Spatial design students Emma de Rooij and Veerle Oomen are currently doing an internship at House for Interior, an interior design agency in Valencia. We are curious about their internship work and experiences abroad!
Looking for an internship
“I thought it would be really super fun to do an internship abroad so I was quick off the mark,” said Emma. Before the summer holidays, Emma already started looking for an internship. Through a teacher, Emma was tipped off about the internship at House For Interior in Valencia. Emma: “Coincidentally, I was also in Valencia on holiday last summer so I was able to do a job interview right away in real life, which was also kind of fun.”
Veerle also wanted to intern abroad. Veerle: “I wanted to discover my independence and what better way to do that than during an internship abroad, because there I have to do everything myself. I think it’s cool to challenge myself. ”
Veerle had never been to the internship site before starting her internship. “I only knew my practice supervisor Nathalie on the phone, but after the first meeting in Valencia I felt completely at home. The workplace also looked good. A nice space where I could see myself working for a while to come.”
Internship company and activities
“The nice thing is that House for Interior is a small company so we get to experience everything really well. From making quotes, flatlays, designs etc you really experience the whole process,” says Emma.
Veerle: “The work is very diverse. Different design assignments come in from houses to exhibition stands and from styling assignments to brand manuals. At the moment, we are working together to design an exhibition stand. What’s nice is that we get to do everything we learnt at school. Sometimes I thought ‘What I’m learning now I’m not going to use anyway, but the funny thing is that now it does come back during the internship.”
As Veerle and Emma are in their fourth year, they are also working on their master’s thesis (final assignment). Veerle: “I was commissioned to create a design for an existing restaurant which was for sale in Valencia. The estate agent wanted to show prospective buyers how this could be furnished.”
Challenges
So what did the girls find a real challenge of an internship abroad? Emma: “For me, living on my own was challenging. I live with two other girls. My flatmates are Dutch and it’s super cosy. So that worked out really well.” Veerle also learnt a lot during the experience abroad “I am a bit more reserved. It took me a while to come out of my shell, but once I succeeded, things went well. Becoming more confident in the workplace was an important learning goal for me.”
Just do it!
“An internship abroad is really super fun and educational. Getting to know the culture, the people and the atmosphere,” says Veerle. And what Emma would recommend to fellow students? “If you can, just do it! Financially, you get (in most countries) an Erasmus scholarship from which you can pay for your room, for example. It’s just a really fun experience. Also found out through internship what I want to do next. If I hadn’t had this internship, things might have turned out differently. I am happy with this experience.”
