Case Study: Paskalia
Paskalia Bojkunova is a BTEC Level 3 student at SGS College. She completed a four week work experience placement in Prague in April 2019. Paskalia is originally from Slovakia, and she was able to use both Czech and English during her placement.
(the Centre for Economic Research and Graduate Education at Charles University, Prague). I applied for my placement because I was interested in getting new experiences and gaining knowledge about the work ethic in a different country. I was encouraged by my teachers who supported me in my decision.
I completed my work placement at
CERGE EI
I prepared myself by doing research on the company as well as the local area. I was helping with daily marketing tasks such as organising events and other activities. I created content for social media, writing blog posts and supporting market research. I also represented the organisation at partnership events, such as the local community Recognition Awards at the British Embassy in Prague.
None of my previous experience was in a public relations department. I believe that being in a completely new department, especially in such a well-known university, has been the biggest learning experience. I was able to talk to economics researchers as well as professors about their day-to-day tasks.
This work experience has definitely enabled me to expand my knowledge of the responsibilities which people have in a public relations department. It will enable me to be more successful in the future as I will have knowledge and experience from various sectors, such as economics and public relations.
During my stay in Prague I was able to explore the culture in more depth. I was also able to visit neighbouring countries. I have the experience of going to different countries and exploring different types of diversity.
This work experience enabled me to open up an option of being able to study abroad, even in Prague itself. During my placement I was able to look at different universities which have a good rating, and I have applied to study at university there. I believe that Prague is an ideal place for all young people as there are a lot of students there, and also you won’t feel that you have much of a language barrier as a lot of Czech people speak English. It also enables you to explore the surrounding countries such as Germany, Austria, Poland or Slovakia. It is very important that during the placement, participants stay focused on achieving their goals and making sure that they try to learn as many experiences as they can, but also to enjoy their time there.
This was an amazing opportunity for young people like me, to develop employability and interpersonal skills.