Four weeks and four days to go....

Time passes so quickly when you have deadlines, in a blink of an eye the allocated time is up. In exactly fifteen days I'll be on my to Lagos, Nigeria, shortly afterwards to the States. Where did all the time go?

In the past week, I have started taking lessons to brush up on my statistics. This is one of the challenges of going into a programme that is totally different from my current degree. The scholarship in environmental policy required some background in geography, statistics, applied physics and chemistry.

My undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are in the humanities, arts and culture to be specific. In my motivation for enrolling in the environmental policy programme, I linked it to my current masters in heritage studies. Emphasising the need for a cultural heritage manager to be knowledgable in the areas of environmental policy and management.

I recall in one of our WOW sessions with Fiona McDonald (Fiona McDonald and Associates) on leadership, she spoke about how the average individual is likely to change careers several times in the course of his/her working life. There are more choices and more opportunities.

The career you start out with is not necessarily the one you end up with. Andrew Hofmeyr (Business Education Design (Pty.) Ltd) in his session on entrepreneurship, said that the whole notion of a job is changing from traditional known norms. It has become more contractual, less secure, more opportunities available and more dynamic.

The course in environmental policy poses several challenges for me in terms of lacking prerequisite courses. Inspite of these challenges, I am excited about the possibilities and opportunities that will emerge from doing the course.

It also highlights how other sectors intersect with the heritage sector, showing the diversity and versatility of skills required in the field of arts, culture and heritage management. The environment plays a major role in the heritage sector, as most heritage sites are located in the natural environment.

I look forward to seeing how this programme fits into my current degree and in what ways I can utilise the training not only in my field -cultural heritage management- but generally in my career development.