Building a ‘from the ground up’ school: Nika and Karol in Gran Canaria

More than ten years in operation and a clear mission: facilitate the teaching of languages. Nika Torej is the founder of NikaTeacher, a language teaching centre based in Gran Canaria and Tenerife that helps its students navigate the language vicissitudes of English and Spanish. Its center is extremely popular, not only for the quality of its services, but for its digital presence and its integral concept of business management, taking care of relationships with its customers and providing an experience that transcends academia.

Attracted by this optimal and dynamic management of his business, Karol Trebula made his Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs stay with Nika. Arriving from Poland, Karol landed in the gentle autumn of October to work alongside Nika for about five months. The objective set was to know in first person what the experience of managing a physical language academy is like and to resize your own teaching project to adapt it to a material reality full of situations that until then escaped your knowledge.

Academic management, language events, language conversation clubs, social media maintenance, content design and production, management of contacts and requests, hiring and technical and organizational problem solving. The list is extensive and Karol's competencies with Nika were 'in crescendo' throughout his stay in order to know all facets of the business and gather as much information and experience as possible to set up his own business.

At the end of her stay, Nika could be satisfied. Karol managed to solve everything that was put in the way, acquiring ample experience in the management of the business and adding new skills that added differential value to its proposal, such as the management of social channels or the care of students through fluid and agile communications thanks to technology. When asked how he would synthesize his stay, Karol values the work of his ‘host’ in three words: “openness, support and willingness to share”. Precisely, the spirit of our stays. In turn, the exchange was reciprocal and valuable, as Nika reminds us by telling us that “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is not just about teaching, but about learning, collaborating and building bonds that will last a lifetime”.