From the 25th to the 28th of September 2018, Master HOPE – Humanitarian Operations in Emergencies fellows took part to the Field Experience in the UNHRD base of Brindisi. Lodovico Mariani, Master HOPE Director and Finance & Administration Director at Amref Health Africa – Italia, Tirso Puig, Head of Career Development Service at Social Change School and Master HOPE Coordinator, and three trainers from INTERSOS – Davide Berruti, Francesca Matarazzi e Leonardo Maria Palma – coordinated the experience.
They were three intense days: students took part to the simulation of a humanitarian emergency to test the skills and competences learnt during the Master. They faced many complex and challenging situations, working with colleagues and dealing with stakeholders to implement a humanitarian response.
Fellows were extremely satisfied with the experience, particularly appreciating “the opportunity to put into practice what was learnt during the Master, collaborating with colleagues, team work, dealing with different situations under pressure and getting a taste of the real difficulties we might face in the future”. Furthermore, “the professionality of all the people involved” made the experience a great success. “Experimenting the role of coordinator in an emergency context was very useful, as it made me better understand the different kind of stakeholders you have to deal with and which tools to use” commented a student.
These were the words of Tirso Puig, Head of the Career Development Service and Master Coordinator: “Students 
took the simulation very seriously, participating in a decisive, committed and professional way. The Field Experience was very useful to the fellows, particularly when it comes to the way they deepened skills and knowledge that are difficult to acquire, as well as in terms of motivation and professional work inclination. I believe the experience was a success, something that we also had the chance to acknowledge during the final debriefing”.
Fellows were enthusiastic about the Field Experience, which completely met their expectations – once again proving to be a fundamental moment inside the learning path.
