto dell’anno in particolare a ottobre-novembre e marzo-aprile, quando studenti spagnoli e stranieri affollano le strade giorno e notte.
La vita non costa molto e chi cerca il miglior compromesso tra studio, divertimento e buona qualità della vita a prezzi convenienti, Salamanca fa al caso vostro!

Elisa Monformoso

Durante lo stage presso la scuola di spagnolo per stranieri Universpain, Salamanca, ho avuto modo di svolgere diverse attivitá che mi hanno soprattutto permesso di imparare a trattare con la gente. Mi aspettavo che il lavoro fosse solo in parte al computer, ma anche cosí mi é stato possibile crescere dal punto di vista professionale.
Di Salamanca ho avuto modo di apprezzare il patrimonio culturale, soprattutto le due cattedrali e il museo della Casa Lys, ma penso che questa cittá offra anche alcuni bellissimi scorci sul fiume Tormes e la presenza di decine di cigogne rende ancora piú bello il tutto.
Salamanca é una cittá perfetta perché un giovane puó passare le serate tra bar e discoteche, ma anche al cinema o a teatro o, semplicemente, facendo un giro di tapas.
É una cittá piena di giovani universitari che vengono da tutta Europa, quindi é molto facile fare amicizie; inoltre, qui si parla lo spagnolo “puro” e per esercitarsi o imparare la lingua di Cervantes questo é perfetto! Credo che questi ultimi due aspetti siano quelli che mi sono piaciuti di piú.