The coronavirus crisis has not stopped the External Relations service of TecnunThe crisis of the coronavirus has not stopped the External Relations Service, which has continued to organize activities during this year 2020, supported by digital media, but also maintaining the presence of the events when possible. This is highlighted by the heads of the service, Eli Urcelay and director Javier Ganuza.

Approximately how many events has the Foreign Service organized throughout 2020?

Shortly before the March confinement we had the usual Career Fair at the end of February with the participation of 97 companies, but before that, in mid-January, for the first time took place the meeting of companies and Master students for interviews aimed at Final Master Projects and first employment. This year this meeting has been brought forward to December, and 42 companies have participated, with the novelty that the students of the Master in Industrial Engineering in Madrid have also participated. In addition, we had in October a specific Career Fair of consultancy service and Banking, also virtual. On the other hand, we have had online sessions with several companies such as BCG, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey, Amazon, Repsol, Altran or Google.

Could it be said that the pandemic has not stopped you?

It has not stopped us, in fact, we kept in contact with the students and the companies at all times and we managed that almost all the students found a company to be able to do their project end of Degree/ master. In some cases the confinement stopped the project Fin de Degree or Master stays, but as soon as it was possible they were resumed. What we miss is that students should do internships during the summer, something that, except for a few occasions, could not be done.

Has the format of the events tended more towards digital rather than face-to-face?

Yes, that's right. In fact, the events we have organized since March 2020 are practically all virtual, with the exception of preparation sessions for students organized by Career Services and a few companies that came to interview Master students last week, such as Danobat and GKN. We think it is better and we bet for the presentiality but the option of remote presentations and interviews also has the advantage of reaching companies that due to travel issues /budget would not have participated in person in this meeting and if it is remotely they can do it.

Apart from that, have you adapted well to the new status?

We are adapting, but, although now the events are being held remotely, our bet is to return to face-to-face when we can. The human contact cannot be lost. We are aware that online events have some advantages and we are having the opportunity to experience this model. The Pamplona Career Services service is also offering Virtual Fairs and Employment platforms that are additional opportunities to those organized by our service from Tecnun.

What is the forecast for next year? Do you have already closed events for the next semester? We still need to set the dates, but we have already arranged for January 2021 presentations by AMAZON, BANCO SANTANDER, ROCHE and MICHAEL PAGE in Madrid on job interviews. Also in February we will have preparation sessions prior to Career Fair for students to learn how to prepare their CV, interviews, etc. as well as other presentations of companies that will be specified.

How does Career Fair of Tecnun look like for this year?

It is not definitive yet, but we are thinking of a combination, probably one day will be with companies in person and another virtual, as there are companies that have advanced us that are interested in the forum but that by company policy is prohibited attendance face throughout 2021.

What challenges does your service face in the coming year?

Continue to expand our network of contacts with companies, especially in Madrid, as well as in the field of Biomedical Engineering. Also recently the University has changed the Employment and Internships platform and we have to become proficient with it. And of course, help students to get the most out of it.