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Ing. Vojtěch Tomanec, UCT Prague,

ročník 5

About the country

Location of the place

The place is located between two major student cities of Porto and Aveiro, about 25 km away from the Atlantic ocean.

City

Oliveira de Azeméis is a town with an important industrial zone where the company was located, and with one faculty of University of Aveiro - Design. The city itself has about 70 000 inhabitans but you can find everything you need there - a park, sport facilities, restaurants and bars.

Surroundings (possible trips, ...)

The city is surrounded by nice countryside with hills and forest ideal for traditional picnics. It takes 1 hour by bus to Aveiro - beautiful city of students, 1 hour by train to Espinho - beaches + surfing, and 1,5 hour to Porto - 2nd largest city in Portugal. Other trip locations: Peneda Geres NP, South coast beaches, Nazaré - surf.

Employer

Simoldes Plásticos specializes in manufacturing of injection molded plastic parts for Automotive industry. It is a division of Simoldes Group - a major industrial player in Portugal. With supporting plants in Brasil, France, Spain, Germany, Poland and Czechia, Simoldes Plásticos supplies a majority of carmakers with broad range of products.

Work description

My job was to support the Quality department. The work itself consisted mainly of administrative support, preparing Excel tables, uploading data,... MS Office skills were deepened thanks to that. I had the chance to be more creative when making presentations purposed for internal trainings. Moreover, I attended various excursions to the manufacturing facilities and other departments, including the laboratory, so I got an important insight to the business.

Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)

The salary was sufficient for local conditions, I was able to save enough for various trips through the whole Portugal and to Pyrenees.

Language requirements

Portuguese wasn´t required. Almost everybody at the company spoke very good English and the majority of Portuguese people I met were able to communicate in English.

Accommodation (price, who provided it)

I was paying 150 Euro per month for a spacious room for myself. The flat was big, right in the center of the town and I was sharing it with 4 other people, all of them became a good friends of mine.

Social life

Meeting IAESTE members (pick-up at the airport, organized events...)

Other IAESTE trainees were spread in other cities but thanks to a facebook page it was possible to meet them. IAESTE Portugal organized a trip to the beach and a nice town for us.

Meeting other foreign students

Student cities like Aveiro, Porto and Coimbra were quite close with many opportunities to meet people from all around the world, mainly thanks to very rich night life in all of them.

Sport and culture

There are 2 swimming pools, big park, tennis courts, cycling paths and gyms at the town. I obtained an employee´s discount for gym + sauna.

Food, local specialties

The food was stunning, mainly all sorts of sea products and fish. I had lunches at the company´s canteen for free that were tasty and really big. Portugal also offers great red wine and many many sweat desserts.

Other information

Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic

Fast WiFi at the flat - included in the rent.

Recommendations for students who will go to the same place

Get a card for trains for discounts, check the company´s long list of employees discounts and benefits, for parties go to Aveiro, Coimbra or Porto, make friends - everybody is very friendly in Portugal so it is really easy. Search for Ryan Air ticket from Porto to Faro - incredibly cheap - to see the best beaches of Portugal at the south.

What not to forget with you

Sunscreen, something typical from your country, warmer clothes for the winter (or buy there, it´s cheap) - no heaters, no insulation.

Benefits of the internship

Working experience from a major industrial player, full of smart people not only from Portugal. Laptop and Portuguese phone for personal use. Great opportunity to experience the way of life of people in a smaller town in Portugal. Healthy food in the canteen for free, discounts, etc. Numerous opportunities to meet friendly locals and to chill on the beach.

Cooperation with IAESTE in the foreign country

Excellent, brisk responses, great accommodation and overall support.

Overall experience with IAESTE

Excellent. IAESTE guys are the right ones for the job.

Student's website

Employer's webiste

http://www.simoldes.com/plastics/

Other comments

I´d like to thank IAESTE for making my 6 months of working experience in Portugal possible. I met new friends, discovered different culture and beautiful country. I recommend this internship to everybody searching of any of those.