Le organizzazioni eurepee richiedono sempre di più capacità plurime in grado di governarne i processi. A proposito di competenze, si parla di «comprovata capacità di utilizzare conoscenze, abilità e capacità personali, sociali e/o metodologiche, in situazioni di lavoro o di studio e nello sviluppo professionale e personale». Per capirlo bisogna fare riferimento al concetto di competenza o skill. Per chiarire meglio il concetto, ringraziamo a nome di tutta la Otrè Triathlon Team, Shirin Amin, EU Projects Director at Champions Factory, per la preziosa intervista.

-Based on your experience, what do you think are the critical issues regarding European funds that do not allow our country to use funds adequately, which is therefore quite varied from region to region?

Often what I see in our country is that the ones that need the European funding often have either no access to the information about those funding opportunities, or lack skills and knowledge on how to prepare their application form and be more competitive. What I see is that often organisations and individuals who have many ideas cannot really put that in paper and apply for it. Unless there’s someone more experienced in project writing, organisations struggle because they either quit or apply for funding but their applications get rejected because they are poorly evaluated.

What do you think are the most important skills to become a European designer?

One of the most important skills to become a good project designer are great time management to keep up with the tight deadlines, good knowledge and understanding of the European policies so that the project proposals consider all aspects of current policies and trends, and great communications skills needed when pitching ideas and communicating with partners. Crucial skill is to foresee problems and prevent.

What would you recommend to a boy who wants to start this profession?

I would recommend to participate in different European funded opportunities like youth exchanges and training courses. It would help anyone who seeks a career in project writing to understand and experience project activities. This would help the boy to compare and understand better different topics, project implementation, etc. and use them as a base of his own work. I would also highly recommend to volunteer in an organisation which is already writing and implementing projects and become part of that process. Ultimately, I would recommend “always surround yourself with smarter than you people”

Any reflections on your profession and European planning?

My profession has been very challenging yet very inspiring. I have been able to meet fantastic bright people, travel many places to learn new practises that change the local communities and be able to disseminate them together with our partners.