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From studying in Madrid to working in Prague, Carlos Eduardo Guerrero Gonzalez, who is originally from Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua is now ready to move on to the next chapter of his life after the worthwhile traineeship in Noark Electric, Czech Republic.

He spent two months in our Prague headquarters doing his Erasmus+ traineeship as a Product Manager Assistant and right from the beginning Carlos showed us how passionate, hardworking and inventive he is. During that period of time, he was coming up with solutions and ideas that got a positive feedback from the superior and management. He truly provides positive reinforcement for the whole team. All we can say is that hard work really pays off, as at the end of the traineeship program Carlos received an official offer to stay in Prague and keep working for NOARK Electric.

What is Erasmus+?

The Erasmus+ Programme is a European funding programme offering university and professional formation students a possibility of studying or doing a traineeship or internship abroad in another country for a period of at least 2 months and maximum 12 months per cycle of studies. Without any doubts, it’s a great way to experience a foreign culture, meet new people, learn new languages, enrich your knowledge or get practical experience in different sectors and possibly find a dream job.

We met up with Carlos for a quick chat. Find out more about this young man, the work life and social life he encountered here in Prague in the interview below.

Hello Carlos, could you first give us a brief introduction please? 

Hello, my name is Carlos, and I am originally from Nicaragua, I have been living in Spain for many years already, so I'm definitively Spanish. I have studied electronics consumer devices maintenance and Electronic maintenance, the first one is focused on consumer electronics, and the second one is focused on industrial and professional applications of electronics. 

How did your story first begin and why did you decide to take an Erasmus+ traineeship in Noark?

I moved from my hometown to Madrid to study the Electronic Maintenance degree in order to have better opportunities upon my professional skill evolution. One of those opportunities was the Erasmus+ mobility, offered to me by my tutor. There was almost no information about the circumstances or the destination of this mobility until very late, so I faced myself in the situation of receiving information about the destination company almost without the time of reaction, it was necessary to make a fast decision with little information. Finally, as my original purpose of moving to Madrid was raising aptitudes, also decided to risk and accept the Erasmus to Noark in the Czech Republic.

Can you tell what responsibilities the company gave you at work?

In the beginning, the responsibilities that Noark lead to me were very little. Of course, this is absolutely normal, but after the company and the people in the office knew the way I work and the types of things I a skilled on, they trusted on me to give some technical support, like looking for improvements on devices with recurrent failures. I was starting to develop reports of improvements in corrections and causes of misbehaving of the devices that Noark handles. At the end of the Erasmus period, my responsibilities were focused on technical assistance as mentioned, competence devices research and reclaim reports developing.

 

What skills did you improve the most during your traineeship?

Of course, English language skills were highly improved. Moving abroad alone helps (actually forces) to gain on resolutive skills, helps to acquire the capacity to know how to solve situations without experience on them. Also, social skills have been improved significantly, it is another culture with different ways of doing things and it was important to adapt to this newer cultural environment. 

What were your expectations and were they met?

My expectations as a student were widely met. I come from a small hometown with really small business companies, after my student period in Madrid I started to realize that big companies are very different from the small ones. My expectations were to come to Prague and find a really different world in a multinational company and learn how to move in this context. Those expectations were achieved very soon. My expectations as a young man were also completed, I expected to find new people, new friends and new ways to have fun, I love your beer!

 

 

 

What are your next plans?

My plans of future right now are to finish the last part of the studies I am developing, after that I want to enjoy with my friend of Spain and get ready to return to Noark as an employee. Maybe when I get used to working here I could find a high school or university that lets me study at the same time.

Did you have any work or social difficulties during your stay in the Czech Republic? If so, how did you solve them? 

Well, the only problem I had in the Czech Republic was about the accommodation when arrived for the first time, it was very very hard to find an accommodation for a short term as mine and also because of being foreigner. Finally, the only solution was to take a really expensive room. If not, I was afraid to end under the Charles Bridge)

What do you like the best here in the Czech Republic?

The thing of Czech Republic I like the most is definitely the food, it is very very cheap to eat in a restaurant (in Spain you won't find any place under 10 euros), and the food is really tasty. Also nature, the green places in Prague are really really beautiful.

Did you have enough time to explore Prague and travel the neighboring regions? Which places did you visit and what left the biggest impact on you?

The problem I had on my Erasmus period, was that my Grade was not finished yet and had to keep working on a final project. That means that I could not do what I would have liked to do. Anyway, I saw many touristic places in Prague, like the old town center, the bridges, and many other places, but the one that I like the most is Vysehrad. It is very beautiful and green, also there are not so many tourists as in other places so it is quite calmed. Also lets you see the whole of Prague, it is my favorite place.

Is there anything you would like to say to fellow students still deciding whether or not to do an internship in the Czech Republic, potentially here at Noark? 

If there is any other student coming to Prague, I would like to tell him/her to don't be afraid, even if it is a different language people really makes efforts to understand you and help you, maybe in the not tourists places people don't talk English, but anyway they look for assist you. If there is someone coming to Noark I would like to say to them that it is a very good place, with very nice people and a company where many types of works are developed, that means that it is a place that let you learn about many fields, and finally the last advice would be that if you are coming to Noark company, look for the bus station number 16, your bus (220) stops there, it took me a lot of time to find out for the first time I went to Noark.