For the first time VIEWS welcomes an Erasmus student. Dariuzs Lipski, a participant in the 2005 youth exchange, decided to share his knowledge and competences with VIEWS during 5 months.
Since 2007 the Erasmus programme allows to do a work placement in a company. As a student in business management, Darek prepares a dissertation about the management of international organisations and he chose VIEWS as an illustration of his work.
Darek comes from Poland and stays with us from October 2007 till February 2008. Below you'll read about his decision and experiences:
Hello, my name is Derek and I'm a student from small European country called Poland. Maybe someone of you heard once about it? If not, don't worry. you've got now a great chance to make it up.
I live in small city located in southern part of Poland which has about 100000 inhabitants and from many years remains informal capital of polish song. My higher education is bound up with Opole University of Technology and pasts already 5 years and definitely nears completion. It means precisely that I'm going to get a master degree in management and marketing in this year. What may be surprising for some of you, I'll become an engineer as well in the same time. It's just a result of achieving some technical skills in framework of my leading field of study.
Then, I would like to present you some of my interests and reasons I decided to go for a practice here in Belgium. From few years I'm committed to study certain groups of organizations acting around our everyday things. Generally speaking, they are so called non-governmental or non-profit bodies, situated between welfare state and private sector, wielding enormous influence on society and individual.
I know that at first glance it appears complicated and to much serious. Probably, at the same moment, you will try to guess what closes it with my professional training in VIEWS. I'm sure it will become clear in a moment.
Referring to ERASMUS Program, you should know somewhat how it works. From 2007 besides from previous exchange domain, current edition was extended to new recipients and new range of activity. Since then, it's possible to take apart in two different ways: traditional exchange of students and practice in foreign organizations. The most curious thing is that you have an opportunity to get a both amazing experiences during your studies period. To increase your chance to go, European Commission has created a common fund for program to guarantee co-financing of scholarships and support included actions, such as language courses and training for university personnel.
People who are decided to go for a practice have a wide selection of options. You may choose commercial enterprises as well as non-profit associations and foundations and work for a fee or without any financial benefits. Minimum duration of practice is 3 months and maximum one year. Scholarship amount depends on your university and destination country, but statutory differentials are established by the Commission equally for all.
As your plan of practice must be convergent with field of your study, usually you will realize suitable tasks and projects improving your knowledge in given subject. My practice is coming true in similar way. For example, I'm in charge of many ambitious tasks, such as seeking for new opportunities for finances and donations, supporting internal projects, studying of Belgian law and European Programs as an example Youth in Action. By the way, I carry out my research to get some special information and data for my thesis. Everyday I have a lot of chances to find out so much interesting things and realize how associative initiatives work.
I think that Mr. Average doesn't understand or neither supposes how it all works. We have been accustomed to seem ourselves as citizens - baseline to spread through a civil society and its advantages, but still some present problems and something what we call in socio-economical sciences PVA (people value added) remains unfortunately indiscemible. Moreover, it's really great satisfaction to discover a difference between many things in my country and here in Belgium. It can be both welfare and democracy awareness or organizational culture.
From the moment I started my practice 1st of October, I managed to explore many uncovered for me before ideas, points of view, academic approaches or even behaviors. I have also a possibility to get access to many interesting documents and books from different countries - all in socio-economical dimension, collected by the University of Liège. Day by day I become much more experienced and richer of new facts and case studies.
The last thing I would like to share with you its VIEWS. You may ask then how it's possible to share with something that is not for our own and is just listed in a register. How to share with something intangible we can't touch because it exists only on an organizational level. First of all we must be more conscious of the mission is coming true by VIEWS. We consider it works for visually impaired young people to improve their autonomy, education level and so on. For me it's not enough, I perceive it in much more broad-minded category. I think that it consists of following essential things: internal culture, people's commitment, mission, leader, brand and common values.
One of the most important things for me is that I pulled myself together with different people in spirit of solidarity and family. It's amazing how VIEWS managed to integrate a professional approach with informal relationships remaining on high performance level. People who work in VIEWS, everyday they seem as joy radiated because of their work and they feel fulfilled with the results. It proves me that each work, either payable or voluntary is an unquestionable contribution to the act of crucial large-scale creation.
Success of VIEWS is a sequence of long process involving not only founders, but above all many people from the organizational neighborhood. The stakeholders as we call them are deeply ingrained in undertaken activities, positives as well as defeats. They profess in shared values such as freedom, democracy, integration and European unity.
I hope that I introduced you enough some key questions during lecture of this article. At the same time I would like to assure you may gain some valued profits if you decide to take up your own ERASMUS challenge. For me it's really unforgettable experience.
Darek Lipski