Hello Mathilde and thanks for taking part in this interview! Let’s start easy: could you tell us how you came in contact with Uniser and when?
Hello ! Of course I can: I came in contact with Uniser in 2020, right after coming back from Vietnam where I had been job shadowing for a KA2 in an NGO in the capital, Hanoi. I came back to Italy and was determined to continue working in an international environment, preferably in youth work, so I submitted a spontaneous application to Uniser, but I had to wait for a year for the stars to align…
What pushed you to join Uniser ?
In late 2021 Uniser was hiring and I finally started to collaborate with the cooperative as a buddy, a figure supporting the Incoming team doing “fieldwork”. I met with participants hosted in Emilia-Romagna almost daily for their trainings, monitoring sessions, inductions to companies and worked with their Hosting coordinators, the staff members that coordinate their mobilities. My first job was to freelance as an online language teacher so I had a good balance between virtual activities and very active ones ! Then after several months of collaboration with Uniser I became a Hosting Coordinator myself.
Since you entered as a staff member, what have you been doing, what are your main duties?
My goal now is to arrange services for Sending Organizations, Schools or Training centres in order to make sure that their students will have a meaningful and neatly organised mobility in Italy. I work closely with my team to plan every aspect of it, from the moment the participants place their feet on Italian soil to the moment they leave: their welcoming, accommodation, local transport, placements in companies, visits in other cities, food arrangements, language courses and so on.
Which ones do you enjoy more and why?
During the whole mobility I mentor participants. I love to wake up knowing that I will start my day with a group of people, it’s that simple. I have always found the company of groups very energising! Each project somehow has its own peculiarities so we get to do various activities together, we talk about very different topics, we write to each other, we find solutions to their problems… Another favourite part of my role is centred around educational content: I like the creativity of implementing new tools for trainings, designing a workshop, and trying out new non-formal activities.
Which ones do you find more challenging?
I would say the fact that we have to juggle a lot of information and rapidly communicate it in very different ways depending on the interlocutor. The same point is very different if said to a partner, a colleague, a participant, a supplier or to the owner of a host company, not to mention that we use different languages for every interaction!
What motivates you the most about your job?
The fact that I am part of a team of people that I admire and the values of international programs like Erasmus+.
Would you like to tell us a bit about your studies? Did you spend a period abroad?
I have a bachelor degree in Economics and International Marketing, then I did a year-long master in Event management and shorter ones focused on Project management and Social projects design. During my studies I spent a year in Alicante, Spain! This year it’s been 10 years since I did my Erasmus there so I’ll try to go back. La millor terreta del món.
Talking about travels, what is your dream destination? Anything planned for the next holiday?
I am going to Amsterdam soon and I will certainly go to France as I try to do every year to visit family (here is a tarte as a proof of my French roots).
I don’t have one dream destination. Faraway places exert a fascination on me that is constantly changing and I like to think that there is beauty and wisdom to be found everywhere! I certainly dream of learning another language though!
What do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies or activities that you would like to share with us?
In my freetime I’m mediterranean style, so I like to organise dinners with friends whenever I can or I take long walks that I use to catch up with distant loved ones on the phone. I never say no to the opportunity to dance because I love it and I am not very picky about music… What else? I like to participate in stuff that has to do with food justice, gender equality or meditation, I water my plants… oh and I love reading! What a gift to be in a world with books!
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