My Passport and Meta-Skills Reflection

This new chapter of my life started with a lot of issues and doubts. First of all: Finding a home in Amsterdam has been really complicated. Mainly because Amsterdam is a wonderful city, that offers various opportunities. Because of this reason, many people want to live here and consequently it’s extremely overcrowded. Analyzing the problem from an Economical point of view means that housing rents prices are growing more and more because of the massive and constant demand.

Already before the beginning of this course, I suppose, I applied (in an unconscious way) the meta-skill “Define”: while I was asking to agencies, people, and potentials flat mates for a house to rent here in Amsterdam. Furthermore also all the researches and the information that I gather might be considered part of the “Define and Design meta-skills” because I generate a lot of ideas and possible solutions, for instance, asking some IBIS mates if they wanted to become my apartment mates. I figured out that, because I didn’t have a big budget, a good solution to afford a flat in Amsterdam would be finding a part-time job that could provide me those extra money to rent a flat. Although when I asked for some job opportunities to a fellow student she told me that Inholland University has got a partnership with Duwo, a company that offers quite cheap accommodations for students. They offer apartments located in several Campus near many Universities. That showed that I didn’t do wide and good researches, I was focusing only on one perspective: find a flat in the city center of Amsterdam offered by privates. Therefore my Define meta-skill was very weak. Finally, after checking again other characteristics and all the pains and gains of the Campus accommodation, I decided that was a good possibility also because I needed and wanted a stable place to stay to begin in the best way my new studies adventure.

I started from an undeveloped “DEFINE meta-skill”. I’m here to learn, not to repeat what I already know, therefore I think that IBIS is offering the right suit my personal growth.

Throwing back to my first IBIS experiences, a good example could be the project focused on topics or situations that “amaze or irritate us”, it was indeed connected with the “DESIGN meta-skill”. Basically we had to develop a pitch in which we had to explain how to solve our “irritating issue” or on the other hand how to spread “the amazing experience” and translate into a real business. Our topic was Racism as something that really annoy us, the identification of the problem was quite simple because it’s a worldwide problem, but because of that finding a solution, resulted extremely complicated. I think that the project involved directly the “Design meta-skills” because we had to figure out creative and original solutions.

I believe that nowadays because of the changing of trend, ethical purposes are crucial to lead new innovations. I strongly believe that the future needs sustainability and ethical behaviors otherwise it won’t flourish in a better world and the progress might turn into human regress. That’s why I’m here, to learn how to design possible ethic scenarios. Linked to that I suppose I used “Design meta-skill’” during a lesson of International World of Business, in which we had a great debate between Classmates that supported the idea of a world without money and on the other hand students that thought that I world without money is unrealizable.

After that lesson I had very good and positive Insights because it was a fascinating work, directly focused on life’s problem solving and moreover was a good opportunity to know better other class mates and develop our teamwork abilities. Our topic was Racism as something that really annoy us, the identification of the problem was quite simple because it’s a worldwide problem, but because of that finding a solution resulted extremely complicated. In the same way week by week I noticed that many assessment were centered on gathering information to be able to find solutions. For instance during Fundamental of Business lessons we started straightly analyzing structure and problems of many companies such as: Volvo, Hello Fresh, Phone Blok and many other.

I personally think that It’s a good way to work for two reasons: first you refine your ability to find possible problems or to analyze a situation from different points of view, secondly you can expand your knowledge applying directly what you’ve learnt (which I think it’s the best way to learn something) and while you’re applying what you’ve learn in class you are also discovering new companies as well as discussing about your assumptions with lectures and classmates. Also during International World of Business we had the possibility to improve our “DEFINE and DESIGN meta-skills”, because many times we had discussion in class about macro and micro economic issue, I think that it’s a good way to get use to problems solutions, because through this method we involve our thoughts and opinion to reach a common goal.

Despite that many people didn’t appreciate the Information skills curse I think that was crucial for our “DEFINE meta-skill” development because at the beginning of this course, as I said, I wasn’t very good in gathering information, but now after the information skills’ lesson now I feel that I’ve learn how to narrow my researches and I can look for something really specific, using key words, right order of words or tricks to search exactly what I am looking for. I’ve seen that I’ve learn this when I compare the two poster presentations that I’ve done for the assignment of international world of business. The first one was full of information, and even If the lecture said that was o good one, I believe that many information were too broad. For the second one I used the tools and the instruments that the lecturers taught us such as: mind maps and Data bases.

Thanks to Thinking and Reasoning I’ve learnt how to recognize if an information it’s reliable or not and above all, how to argue a solid speech as well as being critical on many information that we receive constantly from outside (internet itself it’s the most easy but unreliable source). I can prove that I've improved my speech techniques because when I presented my International world of Business assignment the lectures didn’t ask me questions about what I’ve argued and, therefore, I assume that my speech was clear and without fallacies. This is extremely important because to define a problem or a situation we have to argue solid thesis or assumptions otherwise we can formulate weak analysis that won’t be credible.

