Meet our Staff: Roberta Tomasi

Let us introduce you to another member of our staff, who’s another strategic element of Social Change School.

Roberta is the new Head of Didactics and PMC Master Coordinator of our school since September 2024!

Can you share a bit about your professional journey and what inspired you to join Social Change School as the Head of Didactics?

I worked for over twenty years as a founder and member of a Cooperative mainly linked to the legal sector to support the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Mafia Departments in Milan, where it is required to deal with complex and delicate contexts. In this role, I was awarded by the trust of numerous prosecutors and judges for the competences and professionalism demonstrated in delicate and confidential inquiries. Until I decided to take up a totally different career and started studying to become a professional in the humanitarian field.

The first thing that inspired me to join the Social Change School is its open-mindedness and forward-thinking approach in promoting cutting-edge topics within its training program for humanitarian project and logistic managers.

Its ability to adapt to technological and generational/social changes by integrating subjects that are not only at the center of global discussions but are becoming increasingly essential in daily practice, such as AI for Project Management, Risk and Stress Management, Gender Equality and Intersectionality, clearly demonstrates a strategic vision.

In an era like ours, where the humanitarian context is characterized by growing complexity and ever-changing challenges, the Social Change School offers incredibly powerful tools.

How do you think your role as the coordinator of the master’s program will help shape the future of students looking to build careers in social change?

As the new Coordinator of the PMC Master program and Head of Didactics, I believe my role will be pivotal in shaping the future of students aspiring to build careers in social change. Having been a student in the same program three years ago, I understand firsthand how transformative the experience can be. I was challenged at every stage of the project cycle management, equipped with real-world tools, and inspired by professional and engaging lecturers. That experience not only deepened my knowledge but also instilled in me a passion for driving meaningful change.

I plan to leverage my passion, my organizational skills and openness to create an environment where students feel supported in exploring their talents and following their dreams. By fostering close collaboration with our lecturers, I aim to continually improve the learning experience, ensuring it’s both academically rigorous and relevant to the dynamic challenges in the field of social change.

By supporting the students’ personal growth, as well as their academic success, I hope to help them develop not only as professionals but also as changemakers, equipped to tackle the complex social issues they want to address.

In short, my role as coordinator will focus on providing the tools, guidance, and inspiration necessary for students to shape impactful careers in social change.

    In your opinion, what are the most important skills and mindsets that students will gain from this master’s program, and how will these prepare them for the challenges in the field?

    Development and humanitarian organisations manage their work through projects. The project manager, with his team, writes project proposals, develops project plans, implements project activities, monitors project progress, and evaluates project impact. 

    Development projects aim to address complex problems of poverty, inequality, and injustice, they tend to operate in exceptionally challenging contexts. In addition, project relationships are normally complicated, and the cost of failure is high.

    Our responsibility as professionals is to provide the maximum benefit for the targeted individuals, groups, and communities in which the interventions take place, following our ‘do no harm principle’.

    It is vital that the management of projects is effective and efficient so that a foundation is created that enables social and/or behavioural change.

    Transferring knowledge and learning to the target population is a priority during every phase of the project. Beneficiary communities invest their time, energy, and resources in the projects.

    The project manager is responsible for ensuring the overall success of the project collaborating closely with an array of stakeholders, who must work together to design, implement and control all aspects of the project

    In project management, as in much of life, the secret to success is balance. A good project manager will be able to balance the “art” and “science” of project management.

    One of the most distinct skills that project managers need to develop over time is the ability identify alternatives that exist to address a challenge (budget overruns, team conflicts, ambiguous roles, shifting schedules, unanticipated risks) and respond using the appropriate competency that fits the unique needs of each situation.

    Students of this master will acquire this mindset and important skills to address all of the above, as well as new challenges in the field.

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