Viviana Callea

Viviana Callea – Adjunct Lecturer, PhD in Electrical Machines, and Professional Certified Coach (PCC-ICF)

Workshop (2018–2025): “Entering the World of Work: Scenarios, Tools, and Strategies” or “Soft Skills for Today’s Engineer”
The workshop is worth 3 CFU credits and is delivered for the Degree Programmes in Electrical Energy Engineering and Energy Engineering. It is also included, as an elective course, in the Sapienza MINOR pathways (https://www.uniroma1.it/it/pagina/minor).
The workshop has a duration of 30 hours, half of which are held in the classroom and the other half at companies.
The schedule generally consists of 10 meetings, each lasting 3 hours.

Description
Through a dedicated training model called COACH_ING—an integration between the strategic approach of coaching and the programmatic, systemic approach of engineering—the workshop provides students with tools and strategies to present themselves effectively and enter the professional scenarios they aspire to. By carrying out an in-depth analysis of both hard and soft personal characteristics and resources, students embark on a journey, both in the classroom and in professional settings, where they can test and train themselves to prepare for entering the job market.
Classroom theory alternates with group work, independent exercises, and concrete, challenging exchanges in contexts of interest.

Purpose of the Workshop
To acquire new knowledge about the world of work—from dynamics to organisation, from technical skills to strategic-relational ones—in order to develop the full set of tools needed to enter the market with a broader and more conscious perspective.
Starting from the definition of one’s personal resource system (in terms of personal characteristics, capacities, and abilities), students will build and/or develop transversal skills—both innate and acquired during their studies—and consolidate them through practical, hands-on experiences (“know-how”) in professional contexts, in direct interaction with professionals from the engineering sector.

Methodology and Main Topics

1. Description of the COACH_ING training model. Coaching and engineering approaches as tools for professional practice. Self-assessment of the 16 skills of the model, defined at the start of the course and to be developed and strengthened throughout the workshop. The core skills of the COACH_ING model are: adaptability, analysis and synthesis, assertiveness and influence, communication, relationship building, creativity and innovation, decision making, initiative and energy, social intelligence, self-investment, time and resource management, result orientation, prospective thinking, proactivity and project design, intercultural sensitivity, systemic vision.
2. Recognition of students’ personal characteristics and professional interests. Exploration of possible scenarios: private companies, public administration, freelance work, training, research, etc.
3. Group exercises as a method for acquiring/learning theory on topics such as: communication within work groups, team dynamics, roles, functions, and skills required in different professional contexts and positions.
4. In-depth studies, feedback, and review of Macro Capabilities (e.g., clusters of the model: Project Goal Definition, Teamwork, Relationship and Communication) as elements to be developed in order to consolidate confidence and awareness of one’s potential, and to make better choices about the professional scenario in which to present oneself.
5. Preparation of an innovative project idea, to be carried out in groups (2025 Theme: Energy and AI Together for the Future – link to topic), to be presented during the final exam—held in a non-conventional format—as a seminar led by the workshop students themselves, with the support of mentors from the companies visited during the course.

Classes will always be held in hybrid mode, even when visiting companies and professional contexts.
Each edition of the workshop, from 2017 to the present, has undergone changes in terms of the professional realities visited (also virtually), based on the composition of the class. Indeed, already in the first session, students’ aptitudes and interests—as well as the future they envision for themselves—are explored.
All information and updates about the course will be shared with those who fill in the following form: EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FORM

Classroom
RM033 – Electrical Computing Centre
Recommended Text: COACH_ING: Practical Guide to Communicating like a Coach and Acting like an Engineer – Mondadori Store link