Three bachelor’s degree courses offered by the URV, in Chemistry, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Labour Relations and Human Resources, offer dual mentions where students can combine classes with training placements in companies. The URV is a national leader in this type of education

“I’m learning a lot, especially about how a company works and about the industry. It’s been very useful for me” says Aina Garcia, who is studying chemistry and is finding out for herself this year that this is the sector that she wants to work in, thanks to the opportunity provided by the URV. She is doing a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry with a dual mention, which allows her to combine classroom theory with real experience in a company, specifically, Clariant Ibérica, a manufacturer of chemical products, where she is allowed to get involved in various areas. “I work mainly in the quality department, in the validation of analytical methods, in the implementation of new equipment and in equipment comparisons. But I also work in the data sciences department, so I get to see different sides of the company, which is very good for my professional growth,” explains Aina, who is part of a select group of eight students who are studying for the Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry with dual mention, an innovative official university programme certified by the Quality Assurance Agency of the Catalan University System (AQU Catalunya). These degrees with dual mention allow students to develop the skills inherent to the degree through an internship in a professional environment during the academic year. They have an employment contract with a company that operates in the sector, where they receive specific real-life business training, so that they are better prepared to enter the labour market once they graduate.

Each student is assigned a tutor at the company. For Aina Garcia, this is Ariadna Campos, head of quality at Clariant Ibérica, who has been collaborating with the Faculty of Chemistry since double degrees were introduced in the 2021/22 academic year throughout Spain. During this period, she has found that the initiative does not only benefit the students: “We get a lot out of it. First of all, we are able to identify potential future workers, because if they’ve been here we know how they work and we can therefore bear them in mind for any future vacancies. Moreover, it allows us to carry out projects that we would have put on hold because of the workload, especially research, improvement of methods… They come very well prepared and they often bring us up to speed in areas in which they are more up to date than we are. We look for them to have initiative and to propose things”. It is clear to the company that both parties have to benefit from the programme.

“The company is able to identify future employees, we can make progress with stalled projects and we can stay abreast of the latest concepts”, says Ariadna Campos, from Clariant Ibérica

As a tutor, Ariadna Campos monitors the student’s progress and helps them with any doubts or problems, although she always tries to get them to solve problems for themselves using the tools available to them. The programme is also monitored by the coordinator of the double degree programme, Xavier López, a lecturer at the Faculty of Chemistry, who has been substituted this year by Yolanda Cesteros, the driving force behind its implementation. López explains that, in total, the programme, which takes place during the fourth year, consists of 1,100 hours from September to June, and includes the subject Guidance in the chemical industry, which prepares students specifically for their time in the company.

Only the most promising students are able to take advantage of the initiative because there are limited places. This means they need to have a good academic record and CV and to present a convincing letter of motivation if they hope to be considered. “It’s as if you were applying for a real job,” says López, who nevertheless regrets that many of the students will end up staying in the industry rather than carrying out research at the university itself. “But this is the duty that we as a public institution have towards the society that we serve; that is, we have to offer our students the best possible options so that once they graduate, they can enter the world of work”.

For Aina Garcia, the internship is helping her to clear up any doubts she has when it comes to choosing between a career in the industry or in research because discovering the chemical industry from the inside is revealing: “I’m really enjoying it, more than I imagined”. This is also the case for her fellow student Ainhoa Pardo, who is doing her internship at Ercros. “At university you gain very good knowledge, but when you go into the industry you see that there is a wide range of things for you to do and departments where you can work, which is very helpful when you come to decide what you want to do”, explains Ainhoa, who is satisfied because she works in different areas within the company (environment, quality, laboratory…) and because she is able to contribute her ideas. Other companies that welcome students from the dual mention in Chemistry are EW Nutrition, IQOXE, EMATSA, Ravago, Repsol and Elix Polymers.

The URV is a national leader in terms of the number of bachelor’s degrees with dual mention that it offers. In fact, only a few universities in Catalonia offer them and only Lleida University offers as many as the URV (three). “The universities will start to implement more and more of them because it is a method that is starting to bear fruit,” says Xavier López, who explains that several universities in Spain interested in introducing bachelor’s degrees with dual mention have been asking them to share their expertise.

“I am just another member of the team”

The other two bachelor’s degrees with dual mention at the URV are Tourism and Hospitality Management and Labour Relations and Human Resources. The first is now in its third year and its coordinator, Jesús Angla, highlights the good relations with the companies, who are very aware that the students “are in training and therefore help them develop the necessary skills”. Angla also states that, in addition to the theoretical knowledge that they learnt in the classroom, the students also put into practice transversal and complementary professional skills such as responsibility, teamwork and relations with colleagues, self-management, proactivity. All of these are highly valued in the world of work and it is in this environment that they can best be developed. “It is also very good for the students to deal with the stress generated by real life situations”, says Angla, who highlights the importance of concepts that are talked about a lot in the classroom, such as sustainability and quality; “when they visit companies they realise that these concepts are essential because the companies devote a lot of resources and effort to them”.

