This time last year, I was applying to the Bord Bia Global Graduate programme. It is the first time that Bord Bia has partnered with leading university, UCD Michael Smurfit Business School, to provide invaluable working experience in the food and beverage industry alongside a top-class masters for the lucky few to be offered a position on the programme. Applying for this initiative, for me was a no-brainer – a Masters and work experience in an industry I’ve wanted to work in for a long time, where do I sign up? It almost seems too good to be true. But, now I’ve been accepted as the Bord Bia Madrid Global Graduate and spent my first 6 months in market, I can safely say it lives up to my expectations, and much more. Here are 15 ways the Bord Bia Smurfit Graduate Programme has changed my life, and could be opportunity of a lifetime for you too.

1. A Fully-Paid Top-Class Masters

The UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School is the number one post-graduate business school in the country, and this is who Bord Bia is collaborating with for its graduate programme. With guest lecturers from universities all over the world, a dedicated Programme Manager and access to the resources of their Executive Education Department on the beautiful campus in Blackrock, there’s plenty of support for working towards a Master’s degree from an internationally recognized academic institution. The content of the degree has developed my analytical and critical thinking abilities and expanded my knowledge on a range of topics such as marketing strategy, quantitative research and digital marketing. I’ll also be learning about logistics in the food and drink industry, business sustainability and maximizing performance.

2. Work Experience & Skills

“The best way to learn is to do” is a phrase we’ve all heard before in some variation from Aristotle to Richard Branson. The practical work experience that Bord Bia provides is a fantastic opportunity to develop skills that potential employers really value.

The challenge of balancing a Masters with work experience in a new country is frequently time management. Although it’s been difficult at times, the experience has really helped me to become more organized, and better at prioritizing so that I can make the most of my time.

Working with a variety of partners in different cultures, has also allowed me to practice honing my communication skills. This goes beyond practicing my Spanish. I’ve learned that different people must be approached in different ways, whether they are my colleagues in the Madrid office or the Dublin office, customers, clients or suppliers.

3. Extra Qualifications

All Global Graduates work with their local managers on a growth plan called a Professional Development Plan. The aim is to plan projects that will be make a useful contribution to the Irish food and drink industry, whilst also developing the skills and knowledge of the Global Graduate during their time in the market. This also includes the option to complete a course outside of the office to gain an extra qualification. Some people choose online courses in digital marketing or event management, which are great skills for the programme that will support them and future employers in their work. I’ve always really enjoyed learning languages, but I’ve never signed up to a course to study one outside of Spanish. The Madrid office also covers Brazil and Portugal which have both grown in importance as markets in recent years, so it made sense to develop this skill both for the office and for me. I sat my A2 exam in November, and am planning to sit the B1 exam in May.

4. Working with Bord Bia Staff – Industry Experts

As everyone will know, whether it’s a part-time college job or a full-time position, the people you work with will often make or break your experience. I think that the people and culture of a company are the most under-rated and under-valued influences on a career, but also on their day-to-day life. When you work genuinely nice people, every day is much easier and you look forward to coming into work every day. When those people are also incredibly talented, you also have the opportunity to learn from them. Even just over 6 months in, I’ve gained skills and learned great practices that were never advertised to me before I joined the programme, but that I know will be invaluable to me going forward.

One of my colleagues (name omitted for privacy reasons) has been in the market for over 20 years, and every day I learn from her about managing client and customer relationships. She puts hours into phone calls and emails, keeping daily contact with clients and customers to make sure that Bord Bia is being best represented in the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American markets. Another colleague in the market is the most organized person I know, and has supported me daily in developing market research skills. Before I moved to Madrid, organization was definitely one of my weaker points, but I’ve picked up on some of the daily habits of my colleague that have really helped me to keep track of everything I do. Being a Global Graduate in one of the markets offices means that on top of your Masters and the projects that you’ve agreed to work on with your Manager, you also help with the running of the office and its administration as we don’t have all of the departments here that are in Dublin. By the end of my experience, I’ll certainly have done a bit of everything. But if I hadn’t learned to organize and track everything I’m working on, it could definitely become overwhelming.

