Success stories

New entrepreneur:
Katarzyna RUGALA (Poland)
Age: 28
Company name: (Start-up)
Sector of activity: Education and training services

Host entrepreneur:
Andry Apostolou (Cyprus)
Age: 38
Company name: Bla-Bla In English (10 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Education and training services

With a degree in Linguistics from the University of Wolverhampton, she decided to move to Ireland where she did her research on her host’s company and country before applying to the EYE programme.

Katarzyna describes herself as a perfectionist, a good researcher and she draws pleasure from lesson planning.

For Katarzyna, the start to a new school year couldn't have been better!

Through these difficult times that the whole world is going through having Katarzyna in Andry’s school was a freshchange, despite her initial doubts due to time constraints and the necessary trust build-up. Andry, the owner of a language school, found a smiling person, eager to learn and help with everything in the school.

The month-long collaboration went ahead despite the last minute restrictions on travelling die to Covid-19. Both entrepreneurs found the exchange extremely beneficial. During her stay abroad Katarzyna learned the ins and outs of running a private . language school. She got a better understanding of how to deal with students,parents and other teachers and how to design a course syllabus. In addition she gained knowledge about the Cypriot market and began to better understand effective marketing strategies. Andry, on the other hand, profited from having a non-Greek speaker as the students at Bla-Bla were forced to use English in order to communicate. That reinforced the school’s mission statement and helped students understand that the main purpose of language learning is making a genuine connection with another human being. What is more. Andry benefited from creating her business page on new social media platforms which in turn improved her school’s reputation. 

By exchanging insights and fresh ideas both teachers had a chance to critically evaluate their own teaching methods and plan their future career goals. The students were excited to have a new teacher and a person from another cultural background. They were able to communicate in English and learn many things from Katarzyna. There is a prospect for future cooperation since the NE and HE developed a nice and friendly relationship.

 

For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:

New entrepreneur's contact point:
Polish Agency for Enterpise Development (Warsaw, Poland)

Host entrepreneur's contact point:
C.I.P. CITIZENS IN POWER (Nicosia, Cyprus)

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