Close-ups

What position do you hold at the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage?
I have been an administrative technician in the Educational Programmes Office since 2017. Specifically, my division manages the Department's range of programmes (four Bachelor's degree and four Master's degree). My activities include, for instance, support to teaching staff, posting courses offered during the academic year and the syllabuses of individual degree courses online, managing calls for lecturers and teaching assistants, managing Visiting Scholars and Professors, and managing subject experts.

What was your background before Ca’ Foscari?
I have been part of the Ca' Foscari community since before I was hired! For five years I studied Modern Languages and Literature at Ca' Foscari: to be more precise, I studied English in the Bachelor's degree, and then German Studies in my Master's degree. During university I also studied modern and contemporary history (US History, Russian History, History of European Institutions, History of the Enlightenment), philology, German and English literature. In English literature I preferred to take courses in postcolonial literature, which introduced me to lesser-known but very fascinating authors and themes.
During university, I worked almost every year for 150 hours in the university call centre, and in the summer months I worked for several years as a summer camp leader with preschool children.

What are your professional references and what satisfies you the most in your job?
Over the years there have been many people who have been a reference for me; currently all my co-workers in the Department are a reference for me when I have a doubt or a problem. One of the most satisfying aspects of this job is to be able to count on the help of my co-workers; another aspect that gives a lot of satisfaction is interacting with teachers and students.

What additional skills do you feel you have acquired in your current job?
Definitely problem solving: my job is also about solving problems or directing people to the right offices. Working in the call centre has helped me know who to contact if I have any doubts. Another very useful skill is team working; you have to work as a team to be able to manage the various processes efficiently, otherwise you risk missing the bigger picture of what you are doing. I have also developed my IT skills: I have learned on the job how to use different educational management software (U-GOV, ESSE3, the various applications to manage protocol, calls, comparative procedures), in fact I could say that in this field you never stop learning.

Is there anything you are particularly passionate about working in such a special environment as a university?
Even as a student I was interested in working in a university. It is certainly a special environment, because it lets you be close to both students and teachers, especially in departments. Then, university is open to dialogue and cooperation with other countries or, in general, with the world outside. This gave me the opportunity to use, to a small extent, the foreign languages I studied, as well as to meet different people.

What is the area you want to be involved in but have not yet had the opportunity to explore?
During my career, I have already worked for five years in the databases division of the Educational Programmes and Student Services Area and for a couple of years I followed teacher training and qualification courses. The Department is therefore the third area where I have worked. If I were to think of a new area to be involved in, I would say international relations. I think this is another extremely stimulating area, where I could use foreign languages and the skills I have already acquired more often. It is also a place where you interact with other universities and students from all over the world on a daily basis.