Cross-culture programme ticks all the boxes

Anahita Djanatsarai is currently studying the IMPM programme run jointly by Strathclyde Business School and Politecnico di Milano. In today’s blog she explains why the 18 month programme was the right choice for her.

I grew up in Iran, a beautiful and ancient country. While studying for my Bachelor’s degree, I started to work as an Italian language teacher, a job that I loved very much and that I ended up doing for a long time. After a while, I was offered a place in the elementary school of the Italian Embassy.

After a year I succeeded in the Embassy Examination and was employed by the Consulate where I worked for more than two years in the visa section until I realised that what I wanted was to continue my studies and get a Master’s Degree so I left my job to pursue that aim.

It was quite tough to decide what I wanted to study. When I finally decided that it was going to be Project Management I started to search for the best schools where I could study. There were many factors that made me opt for this joint master. I wanted to study in English to improve my linguistic skills because I knew there would be better opportunities for a Project Manager proficient in English.

When I found the IMPM course during my various searches, what immediately drew my attention was that the programme offers a chance to experience living in two countries, an internship is a fundamental part of it, which helps entering the work market, and it was in English just as I wanted - and all this in less than two years.

I also verified the rating and realised that it was ranked higher than the other four universities that I was planning to apply. Fortunately, I got accepted in all five so I got to choose and I chose this programme.

One aspect of the course I value is the degree of internationality of the course. We are 28 students from 17 nationalities, and there is a lot that we have learned from each other. Regarding the course itself, I think that I have acquired many practical skills, thanks to which I feel more at ease now that I am working with the tasks that I have to perform. In other words, I am able to use many of the things that I have learned at work because it was practical learning and not just theoretical.

What differentiates this Masters from others, and also Erasmus studies, is that you get a chance to fully immerse yourself in two completely different worlds and as you reach a higher level of education growth, you also experience an evolution in yourself.

Studying both in Italy and Scotland was amazing and a once in a lifetime experience. I got the chance to experience two completely different teaching methods, styles and approaches from lecturers and we also had guest lecturers coming from various industries and backgrounds.

Milan is a city that offers many possibilities. No matter what your preferences are you can always find something that you like to do and you can be sure that you can easily find people that share your passions. And whenever you feel like it you can take the train and visit one of the beautiful cities all over Italy.

Italy and Scotland are both countries where you can have a lot of fun and Milan and Glasgow are very international cities. The Italians and Scots are both very welcoming people and you quickly get involved with and become part of each city.

The Italian and Scottish teaching methods are very different. It starts from the examination structure to the grading to the structure of every day lessons. In Italy our exams were mostly written exams combined with group work and graded from a scale of 0-30 while in Scotland it was group work and written assignments graded from 0-100. In Milan we had many lectures based on case studies and we had the chance to have many guest lecturers and interactive workshops. In Scotland we got the chance to visit the site of a construction project and interact with its various managers and staff.

With regards to the others on the programme, I think we managed to create a very strong bond with each other and there are friendships that will definitely last very long. The lecturers were very interesting, experienced and intelligent people and each brought something different to add to the class. They all helped us improve in one way or the other.

I am currently in the last part of the programme. I am doing an internship in Switzerland at the Pharmaceutical Company F. Hoffman La Roche, which will form the basis of my dissertation that I hope to submit in February, and that will mark the ending of this course and the beginning of so many other things.

About Anahita Djanatsarai

Anahita is a student on the International Master Project Management (iMPM) programme.