Success stories
Success stories
Martina Florini,
Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy:
“Hi everyone! My name is Martina Florini, and I am an Italian student studying Medical Radiology Techniques. Last summer, I decided to embark on an Erasmus Traineeship experience in Riga, Latvia. I was assigned to the Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Department at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital. From the very first day, I was impressed by the hospital’s cleanliness, organization and modern facilities. I immediately had a very positive impression and was excited to get started, especially because I wanted to discover the differences between the Latvian and Italian healthcare systems and learn about different working methods.
During these two months of clinical placement, I had the opportunity to gain experience in several areas, including mammography, conventional X-ray, CT, MRI, angiography and nuclear medicine. This allowed me to broaden my knowledge and develop my professional skills in the field of radiology.
One of the aspects that made this experience so special was the hospital staff, who were
welcoming, friendly and always willing to make me feel comfortable. I particularly appreciated
their willingness to explain procedures, involve me in daily activities and answer all my questions. They made me feel like part of the team and gave me the opportunity to learn so much throughout my placement.
Throughout my traineeship, I was also supported by Aiga, the Latvian Erasmus coordinator, who was always ready to help and encourage me, as well as Paula, the hospital’s chief radiographer, who proved to be a genuinely kind, supportive and approachable person. Their support was truly valuable to me.
Since returning to Italy, I have always spoken enthusiastically about my experience and
recommended Riga as an Erasmus destination to my fellow students. It was an experience that
helped me grow both professionally and personally. I returned home with improved skills, greater self-confidence and an even stronger sense of direction regarding my future career.
Thank you, Latvia, for this wonderful experience! I hope to see you again soon!"
Tomas Moniz Matos, Pedro Henrique Lima Santos
University of the Azores/ Portugal
Since the beginning of college (and even before that), the both of us were always the kind of people who are seeking constant adventure. When we found out about the Erasmus program, we saw a chance of innovation and growth in our lives. To be able to study abroad, especially in a course related to health, is truly beautiful. Doing an internship in a different country than ours, to learn about their methods of work and the public health system in general will bring us a lot of knowledge not only career wise, but it will also make us grow as individuals. By choosing Latvia we knew we would have some barriers that would make the journey trickier. Nevertheless, we chose to come here because of those barriers as well. It makes it 10 times better and even more interesting. Seeing how people can break those barriers even if they don’t speak the same language comes to show that we, as human beings, need to be united as one. So far, being in another country has been an amazing experience. We are exploring newplaces, new lifestyles, new cultures, but mainly, we are exploring ourselves.
Milagros Calderón Lizarbe,
IES Nr.1 de Gijón, Spain:
“I am delighted to do Erasmus in Latvia. I am getting to know a very beautiful country, and I have made new friends. It has also allowed me to get to know other places such as Estonia, Lithuania and Finland and I have enjoyed so much. It is a great experience in which I am learning a lot.”
Andrea Cuesta Pérez,
IES Nr.1 de Gijón, Spain:
“Doing an Erasmus is a great life experience. It allows you to travel, meet people and learn many new things. We chose to come to Latvia because it was a country that we didn’t know and it was one of our best decisions. It is a beautiful country with very kindly people. We are very glad for being here and we continue to enjoy the experience to the fullest.”
Emrah Öztopçu
Cappadocia University, Turkey:
“Hi! I'm Emrah from Turkey. I am a dialysis nurse. This is my second Erasmus. My first Erasmus was in Lithuania. I visited 8 countries in my first Erasmus and Latvia was the best for me and I promised myself that I will do my second Erasmus in Latvia. Now I am doing my second Erasmus in Latvia. When you have Erasmus, you have a lot of experience on some subjects. You can improve yourself about your job, you can travel different cities, you can live in the history, you can see awesome views, you can eat different meals, you can make parties, you can meet new friends, you can drive fast cars, in short. If you make Erasmus, YOU CAN!”
Tatiana Duarte Rocha
Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Portugal:
“My name is Tatiana Rocha and I am a nursing student in Portugal. One of my main goals, has always been to be part of the ERASMUS Programme and experience all things that this word has. My main reasons for performing ERASMUS in Latvia is the opportunity to deepen my knowledge of nursing through different techniques and applications in care. Also, another reason for my choice is the fact that this experience will also help me to meet people from different cultures, which will require a dedication on my part to improve my communication skills in another language.”
Mariana Leitão de Oliveira
Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Portugal:
“Hi, I am a Portuguese nursing student, and my name is Mariana Oliveira. By my decision, at this moment, I am doing Erasmus in Jūrmala – Latvia, and I am really enjoying this experience. I think that in a globalized world, contact with different cultural contexts can be both a personal and professional asset. In this context, integrating a project such as student mobility is a unique opportunity to develop the most diverse skills and competences and provide fundamental foundations for my future profession. I think I am a very communicative person, and I feel that this experience is an opportunity to invest in my communication and meet new people with different realities and ways of thinking. The contact with different languages, new experiences, integrating myself in a different reality and observing and participating in nursing care in this country, are the reasons that motivated me to participate in mobility. The knowledge of this different culture, its values and the confrontation with our convictions is extremely enriching. And so I am very grateful that P. Stradins Medical College of the University of Latvia has given me the opportunity to experience this challenge.”
Inês Filipa Pires Vaz
Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Portugal:
“Hello, my name is Inês Vaz and I’m a nursing student at Coimbra’s Higher School of Nursing in Portugal. I’m currently realising Erasmus in Latvia driven by the desire for new experiences, contact with other cultures and languages, and to integrate myself in a distinct reality. I decided to choose this country because I believe this experience will allow me to better develop both verbal and non-verbal communication skills, as well as lay the groundwork for more proficient adaptation competencies when it comes to thriving in an unknown and contrasting environment. It’s one of my greatest ambitions to continue to develop my professional identity and grow as someone who’s resourceful, caring and worthy, who is willing to learn and improve, and I think this experience will give me opportunities to achieve my goals.”
Inês Santos,
Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra, Portugal:
“Hello! My name is Inês Santos and I´m a nursing student in Portugal. I'm currently in the fourth year, the last one, of a Nursing Degree at Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Coimbra. As you know, as a future nurse, I will have to adapt my care to different individuals, always taking into consideration their life histories, beliefs and especially the contexts in which they have grown and lived that is, considering the biopsychosocial context of people. Consequently, I decided to do Erasmus in Latvia since this country offers a distinct social, cultural, and organisational atmosphere different from Portugal, which directly influences the way nursing is practiced. Having the opportunity to be integrated in this experience will allow me to contact with different realities, actively influencing the development of my professional identity.”