Cerca Abroad

Why choose Cerca Abroad?

Cerca Abroad is a business unit of Cerca Trova Ltd, a European based company (incorporation / VAT number: BG204499976), that specializes in engineering solutions and educational programs. The company started in 2017 by offering medical shadowing internships to hundreds of participants from around the world. Over the past few years it has expanded its program portfolio of in-person (agricultural, engineering, environmental, health) and remote internships (agricultural, engineering, health & safety, marketing, software) to Erasmus+ funded MSc degrees & courses (electromobility, marine/maritime ICT, precision agriculture), offering a range of exciting educational pathways. Our aim is to offer a top educational experience at a reasonable cost, without hidden fees and without unnecessary extras, giving the participants a freedom to learn, gain professional experience and emerge in a different culture.

Website

www.cercaabroad.com

Founded

2017

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Diversity & Inclusion 💙

BIPOC Support

Each participant’s identity may present challenges and questions, in addition to opportunities, when immersing in a new and different culture. Exploring a new culture can sometimes lead to experiencing a cultural shock as some places have different cultural norms, ranging levels of racial/ ethnic diversity, and are less aware or not so “politically correct” as your home country might be. Cerca Abroad strictly adheres to a non-discrimination policy of not denying any person access to, or participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or parental status, physical condition or developmental disability.

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LGBTQIA+ Support

All our staff & local host teams are welcoming and inclusive of the LGBTQAI+ community, making our programs LGBTQAI+ friendly. Cerca Abroad strictly adheres to a non-discrimination policy of not denying any person access to, or participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or parental status, physical condition or developmental disability.

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Neurodivergent Support

Cerca Abroad welcomes and supports participants that are Differently-abled/neurodivergent and offers a range of internship abroad programs that are specifically adapted to host interns. Although participants with neurodivergency have successfully participated in our programs, due to the nature of the abroad programs, the degree of access varies based on the activities, location and available infrastructure. Hence, at the application stage it is important to discuss with your Cerca Abroad program manager the program’s accessibility aspects and requirements. Cerca Abroad strictly adheres to a non-discrimination policy of not denying any person access to, or participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or parental status, physical condition or developmental disability.

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Accessibility Support

Cerca Abroad welcomes and supports participants that have limited mobility conditions (including wheelchair users) and offers a range of internship abroad programs that are specifically adapted to host interns. Although participants with limited mobility have successfully participated in our programs, due to the nature of the abroad programs, the degree of access varies based on the activities, location and available infrastructure. Hence, at the application stage it is important to discuss with your Cerca Abroad program manager the program’s accessibility aspects and requirements. Cerca Abroad strictly adheres to a non-discrimination policy of not denying any person access to, or participation in or the benefits of, or be discriminated against in any service, program, course or facility on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, disability, pregnancy, marital or parental status, physical condition or developmental disability.

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Impact 🌎

Sustainability

Our steps towards creating a responsible experience

- We only work with registered organizations that have proven record of sustainable & ethical practices and long-term expertise in their field
- We collect feedback from all our participants and our host sites to continuously improve our participant’s experience
- We regularly visit our host sites to offer support/training, to evaluate processes/costs and provide transparent and affordable programs
- We review and evaluate each intern application and check their qualifications, criminal background and medical status for eligibility and suitability
- We ensure that our participants’ work does not impact the employment opportunities of the local community
- We refrain from overcrowding our host sites with participants and allocating only those that are needed
- All participants are requested to sign a Code of Conduct prior to arrival, which is designed to protect all stakeholders from inappropriate behavior or abuse
- Participants that breach ours or the host site’s Terms and Conditions and Code of Conduct will be removed without refund
- We take extra care allocating participants in sites that involve the care of others as well as animals

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Ethical Impact

We are committed to support our participants to create a positive impact on the local communities in parallel to their learning and developing activities abroad. Recognizing and evaluating ethical issues promotes responsible traveling which translates to a positive impact on the host communities and our interns. The relationships that are formed, the exchanged ideas, the local economy that is revived, the hands-on project that our participants contribute on, all leave a lasting a sustainable impact in each host site.

Our aim is to present realistic expectations to our participants, be honest and transparent on how we operate and use feedback from our interns and host sites to improve our processes and services. We remain committed to create a positive impact, whether it is with our stance for the environment (by becoming carbon neutral) up to working with hosts with similar values.

