March 9th and 10th, students from all over Europe, together as principal key actors in student mobility and professional fields, gathered in Barcelona for the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme.
The first day of the event, which took place at the Pompeu Fabra University, consisted of conferences, round-table meetings, and workshops where assistants could learn about the Erasmus opportunities and how it benefits them in professional fields. Representatives from Spanish National Agencies, policy makers, the Rectorate body of the four public Universities in Barcelona, the president of ESN AISBL, representatives from garagErasmus, former Erasmus students with professional success, companies interested in international backgrounds, among many other personalities, shared their point of view and discussed the importance of youth mobility both for educational and employability purposes.
During the sessions, the students had the chance to meet these public figures and learn from them how to take the most, from an international experience in terms of future laboral opportunities.
The second day a morning study trip to a Primary school was made, children learnt about career educational opportunities as well as the benefits of mobility through the personal experience of university exchange students. Both, kids and international students had a great time together sharing experiences, knowledge and traditions in such a special and intense morning! In the afternoon more than a thousand students met under the “Arc de Triomf” with flags and colours of their own countries in order to disseminate the aims of the event, promote mobility and the european citizen feeling, through a big flag parade. This act was perfect for celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme as it also engaged more citizens of Barcelona who were attracted by the festive atmosphere of the event.
At the end of that day, the flag parade led all the participants to an organised job fair where young job seekers had the chance to meet both, local and international companies who were willing to show them what the labour market is at the time of seeking recent graduates.
To conclude, it is mandatory to say that the event was successful according to both, organisers and assistants as every participant took advantage from it. We hope to continue our cooperation with ESAA and ICUnet in future projects and events in order to continue promoting mobility as well as professional profiles among students.
