Time flies as Junior Advisor for Education, David Simon-Vermot bids farewell to SwissCore after eleven months in the team.
“Time flies and so much happens in such a short time! When I arrived in Brussels for my traineeship at the beginning of this year, I did not expect to stay until December. But here I am, discovering Belgian culture, its cities and interculturalism as if I had arrived last week. I still remember when I applied for the traineeship: I wanted to get some fresh air after my studies, and exploring education policy seemed like a good idea, as I was volunteering in this area for ESN Switzerland. Coming from a higher education background, I was delighted to discover and get to know the diversity of actors and programmes in vocational education and training (VET), lifelong learning and school education. Being able to work with such a wide range of topics was refreshing and interesting, as most of my work has been in higher education policies. On another note, the IGLO network was very valuable to understand the EU bubble in this year of changes. It was not easy to follow all the policies and political changes, but I am grateful that the SwissCore team was here to help, clarify or discuss some questions. It’s difficult to choose one highlight, but I loved welcoming Swiss partners and connecting them with Brussels stakeholders.”
When he joined SwissCore as an education trainee in February 2024, David had just finished his Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). After his six-month traineeship (see SwissCore article), he stayed on until the end of the year to support SwissCore as Junior Advisor for Education. As Junior Advisor, David’s main focus was on the organisation of the 2024 Education Seminar and helping with the onboarding of Sandra Gillner, who joined as Education Advisor in September 2024. During his time in Brussels, he followed the updates of the European Social Fund+ (ESF+), the European Year of Skills outputs and the Erasmus+ programme, in particular the blueprint for a joint European Degree (label). He also followed ongoing developments and events in Brussels, wrote Synopsis articles, including a success story about the EDCTP2 project PAMAfrica, infomails and supported the planning and implementation of two Education Briefings on the future of VET in Europe (see SwissCore article) and on international collaboration in higher VET (see SwissCore article).
We would like to thank David for his inspired and highly motivated contributions to SwissCore. David has a very strong belief in team work and was always the first one to lend a helping hand and be there for his colleagues, no matter how big the task. As he started as Advisor already knowing the processes and activities of SwissCore, he could take a head dive into the day-to-day work, event organisation and dedicated projects. We wish him all the best and much success on his forthcoming professional journey.
“My time at SwissCore has been amazing and I will miss the team. I have gained countless valuable experiences and although my next steps are not yet clear, I hope to work in education again. Thank you to all of SwissCore for welcoming me and supporting me throughout, especially Laurin Reding. I can take many new insights and connections with me.”