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Reviews

Hi, I am Brieanne from Canada, and I just finished a three-week dental internship at the Yoda O.D.C. Clinic in Athens, Greece. I previously graduated with two undergraduate bachelor's degrees, one in chemistry and one in my major. My University is Memorial University in Ontario. I am extremely glad that I decided to do this internship. I did it to get a chance to study abroad and experience the day-to-day life of a dentist before I begin to enter school. This has been an amazing experience; from the beginning, the coordinators have been extremely helpful, even before my arrival. All the information was provided even before I asked, and that made me feel comfortable and safe. The nurses and doctors here at Yoda were very helpful from the beginning. They felt more than happy to answer any questions that I had. It was especially interesting to watch the various procedures that I saw, because my dentist was actually a surgical specialist.

During this internship in Greece was just a bonus that the clinic is situated downtown, so I had the chance to explore the city. Do various tourist activities and then even get the chance to see some Greek islands. So, if there’s anyone considering doing this internship with Cerca Abroad, they offer a very wide range of things. I recommend it.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

Witnessing the variety of intricate oral surgery procedures performed here was the most surprising aspect of my experience. Observing these advanced techniques firsthand has significantly broadened my understanding of surgical dentistry.

Pros

The program coordinators were exceptionally supportive and readily available, making the experience seamless
Gaining firsthand exposure to a diverse range of dental surgical procedures offered invaluable practical insights
The opportunity to explore the breathtaking Greek islands added an unforgettable cultural dimension to the program

Cons

Hello, my name is Cheyenne Dabel, I’ve been in this program at the Metropolitan General and I am from the United States, Utah area. I wanted to come to shadow here because I plan to apply to medical school in the April/May season that’s coming up and what’s a better place to come to Greece to shadow. Some highlights from my experience here is a lot of different surgeries. I saw plastic surgeries, general surgery, and cardiac surgery. So, you get to have a bit of everything. Every day I would see something different.

The coordination with this program was very good. Every need I had was answered and taken care of right away. Greece was the best place to be and Athens is a very busy place but you get used to it fast and you get to walk fast as well. So, I had a lovely time.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

Witnessing various types of surgical procedures was incredibly surprising. It significantly deepened my understanding of medical practices and the human body.

Pros

Variety of surgical approaches
Very good program organization
Athens, a very nice city

Cons

I have nothing further to add

Hello. My name is Mariia. I am from Ukraine. I am a physiotherapy student. I study physiotherapy in the Netherlands. I was required to take a few weeks of internship, so I’ve chosen to come to Athens, Greece. I am very happy with my stay. I found it very helpful. I’ve seen many interesting things, for example, I was allowed to observe surgeries in surgery rooms, and that was a life-changing experience. So, hopefully, you would enjoy it too.

The Cerca agency is helpful. If I had any questions or if I had a requirement regarding my internship, they would help. I communicated with them easily. For example, I wanted to see more surgeries and that would be coordinated easily. Generally, I enjoy my stay in Athens. I’ve been to some Greek islands and I am planning to visit some more after finishing this program. So, I think you would enjoy it here too.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

Observing surgeries firsthand was truly a lifetime experience. The complexity and precision were unlike anything I had imagined!

Pros

Observing surgeries was a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience
The Cerca agency was excellent and very helpful
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay in Athens

Cons

I have no further comments

Hello, I am Driti Patel and I come from Morehead State University in the United States. I chose the medical internship because I want to go into the medical field. I am studying to be a doctor with a goal to be a pediatrician one day. My experience here was great. I loved it here. The departments were all nice. My favorite was the OD department; we got to see amazing surgeries.

The coordination here was nice, we were able to find everything nicely. The place we were living in was nice. It was close to our internship placement as well.

I loved Athens. It was a great place, a very beautiful city. The internship is great as well as the tourist areas. It’s all amazing. I do recommend it.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

The most surprising thing I saw was the sheer complexity and success of some amazing surgery cases . Witnessing that level of skill firsthand was truly inspiring.

Pros

Gained invaluable experience observing surgeries
The city of Athens is truly lovely
The touristic areas are fantastic

Cons

Hi, my name is Rofiat Dairo, I am from Manchester, U.K. and I go to Loyola University of Chicago, Illinois. I chose this internship because I wanted how medicine is first time really and be able to get myself into it, walk along with the doctors and how the experience would be and when I am actually to be a doctor. My experience with this internship, every opportunity I was given it was absolutely amazing and brilliant and something I never thought I would be doing in less than a few years, because of Covid actually. I loved it.

The coordination of the program was brilliant. It was amazing. I got to see some cool surgeries. Athens was great, I would definitely come back again. Yes, it was a great time. I would definitely do it again.

What was your funniest moment?

One of the funniest moments was realizing how incredibly cool the doctors were during surgeries-so focused and skilled! It definitely made me even more exited about my future in medicine.

Pros