29 de July de 2020
One of EAE Business School’s main objectives is to boost its students’ professional careers through a range of channels, such as trade fairs, workshops, challenges and an extensive internship system. Every year, our employability rates keep increasing, which is primarily due to our team, who specialize in the sector, closely monitoring the market trends, as well as being able to adapt quickly to the drastic changes that occur in today’s economy.
As a result, despite the impact of the pandemic throughout the professional world, EAE Business School has successfully managed to tackle the situation, with the creation of EAE Te Ayuda, an initiative that gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have acquired to a project in collaboration with a company, under conditions that enable them to work at distance, as required by the current circumstances.
As the lecturer Pablo Contreras explains, “as a result of the limitations on in-person internships caused by Covid-19, we needed to find an alternative format, that was equally beneficial for both students and companies. Our response is EAE Te Ayuda, an initiative designed to adapt professional internships to this new reality”.
So, what has the experience been like for the students on this program? To find out, we have interviewed three students who are currently working with the company Bodegas Familiares Matarromera: Danella Malo, Rebeca Rodríguez and Marina Abengozar. Let’s find out how it has gone!
Tell us about your experience on EAE Te Ayuda, What company are you working for and what are your duties?
Marina Abengózar: I have been working on an e-commerce optimization project for the Bodegas Familiares Matarromera group in Valladolid. It has been a really interesting project because I have learned lots about online commerce. Mainly, my job was to identify points for improvement with respect to their online store, as well as making innovative proposals to resolve the problems identified.
Danella Malo: On the EAE Te Ayuda program, I had the opportunity to work on a project for the company Bodegas Familiares Matarromera. My role was to analyse the company’s website and social media, focusing on both positive and negative aspects, and then create strategies and proposals for improvement.
Rebeca Rodríguez: In my case, I was working with the company Bodegas Familiares Matarromera, alongside my classmates, which made the whole experience even more rewarding. In terms of our duties, we provided support for their e-commerce platform, proposing and developing different ideas to carry out a diagnostic of their e-commerce.
Marina Abengózar
“I love graphic design, especially illustration, but I wanted to learn more about marketing, because I think it offers more professional prospects”.
Student on the Master in Marketing and Commercial Management
What was the process like to join the company as an intern? What steps did you have to take?
Marina Abengózar: Pilar Llácer sent me the proposal and I contacted her straightaway. The project seemed really interesting because I have always really liked the world of wine and oenology. She took charge of setting up the internship agreement with the company. Then, Pablo Contreras, my tutor, got in touch with me and, a week later, we had the first meeting with the company.
Danella Malo: : The process was simple. Pilar Llácer oversees the program and she sent us an email to see who would be interested in the project. She explained a little bit about what it involved. I answered her, explaining that I specifically have experience in e-commerce and that I was really keen to take part.
Rebeca Rodríguez: Basically, EAE offered us the chance to take party in this new program to help people who could not do an in-person internship due to the current health crisis. The internship coordinator sorted everything out. She sent us various projects aligned with our profile and we picked one. After that, they informed us whether or not we could work with them. It was all very easy and fast.
Danella Malo
“I love learning every day and creating strategies related to marketing”.
Student on the Master in Marketing and Commercial Management
What was it like to start working at a company virtually? What has been the hardest and most interesting thing about working remotely?
Marina Abengózar: It was far more relaxed than it would have been in person. The company gave us all the information and support, adapting to the current situation. They have been very attentive. The hardest thing was being able to implement all the proposals. We didn’t have much time at all and we would have liked to have been able to see the changes in the long run. The most interesting aspect, and the thing I am most grateful for, was the chance to work with a professional of the calibre of Pablo Contreras. Thanks to his support, we have had the opportunity to discover new tools and acquire more knowledge in the field of e-commerce.
Danella Malo: It was definitely a challenge, but the whole team managed to adapt in the best possible way. That was the hardest part, not physically being there to express my ideas better. However, we overcame that obstacle and achieved it. The most interesting aspect was the fact that, thanks to technology, we can achieve just this sort of thing, working remotely. We managed to adapt to the situation we faced in lockdown and start something new.