The internships of the Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management take place in the second semester of the third and fourth years. The five students who are currently on internships are already seeing that they are able to move around the company and get to know different departments. This is important, according to Angla, so they can get to know what they like and rule out what they don’t. As there are only a few students, they each get personalised attention and exhaustive supervision, and the company and the university can work together to adapt the programme to each student.

Alba Ribalta, for example, loves marketing, one of the tasks she’s been doing so far, along with reservations and more administrative tasks, at the Tamarit Beach Resort while it is closed during the off season. But when they open on 7 April, she will move into customer service, so by the time she finishes she will end up doing a bit of everything: “They ask you if you want to be in a specific place, they let you come up with ideas… I didn’t think I would get the chance to do so many things. What’s more, everything I’ve been doing has a lot to do with what we study in class”, says Alba.

Cristina Garrido, who works at Estival Park Resort, is also “delighted”. “I feel very productive, both with the company and with the client, and you can’t experience that when you’re in class. She is also attracted to marketing, as it is “an area that is growing, which is becoming more and more important”, and explains that she is allowed to participate in meetings where decisions are taken. “It doesn’t feel like I am doing an internship. I am just another member of the team”, she states.

As in the chemical sector, tourism companies are also looking for a win-winsituation. So says Ketty Ruiz, operations manager of the Blaumar Group and tutor of Anna Mumbrú, who is doing her internship at the group’s hotel. “They bring us new ideas, a young person’s perspective and up-to-date expertise, which combine very well with the experience we already have,” she says. “And for students, it’s ideal because they learn about all the concepts they deal with at university,” he adds. In short, it keeps them on their toes, up to date with the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence, while they gain experience, for example, in dealing with customers or in the operational meetings in which they take part. Anna Mumbrú, like Alba and Cristina, started the dual mention this semester and she stresses the importance of concepts such as interdepartmental communication, which are emphasized during the degree and are key to working at the hotel. “Everything we learn at university makes perfect sense. In addition, the working atmosphere is very good, so that my experience has been excellent”. Other companies that collaborate with the degree and its dual mention are Cambrils Park Resort, Camping Sangulí, PortAventura and Rentalmar.

A good debut 

For the Bachelor’s Degree in Labour Relations and Human Resources, this is the first academic year where there has been a dual mention. Its coordinator, Catalina Jordi, makes no secret of the fact that its implementation has been complex, given the fact that the students are on actual work contracts rather than internships, with all the ifs and buts that this implies. However, for the moment, her assessment is positive, if only because the companies are being very cooperative and the students are satisfied.

Catalina Jordi explains that they took advantage of the changes to the curriculum to fully integrate the dual mention. This means that, in addition to the specific subjects covered by this programme, which include, like the other two dual mention degrees, the internship that all students do and the final bachelor’s thesis, there are also subjects such as Gender issues in organisations and Human rights and environmental issues in organisations. The students who do the dual mention have to carry out tasks at the companies related to these subjects and then share them with the rest of the class. The idea is for them to act as a link between the university and the world of work, to show their fellow students that what we do in the classroom is also done in companies,” explains Jordi. In this way, everybody increases their contact with the real world of work.

The five third-year students are the first on their degree courses to do the dual mention and they will continue with it next year, which will be the last year for them. Meanwhile, while a new batch of students will join the programme, making sure that the wheel keeps turning. All five of them value the experience that they have had and are aware that they must make the most of the opportunity. Miquel Guillén, who is working at Messer Ibérica, is in charge of a “wide range of tasks” in the human resources department: recruitment, training, payroll… “From the very first day they told me that their intention was to make me feel like an additional employee, and they are doing just that. They make me do a lot of things, delegate important tasks to me, and they have a lot of confidence in me”, says Guillén, who tells us that he puts into practice much of the theory taught in the classroom. For his part, Miquel Femenía carries out tasks in two departments at the Estivill consultancy in Reus, human resources and labour, meaning that he too is receiving very varied training: “It is very satisfying to be able to apply the knowledge we have”.

Laura Garcia is doing her internship at a site in Riudoms that belongs to Grupo Castilla, a human resources and tech solutions consultancy, where she learns about dynamics such as remote working at a large offshore company and where she feels valued. Maitane Ruiz, on the other hand, has a contract with A&F Assessors, where she helps in different tasks (processing of sick leave, payroll correction, etc.) in the labour department. Another consultancy firm, Sebastià Assessors, also collaborates with the degree but its vacancy is currently empty. According to Maitane, “the internship is a good complement, both for the basic subjects of the degree, such as labour law and social security, and for others that you think are not so important in day-to-day life, such as commercial law or foreign languages, which you also end up dealing with in the company”, who has also found that the internship has helped her to find out on what she wants to focus. This is also the case of Abril Crescenti, who works at the Florette production centre in Terres de l’Ebre, and who realises that subjects she didn’t give much importance to before are becoming more important because she has to apply them in the company. “All of this helps you to define your path”, he says.

In short, everyone gains from dual mentions: students obtain advanced professional qualifications and speed up their entry into the labour market, companies are able to ensure that they have sufficient qualified staff and can keep themselves up to date, and the university improves the courses that it has to offer.