Moreover what I noticed is that we are so diverse and many incredible ideas are spreading out when more minds are working on the same task. Nonetheless this great keen for the environment and the method I was still pretty confused because nobody gave us, specific directions on the way we had to work, they gave us some tools like the Business Model Canvas, but no clues about the best way to reach the result, no structure in the way we had to work. Then after the firsts weeks I’ve understood that is an optimal pattern to improve apply what we learn. I think that the pattern is like: the lectures gave use the knowledges and the tools but then we have to figure out how to use them.

I think that the “free method” that we had to deal with was an extremely good way to improve our ability to generate ideas come out with possible solutions express our thoughts as well as find data, associate them, and then hypothesizing new scenarios because we had to learn through our experience and not thanks to the words or the teaches of a professor or a lecture. Therefore we are free to experiment and find our own pattern, frankly I’m amazed about that because let us the freedom to decide on future choices.

Thanks to what’s in my backpack lessons I’ve learnt that self-confidence is the key for a solid argumentation, if we believe in ourselves plus we believe in what we are arguing then the message would be solid and difficultly contestable. That’s a good and effective way to improve our “EXECUTE meta-skill” because, in my personal experience, what’s in my backpack lessons, enforced my commitments and my willing to reach a goal. Furthermore focusing on my strengths I started working harder on all the assignment getting a boost because I started believe more and more in my capabilities.

Concrete examples of the application of the “Define/Design/Execute meta-skills” are the assignments of Fundamentals of Business and International World of Business, in which I had to define a problem, analyze the entire business or economic event and then design a possible solution, execute a business report or a poster presentation supported by a pitching speech and eventually give my creative solution.

Also the blog that we have to write every week for thinking and reasoning class it’s an evidence the meta-skills continuously raising, it may be seen in the progression of the articles from the first one to the last one.

During most of the lessons of every subject we had to work in teams sharing perceptions and different point of view, during those activities many times I took the leadership of the group, also with others fellow students, leading the group to the main task, that’s where I suppose I used the “Lead meta-skill”, in addiction I’ve learnt a lot of things listening to the ideas of my fellow students. Often I’ve been the intermediator among serious discussion and I tried to keep the group united like when we had to elaborate the project of the 5 senses in Thinking and Reasoning lesson, in that occasion many students were tired and not very collaborative, then I tried asking them questions and opinions, honestly it worked because they were feeling part of the group and they were raising a sense of responsiveness, for this reason I think team assessment are an excellent opportunity to develop the “Lead meta-skill”.

I feel that the “meta-skill Learn” it’s constantly involved mainly for the following reasons: the environment that IBIS it’s very stimulating because it’s a multicultural environment where students from different backgrounds and cultures can compare their insights and ideas on specifics and, on the other hand, broads topics due this fact I am expanding my points of view beyond my background limits. Secondly through the content of the lessons and thanks to the method that it’s fresh and innovative, with a lot of discussion and activities like projects and real companies issues analysis.

The lectures in most of the cases are open to listen many diverse ideas and they are teaching various and different topics, for instance: thinking and reasoning apparently should not be combined with fundamental of business. The aim in my opinion it’s to provide us a wide range of knowledges that belong from different fields, this it’s combined with a lot of practical activities that helps us to figure out real life issues, and at the same time, helps becoming fluent and confident with all the actions that we should do to tackle a problem or to create a real innovation.

That’s why, in my opinion, we have the possibility to choose the activities and subjects that we are going to do in the next term. NLU’s are an extraordinary opportunity that we have to follow our interests as well as develop our “meta-skills” in many different fields. I've chosen Russian Culture because I think it's a country full of human resources and I did my first poster presentation on Russian economic fall down therefore I would like to know more information about a cultural asset rather than an economical one. Unfortunately I didn’t choose voluntary the other NLU’s because the system and the various combination didn’t allow me to set my favorite order, because of many curses were already full. It doesn’t matter because I think that sometimes some choices that we make against our volunteer can turn into great occasions and new panoramas.

Despite my great enthusiasm about this course. There are several things that may be improved. First of all the assignments organization, for instance, two classes had to do their posters presentation in the same time, the result was an extremely chaotic and overcrowded situation, in which being concentrate for the speech was quite hard, in addition this situation caused endless waiting time and many students had to wait hours before they could do their exposition.

To fix this problem I would schedule the assignments in different days following and ordered list, or I would arrange precise appointments with the students, still on a market situation, but with a rigid timetable each student could know at what exact hour will be assessed.

Another problem identified by me and others fellow students is that the Lectures of Business were too few and therefore they could not manage the entire confusing situation, for this reason others Lectures (that teach other subject) were assessing, many students said that was unfair because they gave more time to expose, they were less strict or they didn’t have the same specific knowledges of the Business lectures. For these reasons my solution would be an ordered and clear timetable that allowed all the students to be assessed in the same way.

In conclusion I would like to say that I have really positive insights about this first term because I can see that I learnt something, for example this web site is the proof that I’ve learnt how to make a basic website. Other evidences may be find in my grades of the other assignments. Looking forward to the next term I hope I will discover new interesting things hence I remark that I know that I am in a learning process and, therefore, I’m striving for progression rather than perfection!

I’m ready to dive into the infinite tunnel of creativity, I’m ready to cross it with the aim to produce and create something new as well as disruptive, original, and functional for our society.