Have you ever imagined how your life would change if your day-to-day work took place in a different country? For this UPM team, that question no longer needs an answer—they experienced it firsthand during BME’s International Staff Week.
Through this initiative, administrative and academic professionals from universities around the world come together for an in-depth visit to a host institution. It’s an opportunity to see how others work, exchange perspectives on shared challenges, and discover new ideas that can be brought back to their own workplaces.
Beyond the professional insights, Staff Weeks also encourage intercultural exchange, giving participants a chance to experience the host country’s culture while building meaningful connections with colleagues from diverse backgrounds.
Follow Lian and Alfredo from UPM as they explore what life is like for staff members at BME.
We would like to share with you our experience at Staff Week in Budapest, we wish to encourage you to participate in this kind of event and take advantage of the opportunities offered to us.
The Staff Week in Budapest was excellent. We were able to meet new colleagues who work at different universities around the world. We also learned about the great Hungarian culture thanks to the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).
The program included various activities such as visits to the different facilities, historic buildings, and laboratories. We were also able to visit the student residence and the city of Budapest. The organizers prepared a wonderful program for us that combined work, visits, discussions, and fun throughout the week, as you can see in some of our photos.
It was a very intense and enriching week. We were able to appreciate, share and learn about all kinds of knowledge. We are also certain that all participants will be able to make suggestions to their respective institutions based on what we have learned about our fellow European counterparts about how to improve our weaknesses and develop our strengths with greater enthusiasm, valuing and promoting the different initiatives and activities which arise every day in the workplace.
We were surprised that the exchange of experiences went beyond technical aspects and even included bureaucratic procedures that we could learn from.
And, of course, since you are away from home for a week, it is essential to make time for more conventional tourism: visiting the city and its tourist attractions, its culture (we even managed to learn a few words in Hungarian! And, believe us, it is not similar in any way to our native language…), the atmosphere both during the day and at night…
…and, of course, the famous ‘ruin bars’ in the historic center, the magnificent atmosphere, and the excellent beer.
To sum up, we encourage anyone who has the opportunity and even the slightest interest to go for it! Go learn, enjoy, and share your experience as well!
Xiaolian Sun Wang
He is a Telecommunications Engineer and works as a First Cycle Graduate (formerly known as Laboratory Technician) in the anechoic chamber of the Signals Laboratory at ETSIT (UPM’s School of Telecommunications). He has participated in several Staff Weeks, both within and outside the EELISA Alliance.
Alfredo Marín Lázaro.
He is a Computer Engineer and works as a Senior Graduate at the Thermotechnics Laboratory of ETSI Industriales. In his case, Budapest was his first Staff Week experience.