Mariam Aomar Perez's internship report

The internship

I was accepted in a two-month Teep internship from December 1st until January 31st at National Chiayi University (NCYU) working under the supervision of Professor Huang in the Department of E-Learning Design and Management. The university campus is located in the rural area of Minxiong, Chiayi City in Taiwan. I was part of the team that translate the LEGO Education Robotics course into English, my background in Human-Computer Interaction was useful to the team when discussing technical words related to the LEGO kit and electronics terminology in English. In addition to my role on the LEGO team, I was invited to be a teacher assistant at the Department of Education in the Special Education and support course. I was requested to prepare and give a presentation regarding my education experience abroad at a British university for my bachelor's and my current experience in Italy, both education conducted in English. The main focus of the presentation was to discuss the type of support students with a learning contract will receive abroad. In my case, as a student with dyslexia and dyspraxia, I could talk about how having the right support could make a difference, in my case, I was able to access the same opportunities as my peers and thrive in an English-speaking environment, English being my second language. We had an open discussion and Q&A regarding the similarities and differences that Taiwan has when offering support to students with a similar background to mine, and I was able to recommend resources to assist the students to understand better their future clients.

The Culture

As part of my visit, I was also involved in extracurricular activities such as visits to local factories, museums, local ART exhibitions, and nearby cities. My cultural experience in Minxiong city and the university of Chiayi has been a unique opportunity to explore and learn more about Taiwanese culture and the rural environment. Different to bigger cities like Taipei I have found Chiayi to be a calmer atmosphere full of green scenery and surprisingly full of artists! Professor Huang did organise a trip to his hometown where we learn about the heart quick event that took place in Taichung city. We also explored the old market, eat delicious food, visited the ARTs centre and explore the city centre area.

Additionally, the international office invited me to participate in the new years festival making traditional food and engaging with the locals. They also had a field trip organised with the international office to the city of Tianan, which I was able to attend with other international students. I had the chance to meet other interns here, locals and international students at the university. I have learned a great deal about university life as an international student, education in Taiwan and other opportunities. Overall, what I am going to miss the most is the people and the new friendships I have built in just two months. It was enough time to connect and build memories together and forge new relationships, this speaks volumes of how welcoming and kind people were, including staff and the students.