Life update: Master of Science in Digital Transformation

I got my bachelor’s degree back in 2017 in Computer Science, at the Università dell’Insubria in Varese, my native town between Milan and Switzerland. Despite I have some good memories of days spent with friends studying and doing young-dude-cool-stuff, I don’t feel any nostalgia about that era. On the contrary, I think about it as a time in my life that luckily will never happen again. At the time, I was passionate about programming, a discipline I was discovering yet, and I was really enthusiast to go through. In fact, it became my job in the 10 following years.

But despite all my enthusiasm about software development, I was stuck studying subjects like maths, statistics, and much more theory than anything else. I am not here to judge if it was the right way to learn Computer Science. I am just saying I didn’t engage with them for several reasons, and the experience let down all my expectations. It was a massive weight to bring with me day after day and when I finally got graduated (at the last call of my year, 94/110 grade, while already working full time in Milan with a 2.5h daily commute), I took a breath and I told myself: never again.

In 2022 my in-laws encouraged me to get the master’s degree. I didn’t listen to them at the beginning, but after a while I gave it a chance by signing up for the Master in Computer Science course (again!) at the same University (again!). I paid the first instalment (120€) and after 4 months I still hadn’t registered for an exam. I didn’t have time (still on my full-time job), I didn’t feel like it and I didn’t engage with it (again!). I was basically hitting my head against the wall for the second time.

Then, I quit.

I had no plan B in terms of education. Moreover, I didn’t feel like it was a personal failure, but rather a personal success as I quit so fast that I avoided the second instalment of thousands of euros.

Less than a year later, I went to London to meet a friend. We discussed the University thing and he told me: “Why don’t you have a look at in the UK? You also have the pre-settlement status, you’ll pay way less”. So, I did a search, just there at that specific moment.

I found the Digital Transformation course – Business Department. It looked interesting: no maths, no algorithms, just technology impact to organisations.

In Italy, I only found two universities with this course, but they required physical presence and they were hundreds of kilometres away from home. Furthermore, I didn’t have the intention to leave my job, so it was impossible for me.

This is the last call for traditional Italian universities. wake up – times have changed.

I then signed up for the MSc in Digital Transformation at the University of Hull, UK, since January 2024. A part-time course designed for full-time workers, with a focus on reasoning, comparison, research and critical thinking.

Last week I went to UK to participate to the graduation celebration.

I got my MSc Diploma, with Distinction grade.

I’m proud of it, for real. I spent an enormous amount of hours to get it. But it was worth every second. I learned a lot, both in terms of concept and doing academic research. I also got in touch with several people from all around the world, each of them with their experience. It’s an experience that enriched me in many ways.

I literally remember few or nothing from the bachelor’s degree. How can I remember math and algorithm stuff after 10-15 years if I don’t use them in my daily job? Instead, I’m sure I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life the connections, the thinking, the forma mentis, the knowledge, the experience I did in the last 2 years. I will always know who Michael Porter is and I’m able to cite him when I meet an economist or a product strategist. How many software developers can say the same? How many ICT guys know what the design thinking is? How many technical dudes know the red and blue ocean strategies? How many managers know the transformational leadership (and they should in every field by the way)?

I do now, and I am very happy. I look forward to being in a position in a company where I can apply those concepts. I don’t want to do technical stuff anymore, but I want to decide what technicians should focus on. Perhaps I don’t care about programming anymore? It might be. On a side, I’m sad for it, I’ve loved it so much for a good part of my life.

On the other hand, people change and grow.

Knowing more about the world fascinates me. The technology hands-on part is too narrow. And then, aren’t we in the generalist era? We should cross domain to handle the AI impact.

Next move? Tomorrow is another day as Cloud Engineer. Nothing changes from a day to another. I just hope this degree will be one of the bricks I can stand on one day.