Smart-trainees

We are SmartWorkPlaza’s two and only interns from Finland, Essi and Charlotta. Essi is studying business administration in Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences and Charlotta is studying tourism and event management in Haaga-Helia Porvoo campus.

Because of the cooperation between EU countries and with the help of the Erasmus+ programme it’s easy to do your internship in Spain as a Finnish citizen. A significant factor behind us ending up in Spain was of course the sun, of which there is plenty.

Fuengirola is known for a large community of Finnish people but has positively surprised us with its international atmosphere. It’s this atmosphere that makes SmartWorkPlaza an attractive place to work at. The coworking members that we work with daily come from all the nooks and crannies of the world and sharing stories and international know how over a cup of coffee is a staple at the co-working center (as is giving sage career advice to us interns).

Fall has been quite busy at SmartWorkPlaza and we have spent a lot of our working hours organizing events both big and small. The most significant event these past months was the event we organized in cooperation with the Finnish Embassy in Madrid. Guests and hosts included Ambassador Tiina Jortikka-Laitinen, representatives of Business Finland and the president of the Finnish-Spanish Chamber of Commerce. Smaller events have been for example social media trainings throughout the fall.

Usually the days in SmartWorkPlaza are spent helping our members in their daily office tasks (and wrangling the printer). The most important thing in SmartWorkPlaza is the wellbeing of our members. As the interns we do our best to keep things organized and to maintain the office space so that everyone feels comfortable. Our daily activities include different office tasks, assisting with events and varied marketing tasks. On Wednesdays we make a smorgasbord style breakfast for our members, which is a popular weekly activity at the office. On Thursdays we focus on wellbeing with yoga and pilates and on Fridays we usually end the week with glasses of cava. Here in SmartWorkPlaza we have learned the importance of networking and that comfortable working spaces and atmosphere play significant roles in enjoying your work.

Here in Spain we have learn to not take life so seriously. In Spain people have time and energy to go out with their family and friends after workdays, and often stay up longer compared to Finns. The weather is great most of the year for outdoor activities and for going to restaurants and cafes until late at evenings. Also, in SmartWorkPlaza we organize after work -activities at least once a month for our members. For example, in November we are going to play padel together. Communality is the key word at any successful co-working center.

You can learn more about our daily activities in SmartWorkPlaza on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. And if you’re interested in an internship and speak at least Finnish and English (Swedish and Spanish is bonus) don’t be afraid to e-mail Outi: outi@swplaza.es