Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Etiqueta: Two Weeks Programme

A NEW EDITION OF THE “TWO WEEKS PROGRAMME” IN LONDON

On Friday 29^th July the Spanish Chamber of Commerce hosted an informative session that was part of “The Two Weeks Programme”, an initiative jointly organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Valencia University (UV).

This is the fifth year in a row in which the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain takes part in this exciting initiative. The delegation that came to London was led by Mr. Antonio Reig, Prof. Dr. Industrial Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and coordinator of the programme.

The “Two Weeks Programme” takes place once a year and it gives 20 students from the above universities the opportunity to travel to London for a two-week stay. During the programme the participants attend a course about recruitment processes and visit prestigious companies from different industries related to their field of studies, such as Energy, IT, Industrial Production, Technical Consultancy, Financial Engineering, Construction and Real Estate.

The participants of the «Two Weeks Programme» from the UPV.

The session hosted at the Spanish Chamber provided further information about the role of the institution and the opportunities available in the UK for young graduates.

To start off, Ms. Cristina Carmona, Head of External Relations and Communications, welcomed the participants on behalf of our institution and spoke about the main services provided by the Chamber and the activities we organise throughout the year. This topic proved of special interest for the students, who took the opportunity to enquire further about it.

Ms. Cristina Carmona (Spanish Chamber of Commerce) welcoming the participants along with Mr. Geoff Curran (Energy Live News).

The next speaker was Ms. Sofía Vázquez, Co-founder of Bookingenglish, a company specialised in sourcing English courses, assessing candidates CVs and finding placements for graduates. She offered the participants of the Two Weeks Programme useful tips to be successful at interviews and selection processes, and highlighted the importance of making a first good impression.

She also mentioned other things to take into consideration such as the need to be flexible in a competitive and demanding market and shared her experience as co-founder of a business and the challenges it presents.

Ms. Sofía Vázquez, Co-Founder of Bookingenglish, during her talk.

Finally it was the turn of Geoff Curran, Founder and Commercial Director of Energy Live News, a leading energy news site in the United Kingdom. Mr. Curran shared relevant information about the background of the company and focused on explaining how to survive and thrive in business by providing an inspiring talk full of day-to-day examples to follow based on his previous experience.

Ms. Cristina Carmona closed the informative session and received a commemorative plaque from Mr. Antonio Reig as a memory of this fifth collaboration between our institution and the participants of the “Two Weeks Programme”.

Mr. Antonio Reig (UPV) handed a plate to Ms. Cristina Carmona (Spanish Chamber of Commerce) to mark this visit.

We would like to thank all the speakers of this informative session as well as the students who have taken part this year in the “Two Weeks Programme” for their interest and involvement.

If you wish to obtain further details about the programme and how it works, have a look at the following video on last year’s edition.

03/08/2016
A New Edition of the “Two Weeks Programme” in London

On Friday 25th July the Spanish Chamber of Commerce hosted an informative session as part of a programme named “The Two Weeks”, which is jointly organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Valencia University.

This is the third year in a row in which the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain takes part in this exciting initiative. The delegation who came to London was led by Mr. Antonio Reig, Prof. Dr. Industrial Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and coordinator of the programme.

The “Two Weeks Programme”takes place once a year and it gives 20 students from the above universities the opportunity to travel to London for a 2-week stay to come into contact with an international job market. During the programme the participants attend a course about recruitment processes and visit prestigious companies from different industries related to their field of studies, such as Energy, IT, Industrial Production, Technical Consultancy, Financial Engineering, Construction and Real Estate.

From left to right: Mr. Antonio Reig, Ms. Cristina Carmona and Ms. Berta Ferrer during the informative session.

The session hosted at the Spanish Chamber provided further information about the role of the institution, the opportunities available in the UK for young graduates and, for the first time, introduced a success story of a Spanish entrepreneur in London.

To start off, Ms. Cristina Carmona, Head of Corporate Relations and Communication, welcomed the participants on behalf of tour institution and spoke about the main services provided by the Chamber and the activities we organise throughout the year. Among these, she focused on The Graduate European Programme, which shares similar goals with ‘The Two Weeks Programme’. This topic proved of special interest for the students, who took the opportunity to enquire further about it.

The next speaker was Ms. Sofía Vázquez, CEO of Mundialengua, a company specialised in finding internships and placements for graduates. She gave the students some useful tips for interviews and selection processes, and highlighted the importance of making a first good impression.

Ms. Sofia Vázquez with Mr. Antonio Reig after the end of the session.

She also mentioned other things to take into consideration such as the need to be flexible in a competitive and demanding market. She also encouraged attendees to look for internships, as in her own words “it is a really good way to explore the market and to learn; even when it is not paid you may get an opportunity to stay afterwards.”

Afterwards, Mr. Antonio Reig introduced Berta Ferrer, a participant from last year´s program, who is currently working and studying in London. Berta commented on her personal experience and shared some useful tips with attendees.

Finally it was the turn of Ms Paloma Tomas, founder of DotComRepublic, who talked about her experience as an entrepreneur in the UK. Paloma explained the concept of digital marketing and provided students with real examples on how it applies to companies.

Ms. Paloma Tomás (left) founder of DotComRepublic during her talk.

Our Secretary General, Igor Urra closed the informative session and received a commemorative plaque from Mr. Antonio Reig as a memory of this third collaboration between our institution and the participants of the “Two Weeks Programme”.

