Lluís Bertrans, a Biology-Environmental Science student, talks about his international internship for Antico Mulino Ltd. The company manages a group of wetlands in Peschiera Borromeo near Milan. Lluís studied the wetlands and connections between them leading to the development of a digital interactive map.
Peschiera Borromeo Wetlands
Going abroad for an international internship is a wonderful experience, which I recommend to everyone. The project I was involved in was “The identification of socio-ecological connection in Rete ZUB”. This was the initiative of a non-profit public-private partnership (Borromeo Wetland Network – Rete Zona Umida Borromeo). It aimed at improving the ecological value of Milan province. My internship was for my final degree project in Environmental Science. It was hosted and, in part, financed by Antico Mulino Ltd, a private firm that founded and promotes Rete ZUB. Antico Mulino Ltd is located near Milan. It is in an area where you can find different treasures, such as experimental wetlands and a historical castle. The project involved the definition of socio-ecological connections between wetlands to increase their ecological value and improve their touristic sustainability.
The Internship Experience
The most important advantage of an international internship is living by yourself without any help. You need to enjoy the experience but also know how to overcome problems. Everyone can come across problems with transport, for example. So, a stay abroad is based on wonderful but also critical moments. Whether you are alone at home or with friends or with new mates,it is important to discover an area, its culture, historical places and languages, to become another inhabitant. The experience turns you into a different person who can contribute to a project to preserve nature and cultural heritage. Life is the same but by going abroad you explore new unknown places without knowing what can occur after.
I decided to go to Milan because UVIC-UCC gave me the opportunity to do a final degree project with a difference, an original one. I know that it was different from an Erasmus exchange and I think it was more intense and productive. Sometimes you have to take risks to improve your own skills. If you are thinking of doing an internship you can decide on the period of your stay with the University and the institution in the other country. Having a flexible schedule is also very important if you want to achieve your aims in any project. Finally, I’d like to give a big thanks to UVIC-UCC and Antico Mulino ltd for giving me this opportunity. I will remember it all my life.
If you would like to read more details about “The identification of socio-ecological connection in Rete ZUB”, you can find Lluís’s final project online in the Repositori Institutional de la UVic. Lluis’s project was supervised by Roger Arquimbau. In Outgoing you can find information about international mobility programmes for faculty students.
