Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs in Greece

Starting November  2020 I had the opportunity to participate in a European exchange programme – Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs. It is a cross-border exchange programme which gives new entrepreneurs the possibility to learn from experienced international enterprisers who already started their business. This exchange has many benefits for people who don’t know how to start their project and want to get a know-how of what It takes to run a business. Interested entrepreneurs can choose enterprisers from different companies all over Europe which fit the subject of their business. By working and taking part in the selected entrepreneurship, the participant can gain business skills, get cooperation opportunities and learn about other cultures from a whole different perspective.

My project is a learning platform for pre-med students whose dream is to get into medical school and study medicine. Because I am interested in mental health issues and psychology, I chose to travel to Greece and work with EPIONI. It is a national non-profit organisation established by a couple of caregivers. They aim to support people who work as unpaid carers of family members or friends who are struggling with physical or mental illness, disability or addiction. Young carers are also included among this group of carers. Young carers are people under the age of eighteen who provide some care for their relatives or friends. Unfortunately, they are often forgotten or ignored by service providers at national and local levels.

Besides working on my project, I get involved in activities provided by my hosting organisation, such as conferences and webinars – for example, ECARIS – learning and support of caregivers and patients with CKD or ESRD. From such actions, I get introspective of how a real business works and, of course, how communication between co-workers looks like. This helps me with gaining experience that I can use not only in developing my project but also in real adult life. One of the projects I got involved in was Sesycare, which summarises the knowledge about earlier mentioned young carers.

I am delighted to have taken the opportunity to take part in Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs. Greece is a beautiful country with lovely people and outstanding cuisine. In such a positive environment, I can work on my project and develop my skills as a young entrepreneur. I highly recommend taking part in this project.

Resources:
https://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/index.php?lan=en
https://epioni.gr/en/profile/
https://sesycare.eu
https://eurocarers.org/