ERASMUS CHANGING LIVES OPENING MINDS fOR 25 YEARS

Tomas
Vitvar
‘The start of my international life’
Home institution:
Technical University in Prague,
Czech Republic
Host institution:
Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
Field of study:
Computer science
Duration:
6 months (2000)
As part of his PhD programme, Tomas Vitvar undertook a teaching assignment
in Ireland. ‘I found it a demanding job: teaching three hours and organising
four practical sessions each week. Not only did I improve my English language,
I met many great people and learnt to live without the close support of family
and friends.’
This experience abroad helped him to work as a consultant in Germany and later
to gain a post-doctoral position at the National University of Ireland. In this role
he managed an international team of researchers from Europe, Asia and the USA.
Along the way he represented the Czech Republic in the ‘One Million Erasmus
Students’ celebration in Brussels in 2002. Here he met his wife who was representing
Slovakia. ‘My first visit to Cork in Ireland as an Erasmus student eventually
changed my personal life as well as giving me the experience that I use at
work today.’
He continues to work in international communities. After three and half years in
Ireland he moved to Innsbruck in Austria where he spent another three years. In
the summer of 2011, he took a senior technical position at the Oracle Corporation
and now works in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. ‘After almost ten years of
international experience, I can see that success at work strongly depends on
mutual understanding and respect. Experiences like those offered by Erasmus
are a basis for a truly integrated Europe as this creates strong ties among nations
and communities.’
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