Duration of exchange: 3 months
Presentation of the exchange:
Alexandra Chiru is a very active, dedicated and engaged young entrepreneur from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. She was involved in several start-ups, learning that there is a need for a co-working space in the community, in order to bring together innovative and creative minds and help them to develop joint projects.
Alexandra’s goal in the EYE exchange is to gain knowledge on EU economy, and
social entrepreneurship, and improve her project management, networking, and event management skills, while developing long-term business relationship with the host entrepreneur. Through Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, Alexandra benefits intensively from HE Mr Thierry Vandebroek’s 30 years of experience in managing a business and promoting social entrepreneurship in the community.
Mr Vandebroek shares with Alexandra valuable experience in the field of public-private partnerships, social entrepreneurship and positive economy. He involves Alexandra in conferences and events, while presenting her the entrepreneurship scene and business networks he is involved in. Most valuable to Alexandra, her host entrepreneur gives her important management responsibilities in his current projects, the area she is most keen to develop.
Profile of the entrepreneurs:
- New Entrepreneur: Alexandra Chiru, sector of activity: Education and training services / Community, social and personal services, Cluj-Napoca (Romania).
“I strongly believe that having a perspective on a similar business with the one I want to develop will bring me a lot of benefits in improving my business plan, and also in running my future company. I will learn about different work styles, organizational cultures, economic environments, consumption habits, but also about EU legislation, and at the same time about how an EU country enhances entrepreneurship”.
- Host Entrepreneur: Thierry Vandebroek, sector of activity: Community, social and personal services, Brussels (Belgium).
“The ideal young entrepreneur that I would like to work with is a person who has either experience in European funding, or a great interest in social entrepreneurship. The new entrepreneur should be goal-oriented and able to work under tight deadlines. As our working environment gives room for innovation, we are looking for a person with a proactive attitude and a challenging mind”.
Quote of the NE
“First of all, my experience is a very positive one because I really enjoy working with people from other cultures. My colleagues are from Belgium, France and Armenia, so that we talk a lot about work cultures and habits. This experience is a very intense one because, besides everyday work, the host entrepreneur meets with me, shares his experience and, thus, we talk regularly about my business idea. I ask him a lot of questions, and I also ask for advices for my future plans. He helps me in making the differences between good ideas and those I have to change or improve. At the same time, he always gives me examples of similar businesses in Belgium, and uses the business events to introduce me to other entrepreneurs”.
Quote of the HE
“The benefits of the exchange come from the fact that Alexandra has experience in another culture of work and environment. She is also connected in Romania and she can give us examples from there, examples from entrepreneurs, companies, NGOs. At the same time, she sees here different approaches of ideas, stories and especially people. Alexandra works in a very diverse team and that is very valuable within the knowledge exchange. She is constantly in contact with students, young professionals and specialists that work in Poseco, but she also gains experience in being in contact with other companies.”
New and experienced entrepreneurs shall apply for the programme via the web page www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu
For further information about the programme:
Mrs Cordelia Badescu
cordelia.badescu@fundatiadanis.ro
Mrs Anna Sarateanu, CSCS
This article was funded by the European Union’s COSME Programme (2014-2020).
The content of this article represents the views of the author only and it is her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
