László Márton, a BA sudent from Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania who successfully completed the foRMAtion research management courses, is one of the 6 lucky students that can take part in the foRMAtion Mentorship Program.
As part of a blended mobility option, László has the opportunity to spend 6 weeks in the research support offices of SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação, a consulting firm in Porto.
In the next few weeks, he will share an online diary of his experience as a mentee and intern in research management.
Read his first entry below.
13 July 2022
The first week at SPI and in Porto brought me a lot of new and different kinds of experiences. It was something that I wouldn’t have been able to meet at home. I have never worked at such a company before, and I haven’t had the opportunity to visit Porto in this detailed way. I have been here before but just for one day. Now it is totally different: I have time to explore much deeper into the city’s life. I can experience Portuguese and local culture from Porto as well.
Regarding my work at SPI… Everyday I hear and see something new related to project management. The very big picture of how this industry works already started to appear in my head after the first week. I have to say that the whole system is totally different from how I imagined it. I thought that it was about individual work for each project; I believed that, as a project manager, you have to do all the work on your own. Now I see that it’s much more sophisticated and this company, for example, works as an actual, very complex organism. It’s all about teamwork.
László Márton
There are different departments which have their own type of tasks. Each department has its own team, where each member is like a cell in an organism. They have to work together, to collaborate and communicate well enough to make sure the projects don’t fall apart and each one delivers his/her personal part of the task.
These “pieces” of work have to come together at the end. This is why efficient communication between co-workers is essential. Thus, the company has a very simple but well built communication network. They use Skype to discuss non-formal and smaller issues and Outlook to share more formal tasks and requirements. Of course, the company provides all technical background needed, which is essential but not that obvious if I look at my homeland.
The people I met so far seemed well prepared, which is very important if you want to join such a pulsating work ecosystem. Because of their high competence and open attitude towards new employees, like me, I enjoyed many conversations not just about personal matters but also work-related, which gave me a lot of useful tips and advice as well.
