László Marton (BA student from the Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania) completed his mentorship at SPI – Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação. Read his last diary entry about how he got involved in the work of a research and innovation consulting organization, and what it meant for him to participate in a mentorship programme in a foreign country, during his first work experience, whilst discovering the world.
15 August 2022
The last period was the nicest. During the final two weeks, in particular, I started to get used to the work routine and to my co-workers as well. I began having the feeling of somehow belonging to this team. Of course, it was a short period, but being welcomed into the team was very nice. I had the feeling of being part of this ecosystem.
Regarding the work… I’ve tried to finish all my tasks to not leave any project hanging. In the projects I was involved in, I tried to do my best and finish what I had before going home and ending the program. Unfortunately, I had to come home a week early because of some personal matters, but even so, I finished the program from home office, online. This way at least I was also able to have an experience working from home, just like it was during Covid restrictions. Although the work was not the same, I tried to do my best, and engage with every task I was assigned.
On the last week spent there, the main task I got from my mentor, Tiago, was a proposal that was submitted but did not get funding, and I had to try revising it and improving it based on the comments of the official evaluation. Honestly, this was not an easy task.
László Márton
At first, one might think that writing a proposal is an easy task, because you basically describe the project, detail the budget, and the partners involved, with specifics on their tasks, etc.. It may sound easy, but it is not at all if you want to secure financial support. I tried to learn how to do it because it is an essential part of the profession of grants’ management. I know that my work was not perfect, but I think I learned enough to have a good basis that I can continue to build on in the future. This is also an overall conclusion about the time spent in Porto in this program: I got a good practical experience to test the theoretical knowledge that we got during the RMA courses.
In this aspect, my expectations to get a general view on what this profession means was satisfied. Even more: I met some great people, highly-qualified and with a modern and open attitude to life and work. They have all been excellent role models for me…
Thank You, foRMAtion and SPI for all the good times and goodbye!
If you are interested in the foRMAtion Mentorship Programme, please have a look at the Methodological Guide for the Mentorship Programme or join our Mentorship Alliance by sending an email to hetfa_formation@hetfa.hu.