5. Traveling

As part of my work with Bord Bia, I’ve been able to travel around Spain. As part of my research projects, I’ve travelled all over Madrid visiting stores and foodservice outlets to learn more about specific categories within the market. Recently, I have started working on the tourism areas. As part of this project, I have already been to the Costa del Sol where I met buyers and visited stores from Málaga to Marbella. Later this year, I’ll visit the Canary Islands and Valencia. I will also travel with Portuguese buyers to Ireland.

6. Being part of Team Ireland

As with some of the other Markets offices, the Madrid office is in the same building as the Irish Embassy, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland. During my time on the programme, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting all of these teams and we will all be working together for St. Patrick’s Day events. It’s lovely to be part of a wider team representing Ireland abroad.

7. Trade shows

Trade shows are really helpful for networking and keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry. I’ve visited one for foodservice and one for pork in Madrid since I started. Next month, I’ll be going to Alimentaria in Barcelona. In the year and a half that remains, I’ll also have the chance to be involved in the organization of a trade show – specifically the Seafood Expo which is moving from Brussels to Barcelona next year. I’m looking forward to meeting client companies and potential buyers for Irish products.

8. Meet potential employers

The reason the Bord Bia Graduate Programmes were developed were to provide skilled young professionals for the Irish food and drink industry that will help to drive its exports abroad. This has given me the opportunity to work with clients from several sectors so far, and I hope to meet more at events such as trade shows and Marketplace 2021 – an event organized by Bord Bia to bring together clients and customers from around the world every two years. Meeting clients on behalf of Bord Bia is a fantastic opportunity to make a good impression on Irish companies that may be looking for someone with my skills at the end of the programme.

9. International systems you learn to operate

Outside of the soft skills that are developed on the programme, as an international organization Bord Bia uses many of the same systems as other international companies. If you look at job descriptions for these businesses, they often look for the ability to operate certain systems. Being able to use platforms such as Salesforce, iPos and Sharepoint will give me an advantage over other candidates applying for future roles because the employers will not have to invest valuable time and money in training me in how to use them.

10. International research platforms you learn to navigate

Bord Bia has access to a wide range of huge market research resources, such as Fitch Connect, Euromonitor International, IGD among others. These agencies provide huge amounts of information, and along with other market research skills that I’ve developed in the Madrid office, I’ve also learned how to find the relevant information for research projects in these enormous databases. It is another skill that saves time when conducting market research.

11. Opportunity to build my professional profile

Bord Bia has a resource open to clients called The Source where market research and export advice is regularly shared. We also write Food Alerts, shorter articles of information on the food and drink industry in our markets. These are often shared on the Bord Bia LinkedIn page as well as the Source, which helps to showcase the skills and knowledge of Bord Bia Graduates to followers who are potential employers.

12. Things to do…

It’s not all work and no play. Everyone in the Markets offices is given the amazing chance of living in another country. This also means that there’s plenty of new things to try and experiences to have. There’s a wide choice of tours to try in Madrid, but my favourite so far has been a tapas tour of the city that included cocido madrileño, black rice, boquerones marinated in vinegar and, of course, churros!

13. Places to see…

Madrid is a beautiful city with a long history and plenty of sights to see. It’s not all work and no play. Everyone in the Markets offices is given the amazing chance of living in another country. I’m based in Madrid, a beautiful city with a long history and plenty of sights to see. When I’ve had the free time, I’ve been ticking off all the places I’ve wanted to see in the city. There’s still more to explore, but some of my favourite places to visit are the Royal Palace and the Santorini Gardens, Retiro Park and the neighbourhood of Chamberí.

14. New Friends

When I moved here, I didn’t know anyone in the city. I learned my Spanish in Chile, so Spain was a new experience. I’ve met other Irish expats here on Facebook groups and joined the Spanish Irish Business Network. I also play with a women’s rugby team in Orcasitas. It’s been lovely to meet new people here and make friends I would never have met without having moved here.

15. The climate

Last but not least, I couldn’t say I’d moved to Spain and not enjoyed the obvious benefits! I love home and all we have to offer, but I can’t deny it’s been nice to have a little less rain and a lot more sun!