Nikolla Pulla

Master´s in Public and Social Policy and Human Resources, graduated in 2023

Coming from Albania, currently working as a project coordinator, designing national and international development projects or programs

Interviewed by Michaela Nespěchalová

1. Can you share some highlights of your time at the Faculty of Social Studies? What aspects of the program or specific courses had a significant impact on you?

My overall experience at the Faculty of Social Studies was very positive and it helped me a lot to enhance my personal and professional skills. The courses were very interesting, very oriented in practical learning and professors very interactive with students. I particularly enjoyed the discussions that we had in courses, and the interactive process of learning. All the courses were very good and all contributing to increase my knowledge in different fields. The courses are also very well connected to each other and very well structured. To me it gives the impression that each course is structured in the way that will give you practical skills to use later in the workplace, something that I proved later.

2. How did your academic experiences at the faculty prepare you for your current career or further studies?

One of the main reasons I decided to follow a master degree in Public and Social Policy and Human Resources was to improve my skills in terms of project and program writings, designing policies and solutions to improve people’s life. During my master I kept working and I could trace my improvement month after month. Today, I can be sure that my skills have drastically improved and are helping me to achieve my objectives and goals. I can do my job faster and I can achieve higher quality. At the moment I am working as a project coordinator, designing national and international development projects or programs, and implementing different initiatives or actions from different agencies.

3. Were there any specific professors or mentors who influenced your academic and professional journey? How did they contribute to your development?

The special element I would like to highlight is the devotion and responsibility of all people at Masaryk University and Faculty of Social Studies. I cannot differentiate any of them, but I could see that everyone was contributing to a common goal. This was a very good example to me and good lesson for my development. Firstly, it gives you the feeling that people care for each other and on the other side it helps me understand that when everyone does his own work with responsibility and collaborate towards a good will, society will work in the right direction. I am particularly thankful to all professors, that acted at same time as mentors and friends, and for their very good understanding and support for students. You can easily understand their commitment and hard work.

4. Can you discuss any extracurricular activities, internships, or research opportunities you participated in during your time at the faculty? How did these experiences enhance your education?

During my master degree I kept working on my previous jobs, fully remote. During my master degree, I was also awarded with an Erasmus+ exchange, but I wasn’t able to follow it due to my document limitations. Regarding my experience, I would say that the master gave me plenty of free time to keep working, and the workload was quite manageable, but I would always advise students to keep a balance between work and studies because sometimes, without understanding you start and prioritizing more work than school, which later impacts your academic results. In my case, I could manage to balance it, but during the diploma thesis I understood that it was requiring me a lot of commitment, which means that it was very hard to mix both.

5. What advice do you have for prospective students considering the Faculty of Social Studies? Are there specific skills or mindsets they should cultivate during their studies?

I would advise international students to give more time themselves to understand the city and local people. Many students find it difficult to adapt to the city, but if giving more time, they will see the great sides of Brno and the Czech Republic. It would be very good also to learn the language. This will give more access to students to the cultural activities and socialize easier. Regarding the faculty, I would advise the students to priorly read very well all the instructions that the faculty provide, participate in introduction meetings, and from my experience to be very well structured regarding the diploma thesis and give the right attention to each course related to this.

6. How did the faculty foster a sense of community among students? Did you find a strong support network during your time there?

I think that the university shows a great care trying to foster a sense of network and support for international students. Despite these efforts, I believe that the high diversity of student’s background makes it quite difficult for students to adapt and feel a sense of community. In this term I felt the good will of the university and the great care that shows to students, but I would suggest more activities to engage students, like sport competitions.

7. Can you share any challenges you faced during your academic journey and how you overcame them? What lessons did you learn from those experiences?

During the academic year I faced many challenges, in personal aspect, but also in academic aspects. Firstly, it was a bit confusing period after coming to the Czech Republic because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of restrictions, especially in the freedom of movement, applied that period which didn’t gave me a lot of opportunities to adapt with the city very fast. Another thing which followed later was high inflation which increased costs during my academic years.

In terms of academic journey, a challenge that I faced was the structure of the diploma thesis. It was hard to plan in advance what are the aims and objectives of my research without having all the knowledge which my master would give me. The structure of the diploma thesis, in my opinion, was also very tight in terms of deadlines.

The lessons that I learned from this experience in regards to obstacles I faced are to keep focused and avoid multitasking. Also it’s good to focus on the good sides and adopt a better understanding to the environment around. Giving time to understand and focusing on the positive sides, things around you might turn in your favor.