Our Secretary Genral, Igor Urra was handed a commemorative plate to mark this thrid colaboration with «Two Weeks Programme».

We would like to thank all the speakers of this informative session as well as the students who have taken part this year in the “Two Weeks Programme” for their interest and involvement.

30/07/2014
THE “TWO WEEKS” PROGRAMME IN LONDON

The students were very attentive during all the session

After the success of the last year, we were glad to host and take part in “The Two Weeks”, a programme organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, counting on 20 students on their final year. This programme takes place once a year and it aims to give students the opportunity to approach the international job market providing them tips and advice on how to look for a job in a foreign country in order to increase their career opportunities.

During these two weeks, participants visit well-known companies across several sectors: Energy, IT, Industrial Production, Technical Consultancy, Financial Engineering, Construction, and Construction and Real State. The participants take also a 2 hours daily course to get familiar with recruitment and how to succeed in an application process.

Professor Antoni Reig, industrial engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and co-ordinator of the programme, came along with the students and kindly introduced the seminar and speakers of the session. Mr. Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Chamber, was in attendance to provide further information about our institution and the activities we organise throughout the year. On the other hand, the Secretary General talked about the Graduate European Programme, which has similar goals to The Two Week s Programme. As he pointed out “The opportunities are here, and once you have been here you are able to go to other countries because almost every multunational in the world has headquarters in London”.

Antonio Reig (left) handed a plate to our Secretary General, Igor Urra, to mark this visit.

The next speaker was Ms. Sofía Vázquez, CEO of Mundialengua, a company specialised in finding internships and placements for graduates. This is the second year that she participates in this programme as a speaker. During her presentation, which focused on what the main objectives or an interview /selection process are -, she gave the students some very useful tips regarding how important it is to make a good first impression at an interview.

She also mentione other things to take into consideration such as the need to be flexible, not arriving too early or too late, and the importance of asking questions. She also encouraged attendees to look for internships, as in her own words “it is a really good way to explore the market and to learn; even when it is not paid you may get an opportunity to stay afterwards, either as an extension of your internship, or even get hired after some months”.

Ms. Vázquez explaining the benefits of getting an internship

To end up with the session, Sergio Soriano, who was a former student at the Polythecnic and took part in the first edition of the Two Weeks Programme, shared his experience with the current participants.

He described his own job hunting experience in a city where there are a lot of opportunities but also “there are lots of selection processes, and good pages to look for them. It is always hard to pass the tests, as well as the interview; however it’s worth trying if that’s what you want to do”. Finally, he described how living in London is like and shared some useful advice for those interested in following his steps and move here. Sergio has been working in different companies since he arrived in London.

Mr. Soriano sharing his experience with the students

We would like to thank Mr. Antonio Reig for counting with the Spanish Chamber again to organise and host this session and special thanks as well to all the students who attended. We wish the students the best of luck for their future careers.

29/07/2013
A ‘Two Weeks’ experience In London

Last Wednesday we were happy to hold a Seminar here at the Chamber within a very interesting programme organised by the Polytechnic University of Valencia named ‘The Two Weeks’. We received 20 students in their final year willing to increase their career opportunities as well as to face their professional future with the appropriate skills.

‘The Two Weeks Programme’ takes place once per year during the month of July and it is mainly focused on visiting prestigious companies to get in touch with industries on Energy, IT, Industrial Production, Technical Consultancy, Financial Engineering, Construction and Real State. The participants take also a daily course in Recruitment and Application skills.

The Seminar was introduced by our Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Rosa del Campo, who spoke briefly about the main services the Chamber provides and more in particular about The Graduate European Programme, which shares similar goals with ‘The Two Weeks Programme’. Mr. Antonio Reig , Prof. Dr. Industrial Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and Co-ordinator of the programme, introduced two former participants, Sergio Soriano and Manuel Peña, both of them quite happy about their experiences during and after the programme.

Sergio Soriano Gómez decided to come to London after finishing his studies in the Polytechnic University of Valencia. He explained his own job hunting experience in a city where there are a lot of opportunities but also high levels of competitiveness. “In the beginning everything looked harder than expected. Things apparently simple, such as finding accommodation, turned out to be really difficult and somehow frustating. At the same time, these moments were also exciting, as they allowed me to live new ‘adventures’ and to get used to the new city.»

Sergio has been working in different companies since he arrived to London some months ago, and he keeps taking part in selection processes for big firms such as KPMG. «It is quite complicated to get a job in a company like that, but that is what I want to do, so it’s definitely worth trying», he pointed out.

Manuel Peña focused his speech in the internacional professional experience as an added value for everyone’s career. He is currently working in a London-based company but before getting to this point he has lived and worked in different countries. «When someone goes to work abroad, he not only gets professional experience, but also personal, as it makes possible to meet and learn many things from people from varied and different cultures», he said.

And last but not least was Ms. SofíaVázquez, director of Mundialengua UK, a company specialised in finding internships and jobs for graduates. She gave us some tips on how to do an interview in the UK, as well as useful information about what to do and what to avoid during a selection process.

We would like to thank all the people who participated in the Seminar, especially to Berta and Ana, two of the students taking part on the programme who are also writing this blog based on their experience during the two weeks. Don’t miss the opportunity to read it! http://thetwoweekslogbook.wordpress.com/

19/07/2012

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