Rebeca Rodríguez: Initially, I thought that it was going to be complicated but, over time, I realized that there was loads of advantages. The hardest was perhaps scheduling meetings that we were all available for but, once that was sorted, I would say that was it. The most interesting part was seeing how an e-commerce platform works or, in other words, getting to know the company from the inside, as they shared lots of data with us. Moreover, our tutor, Pablo Contreras, as well as my classmates, helped me gain lots of knowledge and different perspectives.
Rebeca Rodríguez
“My biggest passion is digital marketing. It is such as versatile and creative field. I think it is what suits me best”.
Student on the Master in Online Marketing and Electronic Commerce
How did you manage to combine the end of your Master, the presentation of your Theses and this internship?
Marina Abengózar: Bodegas Familiares Matarromera was really understanding of the situation. For instance, when the deadline for submitting the Thesis was approaching, at the same time as the meeting for the penultimate proposal, we were pretty stressed and they had no problem at all to postpone the meeting by a couple of days to take the pressure off us. Perhaps on another internship, they might not have given us that opportunity.
Danella Malo: I think that it really depends on the day, because some days we didn’t have any work to do for the Master and other days we had lots. Together, as a whole team, we discussed whether a certain day or time was harder for us to meet up, and we tried to set the best possible timetable for all of us.
Rebeca Rodríguez: P: It is doable, but a bit stressful. They always adapted to our workloads when we had to submit reports.
In your opinion, has EAE Te Ayuda been a useful service the last few months? Why?
Marina Abengózar: SWithout a doubt, the current situation is very precarious, not only because of Covid, there has been a downward trend in the labour market for several years now. It is increasingly hard to find a job in line with your preferences. Moreover, there are so many students looking for work, taking into account students from other schools as well, and other people actively looking for a job. EAE Te Ayuda has been a really useful platform.
Danella Malo: Yes, because it is precisely a program that helps you find an internship, which is an extra experience to add to your CV. Personally, thanks to the program, I was able to find this internship straightaway. .
Rebeca Rodríguez: I think so, because the last few months have been really challenging and, nevertheless, we have been able to develop all the knowledge we acquired on the Master.
How would you rate the support from the School in general during lockdown?
Marina Abengózar: The lockdown has been really hard for everybody. It has been a particularly hard blow to students. We all had really high expectations when we finished the Master, looking for paid internships and starting to work for a great company thanks to the Master, putting our knowledge and value into practice. Although in-person classes are always more dynamic and participative, we all understand that online classes were the only option.
Danella Malo: The support the School gave was very good. We have to bear in mind that it was a situation that nobody could have predicted and we all have to deal with the situation the best we could, both the School and the lecturers and students.
Rebeca Rodríguez: The School has really helped us. They were constantly searching for alternatives and offering different options in response to everything that was happening.
Lastly, would you recommend EAE Te Ayuda? Why?
Marina Abengózar: Absolutely, primarily because they are small projects for big companies, where you put lots of the knowledge acquired on the Master into practice. On the project, you are accompanied by your classmates. In my case, I was really lucky. It could have all be much more impersonal, just handing in assignments, but we became really good friends. Moreover, you have the support of a tutor at all times, who clears up any doubts and accompanies you throughout the process, which is really encouraging.
Danella Malo: Yes, it is a great experience on which you can keep learning and purring into practice lots of the things that you have learned over the course of the Master. You also work with a team that you can learn a lot from and share ideas with.
Rebeca Rodríguez: : I would recommend it for sure. I have learned a lot more and found out about aspects that we didn’t cover on the Master. It has been a really rewarding experience and the support from my tutor and the team at Matarromera has been excellent, always making sure we were okay.
“Anything that facilitates the connection between students and companies in a real professional context certainly boosts employability. The company has the chance to discover really interesting profiles that they may want to incorporate into their teams. For their part, the students are certainly very keen to have this opportunity, which they can also add to their CVs to enhance their future professional prospects”.
Pablo Contreras
Lecturer and tutor at EAE Business School