The document summarizes seminars and lectures attended by the author on various topics related to working and studying abroad. It describes a disappointing visit to the European Council where an expected tour did not occur. It also summarizes lectures on the future of Europe, international competencies for working abroad, finding jobs through EURES, and how digital technologies will impact humans. The reflections expressed disappointment in some events that did not meet expectations but interest in others where the speakers were knowledgeable and engaging.

1. Seminar slide cast and reflection
on seminar attendance

2. Visit to the European Council
Brussels
October 6th
175 Wetstraat, Brussels
14:00

3. European Council (Wikipedia.org, 2016)
• The institution of the European Union
• Comprised of:
• the heads of state or government of the member states
• President of the European Council
• President of the European Commission
• Location: New Europe Building, Brussels
• President: Donald Tusk
Wikipedia.org. (2016, 05 14). European Council. Retrieved from Wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Council

4. Functions
• Defines the EU’s policy agenda
• ”Motor of the European Intergration”
 does this by influence on national leaders
• Lead in the foreign policy

5. Composition
• The heads of state or government of the member states
• Own President (non-voting)
• Commission President (non-voting)
For smaller session only the required ministers from the countries are
present.

6. I did not have questions, everything was explained very clearly.
Reflection:
The visit to the European council was very interesting, but sadly kind of
a disappointment as well. We went there with high expectations to
really get a tour of the building and to see some people at work/in
discussions. Sadly, this was not the case, we received a presentation in
one of the smaller meeting rooms. The info given was nice but after a
while everybody’s thoughts began to stray, or that’s at least how I
experienced it. I learnt that Europe is one ‘living’ being and that
legislation is changed and revised very often.

7. De toekomst van Europa
The future of Europe
Guy Verhofstadt
8/12/2015
20:15
Charles Deberiotstraat 24, 3000 Leuven

8. The Illness of Europe (Verhofstadt, 2015)
• Book by Guy Verhofstadt
• About the European Project that has been reduced to an
“Institutionalized pool of mud”
• Europe started to grow on unstable foundations, how can they expect
it to be sturdy and do not have problems? The biggest problem is that
these problems are not even dealt with!
Verhofstadt, G. (2015). De ziekte van Europa. De Bezige Bij.

9. ‘Our blindness to see the truth as it is, this sickly form of self-deception,
doesn’t only reaches the way we look at our own economical problems. It
has also affected our morality. We still look at ourselves as the centre of
the world, superior to the ‘agressive’ America or the ‘authoritarian’ China.
In our own eyes we’re still fighting for human righs and democracy. Reality
dissagrees.’ Own translation

10. This lecture was very interesting, it was around 1 hour and a half
but the time went by really quickly. The moment that impacted me
most was the moment where he first began to explain why Europe
was failing. It showed me to look at the current situations in a
different perspective. Europe has been around for almost my entire
life, but it is unstable. We really have to maintain the structure.
Mr Verhofstadt was very clear and is a good speaker, I liked the
EkoLecture a lot.
I chose this lecture because it seemes very interesting. He was a
prominant person in the Belgian politics for countless years and
now he has moved on to Europe. The title also drew me in, The
Future of Europe. Europe plays a big role in the lives of everybody
in it. The opinion of one of players in the European game can be
very valuable.

11. Working and Living Abroad
Dirk Buyens
21/12/2015
18:15
A4 – Hoogpoort 15, Ghent

12. 5 core international competencies
1. Language skills
Good enough beats perfect
2. The outside-in-view
Look at the culture you’re in and you’ll realise that not everthing is that
‘normal’
3. The multi-ethnocentricity reflex
Starting to recognise patterns in a certain culture
4. The homelessness skill
You feel completely at home in the new environment.
Repatriation is a lot harder.
5. The seeing through the cultural façade
See the deeper culture

13. The experience itself
• Earlier days: Add on <> Nowadays: Minimum
• The true experience is working/ interacting with locals
• Practical tips:
• Read/watch the news
• Make sure you want to do it
• Boost the experience from before the start

14. Why?
• Able to see the world!
• Experience a new culture
• Career oportunities
• Personal Development
• Life experience
Internationalstudent.com. (n.d.). 10 Benefits to Studying Abroad. Retrieved from Internationalstudent.com:
http://www.internationalstudent.com/study-abroad/guide/ten-benefits-to-studying-abroad/

15. Reflection:
This speaker was very enthusiastic about the study/work abroad topic.
He himself has done it a couple of times as well. During this seminar I
did not learn lot of new things, thanks to our previous courses. Even
though the information was a bit repetitive, the sheer enthusiasm and
examples of his own experiences made it worth listening to.
One of the things that I will be taking with me on my own future
endeavours, that being there is not enough, you have to participate and
not expect it to just happen.

16. EURES: Applying for a job
abroad
K. Veldkamp
16/02/2016
15:00
A2 - Hoogpoort 15, Ghent

17. Eures?
• European Job Mobility Portal
• The partners provide:
• Information
• Placement
• Recruitment services
to employers and
• Provides specific information and facilitate placements
• services through:
• the portal
• a human network (1000 EURES advisers)
EURES. (n.d.). EURES Services. Retrieved from europa.eu: https://ec.europa.eu/eures/public/en/eures-services

18. Seminar topics
• Difference EEA – Non-EEA
• Work vs Internship
• Administration
• Application tips and tricks
• Cv
• Profile sketch
• Skills and competences
 Key of the seminar: EURES is to help those who want to
work abroad!

19. Reflection:
This seminar was in my opinion quite a disappointment. I didn’t learn
anything besides that there is a website helping people with jobs
abroad. For the rest she explained the difference between working
abroad and doing an internship abroad.
She did not fulfill my expectations, it felt like she was only talking about
her own site.
I would not recommend this seminar to anybody.

20. When digital becomes
human
Steven Van Belleghem
25/04/2016
15:00
A1 - Hoogpoort 15, Ghent

21. Everyone is connected
• Adoption curve is becoming shorter!
• Old days: 10 years
• Now: 1 year
• Artificial intelligence is a thing of the now
• Google car
• Walmart truck
• Offline world will become digitalized!

22. 4 pillars
1. Convenience is the new loyalty
2. Contextual understanding
3. 1 size fits none
4. Boundless experiences

23. Some things to think about
“Computeres personalize, humans make it personal”
“Computers predict, humans surprise”
“Computers deliver, humans over-deliver”
“Computers confirm, humans smile”
Computers automate all operational work,
the People will be working on the emotions and creative ideas.
 Digital + human transformation

24. Internet of Things (Digitalisationworld.com, 2016)
• Short form: IoT
• It will trigger the next wave of enterprise digital transformation
• IoT will translate previously untapped data into insights that enable
enterprises to take the customer experience to the next level
Digitalisationworld.com. (2016, 05 19). IoT will trigger next wave of enterprise digital transformation. Retrieved from Digitalisationworld.com: https://digitalisationworld.com/article/48221/

25. Reflection:
I absolutely loved this seminar. The speaker knew what he was saying,
there was a clear theme throughout the presentation. The subject is
something that really fascinates me.
The thing that stayed with me the most is the part when he said that
the human touch will only increase in value. The human will become
the premium service instead of now the online 24/7 service.
This lecture was also around 1,5h but I never noticed this, it was so
fluent and interesting that the time flew by.

26. Made by: Arantxa Van Hyfte
19/05/2015
For Talent and Management Development
2IBM03