Motivation letter
Dear Selection Committee,
With my graduation coming in a few months, as never before in my academic life, I am so sure about what to do next. So, here I am and with due reverence to the GLOCAL Programme, I formulate my "Motivation letter".
I came across the GLOCAL Programme by coincidence, but it was just when I needed it. I've never had a single passion in my life; instead, I've always been fascinated by practically everything. However, languages and economics have become an important part of my academic life in recent years. The combination of the two also made me recognize the significance of culture and heritage in the formation of a self-aware environment, as well as how they determine its bounds and structure. In terms of economics, I believe those two factors can have a significant impact on this system. Sustainability is another area in which my interest has increased over the years since I feel it is and will continue to be an important issue to be studied and discussed in the future. In reality, I feel that the GLOCAL Programme is a fantastic opportunity for me since it will allow me to feed my curiosity and passion in culture and economics while also broadening it with a global perspective of the global issue. Furthermore, the opportunity to discover new places and cultures by attending the Programme's three universities (Track A) encourages me to apply; more importantly, I believe it contributes to the overall programme goal by allowing students to better understand how different cultures can influence someone's way of thinking. I have always admired the philosophy of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), defined as organizations that pursue a public interest agenda rather than commercial interests, and as a result, in the future, I would like to pursue this ideal and implement it with what my interests are related to, such as the development of a sustainable community, such as the reduction of energy use combined with recycling and waste product management.
I believe the degree I am presently pursuing will be extremely beneficial to me during my GLOCAL academic experience. Because of the breadth of my studies at the University of Genoa, I believe I will be able to grasp every nuance of what will be taught throughout the Programme. As previously said, I am studying Arabic, English, and French as languages, as well as their literature and culture. I genuinely feel these classes increased my mental flexibility and provided me with a better, and most significantly, broader view of the world. Moreover, the Economics and regional economics course I attended combines two elements: a broad introduction to economics, and one of the potential insights, territorial economics, or regional economics, which investigates the application of economic discipline rules to what is known as the field of territorial, regional disciplines. This course also assisted me in realising how interconnected and diversely situated regions are in the current economy. The formation of an open market, which results in significantly greater commerce, is a basic element of this market integration, which we have referred to as globalisation. This presumably persuades us that there formerly was a specialisation inside local markets, which are now subject to globalization. A framework of international commerce in which the fact that there is better monetary stability than in the past is critical. The idea that the world has become much richer as a result of globalisation and the integration of product and factor markets was what really stood out to me. However, growth mismatches are more prevalent than ever. It is necessary to pinpoint the root causes of the imbalances and try to restore the growth's equilibrium.
Among all the core and optional courses offered by the GLOCAL Programme, the "Port cities in historical perspective" course stood out to me because, having grown up in a port city like Genoa, I can really relate to what the course aims to teach and, more importantly, it can help me better understand the dynamics of cities like the one I lived in for 22 years. Port cities such as Rotterdam for example, incorporated within manufacturing districts serve as nodes in global networks, including supply chains that connect the production and consumption of commodities, that is why I am looking forward to researching such elements. Port operations have grown more incompatible (both operationally and ecologically) with urban inhabitants' lives, and that's why in the contemporary age they have moved at distance, dethatching themselves from urban centres.
While Genoa is the only Italian port city where a waterfront project has been implemented, Barcelona's operational port has been moved south down the coast, allowing for the restoration of the ancient harbour and the start of a massive urban reconstruction programme along the coast. As a result, for my master's thesis, I would like to focus on port cities and how to better achieve the goal of transforming ports into "green ports" in Europe, as part of the Green Deal and the Recovery Plan (Next Generation EU). "Green ports" might play a critical role in eliminating the structural barrier between ports and cities, allowing them to cohabit in a unified system, focusing particularly on Italy, where I believe we are still far behind the rest of Europe.
In the future, I hope to be able to contribute to the greater good in the sphere of culture, which I am really enthusiastic about. Given its merits and international renown, enrolling in the Erasmus Mundus International Master's Program will provide me with this chance and honour. I'm hoping the Selection Committee will think my application is a good fit for this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
