“THIS IS THE HOTEL WHERE I DID MY SUMMER INTERNSHIP”

With this quote began many of the presentations that the students of the 3^rd and 4^th year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management have done to their younger classmates about their experience regarding the internships that they carried out last summer in English-speaking countries. Ireland, Scotland, The Netherlands, Malta or the United States are some of the destinations where our students have completed their summer internships in different hotel departments.

“At the Hotel-School of Sant Pol de Mar they teach you how to work, but when you are abroad you realize that in the real world you have to work hard,” says Celia. Patxi and her are 4^th year students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and they did the internships in the F&B department of the CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL in Dublin (Ireland). They admit that the months that lasted the internship allowed them to gain experience in the sector, in addition to improving their English level, getting to know new people and touring around Dublin and other cities and countries. They both agree as an overall evaluation: “It was a positive experience”.

The destination of Nerea, a student of the 4^th year of the Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, for her summer internship was the hotel NH LEEUWENHORST CONFERENCE CENTER in the Netherlands, a few kilometers away from Amsterdam. A hotel-conference center that allowed her, from the reception department, to experience some special moments such as promotion events of well-known car brands, among other experiences.

After being last year in Malta, this year the destination of Raquel and Laura has been Scotland, more specially, the OLD COURSE HOTEL. They are students of the last course of the Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management and they worked in the restaurant and reception department of this establishment in St Andrews. “We had very high standards and we learned a lot,” they say. Dealing with complaints, following strict guidelines and personalized attention for each client are some of the aspects that stand out from their learning process during their experience. And they do have no doubt in recommending this opportunity to their fellow students, given that: “What we have achieved through our internships in these English-speaking countries has been not only to improve English, but also to improve our résumé and gain experience in the sector”.

Although many of the students value their internship abroad as a hard experience, they all agree that this experience has allowed them to grow not only personally but also professionally.