How has your Master’s degree in International and Comparative Education prepared you for your current position?

As a student at the Master’s program in International and Comparative Education, I became familiar with the importance of international cooperation and mutual learning to improve educational systems across borders and the research skills needed to understand and critically evaluate the policies, politics and practices that shape education around the world.

Moreover, bringing together students from across the world who have different professional backgrounds and a passion for education, gave me the chance to develop effective leadership skills and gain knowledge in order to acquire a deeper understanding of education management and leadership from an international comparative perspective.

This two-year program provided me with a broad skillset and an international outlook in education policy in order to apply theoretical, conceptual and methodological knowledge to the analysis of international educational policies and institutions, which led to my current position at the European Commission in the Unit of Agencies, European Schools and International Affairs.

Have you made a career change since obtaining your Master’s degree in International and Comparative Education? If so, please explain what you were doing before you completed the program versus what you are doing now. 

Before attending the Master's program in International and Comparative Education, I was working as a teaching professional for children with Special Needs, an experience acquired in several school settings in different country contexts, which allowed me to see first-hand the challenges of education and the opportunities that come from having access to quality educational systems.

 Being highly motivated for career advancement , I managed to swift career path and enter the international development world by working first as an intern at UNESCO Bangkok (while being enrolled in the Master's program) and later on as a trainee at the (EC) European Commission (upon obtaining the Master's degree). After completing my first year of the Master's program, I participated in a 3-month internship offered by UNESCO Bangkok, where I had the opportunity to work on multiple tasks, projects and activities through which I was able to practice, develop and improve different professional skills. Being a multicultural international organization, UNESCO proved to be the most adequate destination, where I got familiarized with international development work, while experiencing how international organizations promote the development and implementation of successful educational practices.

After obtaining the Master's degree, another traineeship led to my current position at the EC, through which I am exposed to the in-depth expertise of the EC in relation to proposing legislation, implementing decisions and managing EU-related actions in various domains, and in particular, related to the functioning of the European Schools, the coordination of the relations with the Executive and Decentralized Agencies, as well as dealing with the administrative reforms in the enlargement countries and exchange best practices with international organizations, such as the UN, AUC, WB and OECD.