Erasmus+ internship of student Gaja Jurij Florjančič in the flattest European country

Gaj Jurij Florjančič, a student of the Media Production programme – Graphic Design module, travelled to the Netherlands, more specifically to the city of Breda, as part of the Erasmus+ programme. His practical training tasks include 3D robot modelling, animation, texture preparation and graphic presentations.

October marked the beginning of a new chapter for Gaj Jurij Florjančič – his first month of Erasmus+ internship in the Netherlands. Upon arrival, he felt a mixture of excitement and uncertainty, as entering a new environment was a challenge, but also an opportunity for personal and professional growth.

The first day was marked by organized chaos – most of his colleagues were still on vacation, so Gaj was mostly left to his own devices. The director provided him with basic equipment and instructions, and despite his initial awkwardness, the feeling of independence inspired him. He spent the first few days installing the Unity program and learning the C# language, deciding to use as little artificial intelligence assistance as possible, as he wanted to truly understand the programming processes. By the second day, he had already begun to find his rhythm and gradually learn the logic of the code, which gave him confidence.

Thinking about artificial intelligence

During his internship, Gaj Jurij often encountered artificial intelligence and thought about its impact on modern work. As a representative of a generation that has experienced the growth of artificial intelligence firsthand, he has mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, he sees it as an extremely useful tool that facilitates learning and work, but on the other hand, he expresses concern about its impact on the future of employment in the IT industry. His feelings are particularly strong when it comes to generative artificial intelligence, which inspires both admiration and concern among designers.

Side project and progress

In the second half of October, Gaj became actively involved in the company’s work – he got a work email address and started working on his first major project: a 3D presentation of a robot for an event in Germany. He was excited about working in Unity because he was finally creating something tangible. He successfully completed the robot model, developed a pathfinding system, and integrated everything into the drive, which represented significant personal and professional progress for him.

Challenges

Despite his progress, he fell ill in the middle of the month and had to work from home for a few days. After recovering, he returned full of energy and continued with animations, environment creation, and texturing. Using Unity’s Asset Store proved to be extremely useful, as it enabled him to build projects quickly and efficiently. At the end of the month, however, he began to feel the first signs of fatigue and burnout—the long days of work and learning had exhausted him, so he had to consciously slow down and restore balance.

End of the month

By the end of October, Gaj had already settled into his new work environment. He feels comfortable in the office, enjoys the flexible schedule and good team, although he still appreciates the peace and quiet during breaks. After his first month, he feels that the initial chaos has turned into an orderly routine. He is learning, creating, and finding his place in the world of design and the reality of working life. The Netherlands is becoming more and more familiar to him, and he is looking forward to what November will bring with optimism.