Marco Demattia - "make as many connections and experiences as you can"

Marco Demattia, a student at the Università degli Studi di Urbino from Italy, came to Bratislava for his internship as a Marketing & Administrative Assistant.

Before he came to Slovakia for the internship, he had a familiar worry that many people share when starting a traineeship abroad: whether this internship would remain “just work”, without leading to anything meaningful for his future career or forming any real connection:

“I was afraid that, since it was a traineeship and technically ‘just work,’ it would stay only that, without leading anywhere afterwards, and without giving me the chance to make friends with people from all over the world."

Luckily those worries didn't last long. Marco shared how welcoming people were right from the start, both at work and outside of it:

“In the end those worries turned out to be completely unfounded, because from the very first week people were already welcoming me into their groups.”

Additionally, one common problem students have is turning theory into practice. Internships are helpful in this situation, as they let students actually apply what they've studied in real life. Marco shared the same experience:

“Running the Valencia seminar taught me how to actually manage an event end to end, not just the theory of it: coordinating speakers, logistics, and last-minute problems while keeping everything on track.”

The most important part is that our interns gain experience in working on real projects and take on real responsibility, which helps them to grow professionally and gain invaluable skills for their future careers. Marco described his tasks as following:

“I worked on LEO-NET, a European network of 200+ universities focused on Erasmus+ traineeship mobility. I handled communication and outreach for the network, coordinated the LEO-NET Annual Seminar 2026 in Valencia from start to finish… and worked on the SolidIntern portal, including mockups and communication strategy.”

Besides work, there is a wonderful opportunity to explore Slovakia and experience a new culture, which is very helpful in broadening one’s horizons, increasing awareness and growing personally. For Marco, one of the things that stood out most was the kindness of the people he met here, while certain challenges due to the cultural differences arose as well, but were handled quite fast:

“I have found in Slovakia some of the kindest people that I have ever met in my life… especially in the gym community here, even though they are much bigger than you, differently from Italy, they want to help you and give recommendations. Also i had to change all of my time schedule regarding period of the day when i was intended to have lunch or dinner and with what, bc of course here they don't have the same stuff i consume in Italy. At first was kinda difficult to get used to it, but I managed without major issues.”

At the same time, the most pleasant experience was making unexpected friendships alongside living through a completely different experience he hasn’t had before, and getting closer to Slovak culture, even growing an interest in learning the language along the way, despite its complexity and significant difference with the Italian language:

“Honestly, the most pleasant part was making friendships I never expected to make and living experiences I couldn't have imagined before coming here. I also got to discover Slovak culture up close, and I even started thinking about picking up some Slovak, even though it's a pretty tough language”

So, for his plans, Marco wants to find a job in Bratislava while finishing his master's degree in Italy.

As advice for interns, Marco recommended being open and meeting new people alongside taking as many opportunities as you can, because in the end you will get meaningful connections, new skills and lasting memories:

“I'd say drop the filters and open up to everyone, make as many connections and experiences as you can, even if that means messing up sometimes. But honestly, if you don't try, where's the fun in that? At least later you get to tell the story over a two-euro beer in Bratislava's old town with your new friends.”

We are glad to have had Marco as an intern through our program and wish him success in his further plans.