{"id":6608,"date":"2024-01-15T09:46:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T09:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/?p=6608"},"modified":"2024-02-28T10:12:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T10:12:00","slug":"qa-with-serena-castiglione-ma-philanthropic-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/2024\/01\/15\/qa-with-serena-castiglione-ma-philanthropic-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear from Serena Castiglione – MA Philanthropic Studies student"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What attracted you to the programme? <\/strong><\/p>\n

When I became a fundraiser I really felt the lack of formal training was a big gap. I wanted to know more about the practice and the theory of what we do as fundraisers. I joined so many groups, attended so many training sessions but even after 10 years I really longed for more. I considered a few courses but this stood out because it felt really stimulating but also very supportive.<\/p>\n

Which areas of study did you find particularly inspiring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I loved exploring the current cultural debates on philanthropy, from effective altruism to power shifting theories and practices. Global philanthropy was also fascinating, I felt I could happily spend my life learning more about it.<\/p>\n

What sort of support is there for postgraduate students?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lots more than I expected. I work full time so I found the flexibility of working at my own pace if I could not attend webinars really vital. The lecturers are really responsive and always ready to guide and signpost to services like help with writing skills etc.<\/p>\n

How do you find work-life balance with part-time study?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a word, \u201ctough\u201d! It is definitely manageable and everyone on the course is in the same boat so you get a lot of support and camaraderie in the group. Nonetheless, it is a demanding course so sometimes I have to sacrifice my leisure time to study.<\/p>\n

How is your course helping you in shaping your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all it has given me huge confidence and the knowledge that I can access the latest thinking and resources in any areas of my job through the course. Secondly it has broadened my horizons and given me ideas about areas of specialism I would like to explore next in my career. Finally, the networking also helps so much, I have met brilliant colleagues who have experience and knowledge across so many specialisms and cause areas. We help each other not just around coursework stuff but also with career issues.<\/p>\n

How has this course changed you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have much more enjoyment in what I do, whether I study or work, because I feel I understand more and feel more capable of handling the complexities of my area of work.<\/p>\n

What are your plans for the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not sure to be honest! I would love to continue studying and developing in an area of specialism that can have an influence in our practice in the social impact sector.<\/p>\n

Any advice for prospective students?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just do it! It\u2019s the best choice I have made in my career and one of the top ones in my life so I can only encourage others to join in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What attracted you to the programme? When I became a fundraiser I really felt the lack of formal training was a big gap. I wanted … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81995,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[69,28766],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6608"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81995"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6608"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6627,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6608\/revisions\/6627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sspssr-news-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}