My name is Jonas Macher and I’m nineteen years old. I live in Krems an der Donau (Lower
Austria), a town in the Danube valley Wachau. I’m currently completing my
apprenticeship at IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences as an office clerk. In my
free time I like to do various kinds of sports, meet my friends, draw some sketches and
learn the guitar.
Improving my English
The main reason I’m doing this Erasmus month is to level up my English, both speaking
and writing. Back home in Austria, I work at a university, so doing an traineeship at a
professional marketing and training agency abroad is a massive opportunity for me. I really
want to get more confident when talking to corporate clients, writing professional
emails, and chatting with people during training events.
Seeing how Marketing works in the real business world
At my current job, I’m used to the whole university and academic environment. For me,
the coolest part about this work placement is seeing how marketing actually works in the
private sector. I want to learn how a marketing consultancy operates day-to-day,
how they advise their clients, and how they build strategies that actually bring in profit.
Levelling up my Canva skills
I’ve used Canva before, but honestly, I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. Since
I’ll be in a corporate environment, I want to spend time learning how to design top-tier,
professional visuals and video for business clients. I’m keen to practice making:
• Workbooks, handouts, and information packs for people attending training courses.
• Promotional items for the company, like stickers and branded merchandise.
• Professional slide decks and presentations for business meetings and workshop deliveries.
Helping out with Events (behind the scenes and live)
I’m really interested in the whole administration side of things when it comes to training
courses and marketing events. I want to see how the preparation works before an
event (like organising and printing all the materials), but I also want to help out live on
the day of the event to make sure everything runs smoothly for the clients attending and the Trainer.
Better Photography, Content Creation & Instagram skills
I want to get much better at social media, especially Instagram. Right now, I just post
basic Stories on my private account, but I want to learn how a professional commercial business uses
Instagram to get clients and reach other digital objectives. My main goals here are:
• Improving my photography and figuring out how to actually use my iPhone
camera features properly to get high-quality photos and videos during live
events. The placement also gives me the opportunity to trial using a DJI OSMO pocket gimbal and Meta glasses for videography.
• Going to the Today at Apple sessions at the Belfast Apple Store to learn some
cool mobile shooting techniques.
• Learning how to edit, plan, and create engaging Reels that look professional.
Exploring the culture and sightseeing
Of course, I also want to experience the local culture and check out the sights on my
weekends. It’s also a great way to practice my English in everyday life and get some
cool photos.
• In Belfast: I’m planning to visit Titanic Belfast, Belfast Castle, Crumlin Road
Gaol, and the Botanic Gardens & Ulster Museum. I also can’t wait to check out
St George’s Market, Belfast City Hall, and take some photos of the street art
around the city.
• Outside Belfast: I definitely want to do a day trip to the Giant’s Causeway.
• Irish Culture & Traditions: I’m really interested in the famous Irish beer and
whiskey traditions. I want to check out the local pub culture and maybe visit a
traditional brewery or distillery to see how these historic brands do their
marketing.
• Trip to Dublin: On top of that, I’m planning a weekend trip to Dublin to meet up
with my girlfriend. She’s actually doing an au pair placement in Ireland at the
same time, so it’s the perfect chance for us to explore the capital together and
talk about our time abroad.
To follow my journey look up Training Matchmaker on instagram and log back in to TrainingMatchmaker.com/blog for my learning log which I will publish at the end of my Erasmus experience in Belfast.
