Rob Morris is a 5th Year MEng Student at Edinburgh University where he studies Chemical Engineering. He spent this summer working for a small Chemical company called TextiQuim Ltda in Quito, Ecuador.
I initially applied to IAESTE because the idea of combining a summer work placement with living abroad really appealed to me, particularly when I saw the huge list of potential host countries.
My placement was in a small chemical factory in Quito, Ecuador, which specialised in the production of detergents, softeners, disinfectants, and other cleaning products. I worked in the quality control laboratory and performed a whole range of duties. At the time of my arrival, my Spanish was of a forgotten GSCE standard and so I was pretty lost for the first couple of weeks in an all Spanish speaking company! However I learnt very quickly and the fact that the people I worked with were incredibly patient and friendly helped enormously.
I stayed in a small self-catering hostel in the centre of Quito along with several other IAESTE students from a variety of countries. We got along incredibly well as we were all like-minded people put in similarly surreal situations a very long way from home!
Aside from work during the week the IAESTE Ecuador coordinator organised a full social programme including nights out, sightseeing and weekend visits to national parks and the jungle. This ensured we made the absolute most of our time in an amazing country; I was never at a loose end throughout the 8 weeks of my placement and always had fun and supportive people around to talk to.
It also helped massively that I was out there for the entire world cup – the England / Ecuador banter both at work and at home was endless and helped develop my Spanish no end!!
Academically, seeing how a small chemical company in a developing country operates was very interesting. However, for me, it was the other aspects of the placement that were most important: I managed to conquer Ecuadorian bureaucracy to get a visa the day before my flight and then went to live in an entirely new continent to work in a technical environment in a foreign language. I learnt about a completely different culture and made a whole host of new international friends in the process!
The confidence, independence and satisfaction that this incredibly challenging experience has given me will stay with me for the rest of my life. It has also made me realise that working abroad is very high up on my list of priorities as I start to plan my career.
If you like the idea of doing an industrial placement in just about any country you can think of, and having one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences of your life, I cannot recommend the programme more!
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