Francesca Alberti
Italy

"The course exceeded my expectations and allowed me to learn new concepts, put them into practice straight away and have very interesting and inspiring conversations with professors and people from around the world."

While working as an Architect, Francesca Alberti participated in the online course Spatial Circularity Strategies for Sustainable Regional Development. Read about her experience.

What was your motivation for enrolling in this course/program?
I was looking for a way to connect my university background in architecture with my interest in the circular economy. After studying in Italy and Czech Republic, I moved to the Netherlands to learn about sustainability and circular economy and this course was the perfect bridge between these two fields.

By enrolling in this course, I was also hoping to gain additional skills and expertise that could help me improve my work tasks as well as my career possibilities. The course exceeded my expectations and allowed me to learn new concepts, put them into practice straight away and have very interesting and inspiring conversations with professors and people from around the world.

All the above while having a full-time job. Highly recommended!

How did/will this course impact your career or life?
I really liked how the course pushed me to dive further into concepts that I was already familiar with but never had the chance or time to study and make mine. I am already applying the acquired knowledge at work and it is indeed a very valuable addition to my cv while looking for the next step of my career.

How was your experience of learning online?
I found the overall online learning experience comfortable and I enjoyed a lot the freedom and flexibility that gives you, as well as how the online platform is able to bring together people from the other side of the world. Depending on the course, some could require more planning than others to complete the assignments, but overall I find it easy to combine with other life commitments. I liked that every week we had to submit an assignment and, all of them combined, formed a narrative at the end. It's nice to have concrete results and drawings to look at afterward and that could be the foundation of a new project at a later stage.

I liked the way contents and materials were delivered, with videos and slides I could read at my own pace. The course team, as well as the other learners, were always just one click away in case of questions or doubts, and that really made me feel part of a classroom. This feeling has been emphasized thanks to the couple of online round tables that have been organized. It was fun and useful to discuss our case studies and receive feedback in person.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking of taking a similar course?
Go for it! The course will boost your skills, teach you innovative tools to navigate this field and open your eyes to case studies from all around the world. The most dangerous thing that could happen when deciding to enroll in this course is that, after the end of it, you will not be able to stop reading and studying this topic. ;)