It’s a growth process!

A story from Mariana Cardoso

Country of origin: Portugal

Country of destination: Denmark

(By Rede INDUCAR)

I am Mariana Cardoso.

I did ERASMUS at the University of Copenhagen, in the last year of university, in 2006.
From the beginning the University I was looking for way to have an international experience, to study in another school system and learn from different teaching strategies. So, after a study visit to Denmark, I began the process of establishing protocols between the Department of Évora University and the University of Copenhagen, which has an educational system very different from the Portuguese.
This experience opened some doors and my horizons to an area that I was willing to explore, that is development cooperation.
And I had the opportunity to attend another European Union program in my postgraduate degree.
I did not change my field of study, but at this time I’m working in Africa and I believe this is a result of my first international experience.
I strongly advise others to have this kind of experiences.
It’s a growth process that can be very significant in people’s lives. Other forms of internationalization exist but this one is simple and can happen in a life time when it is easier to go with the support of an official structure.