It’s been almost three years since I started working in Switzerland. A wonderful experience in an environment I love and in which I can say I’ve grown both personally and professionally. I enjoy the contact with students, I love Lugano, and I’m proud to be part of an extremely multicultural setting. With students and colleagues, we speak Italian, French, German, and English. They come from all over, particularly from Italy and France.
I was excited when I first started. A career that had begun ten years earlier with private courses held in private venues and language schools had reached an unexpected peak: a collaboration with a renowned university in Ticino. And obviously, when I began, I was both thrilled and nervous. I didn’t know what to expect; I wasn’t even sure I was up to the task. However, there was one thing that gave me a lot of confidence: over the years, I had dealt with very diverse audiences, which had helped me develop a solid ability to anticipate students’ needs and design tailored programs aimed at their improvement.
From the beginning, the environment turned out to be highly stimulating even for another reason: the academic office had basically given me free rein with the curriculum. So, alongside technical English lectures – the students are enrolled in degree programs of physiotherapy and psychology – I combined general English lessons aimed at strengthening their skills in conversation, writing, comprehension, and grammar. The positive feedback I received definitely helped boost my self-esteem and confirmed I was on the right path.
However, my teaching activity has never involved an excessively high number of hours. It’s a collaboration renewed each semester, and over the course of a year, it has always amounted to around 80 to 100 hours. In other words, about 10% of my time. And as much as I enjoy being part of this reality, my policy has always been to nurture strong relationships with all my clients, without distinction or hierarchy.
Over these three years, I’ve often noticed something interesting: when conversations with family, friends, and acquaintances turn to work, the most frequently asked question is, “How’s it going in Switzerland?” I think I know why that happens…
First of all, when I started the collaboration, I was as happy as I’ve ever been professionally, and that probably didn’t go unnoticed. But I believe the main reason lies somewhere else, tied to two marketing concepts I learned during my university studies that I find incredibly powerful: the first is Country of Origin (COO) and the second is Personal Branding.
COO – or Country of Origin – is a concept closely linked with “Made in.” Made in Italy, Made in Switzerland, Made in France, Made in China, Made in England are labels commonly found on many of the products we buy. They’re a strong differentiating element. Think, for example, of the fashion industry. In this field, the label Made in Italy conveys to most consumers a high level of quality, tradition, and innovation. The same applies to food products. But it would be different to find the same label on tech products, as in the collective imagination, Italy is not as associated with technology as countries like Germany or Japan are.
Switzerland evokes highly positive associations in many people, which translate into personality traits attributed to brands or individuals. Switzerland stands for precision, reliability, safety, wealth, and in some fields also quality and tradition – think of the watch or chocolate industries. Switzerland is generally seen as an aspirational country by people worldwide, who view it as a career turning point and an extremely efficient society often used as a model.
Being a collaborator of a Swiss institution and frequently working in Lugano has had one major effect: a clear improvement in my personal and professional reputation – of this I am more than sure. From that collaboration, other interesting partnerships emerged that probably wouldn’t have started otherwise.
The second concept is Personal Branding, which involves creating a distinctive image within a field or community. In my case, the field of training and higher education. Within a few years, I went from being an English and Spanish teacher to a corporate trainer, and then a university lecturer. Although I’m an Adjunct Professor – a contract professor – I maintain numerous collaborations with corporate training organizations and others. As a result, my rates changed, and the range of opportunities available to me significantly expanded.