While some people associate summer period with a long-awaited rest, others try to spend it as productively as possible. Franziska Lechner, fifth-year law student at the Austrian University of Innsbruck, has chosen two-weeks practice at the Vilnius University Faculty of Law. She is more than pleased with this decision – although there is a lot to do, the work is not tiring. When the weather is good, Franziska does all work on the computer while enjoying sun in the park, and when the inspiration comes – even at night.
Chose Lithuania not by an accident
“When you study at the university, you learn a lot of theory, but lack practical skills. I wanted to get some knowledge about the academic work and try it myself, because I have a dream to work in some kind of organization or institute, maybe even be a researcher or work in academic environment. In addition, it’s very useful to have a record of practice on the job application,” said Franziska.
Franziska only considered to practice abroad. In her opinion, young people should take the opportunity to not only visit other countries and meet their culture, but also get to know the specifics of working there: “I chose Lithuania because I have been thinking about studying in one of the Baltic countries for some time now. But I have never been in this part of Europe to this day. As a result, I thought that I would have an opportunity to not only practice in Vilnius University Faculty of Law but also to visit other cities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.”
Fanziska is ELSA member in Austria. She is a treasurer responsible for the organization’s finances there. Experience in this organization partially influenced her decision to develop skills in Lithuania. She was interested in Lithuanian finance law and wanted to deepen her knowledge on the subject. Moreover, VU was the only university in Lithuania offering the practice to non-graduate students.
Good practice is the foundation for the future
Franziska has a supervisor in Lithuania who assigns her various tasks – to edit articles, collect information about international conferences and etc. “Before I arrived, I had imagined that the practice would be somewhat different. I thought I would have a strict working schedule. But I really like it because I have a lot of freedom. This is especially convenient because I can work even in the middle of the night, when I am at home or in nature. As a result, I do not even feel tired when working.”
According to the student, this practice will definitely be useful in future when working on scientific publications: “I have become more familiar with the scientific ethics, the rules of quoting, also I am learning to notice the details.”
Franziska would recommend this practice to each student. “I would recommend staying there longer. Although it seems that Lithuania is a very small country, there are many things to see here. Moreover, I barely got used to the job, and now I am counting my last days here.”