My journey from Italy to Scotland, passing from Ireland

This is a post to tell you a little bit more about me, and how I moved through different cities and countries looking for opportunities.

First of all, I am from Italy, from a little town in the north called Lecco. I grew up there, doing some sports but mostly playing videogames. A lot of videogames.

Growing up, after the high school I decided to study Sport Science. My first idea was to study IT, something about videogames programming, but at that time there was nothing available and therefore I had to change my plans. I liked sports, so I opted for sport science.

I did my BSc in Milan whilst working as a rugby coach and fitness coach. It was hard, because I had to commute everyday from Lecco to Milan, but it was worth it. I learn a lot from the university and from my job as a coach, as I had the chance to practice what I learnt in theory.

However, after these 3 years I felt like I needed a change, and I moved to a different city to do my MSc. I moved to Bologna, in a different region. I thought it would have been a good idea to study in a different environment, with different professors, and I was right. I really enjoyed my time there. Similar to what I previously did, I looked for another rugby team to work with, and I found one. I was given a lot of responsibilities, and it has been the best job I have ever had until now.

Even though I moved to Bologna and I was thrilled about it, I always wanted to go abroad. I always wanted to move in an English speaking country, but I only did it after the MSc. In fact, a few days after my last university exam, I moved to Limerick, Ireland. It was a bit rushed, as I did not have a job, a friend or a contact. I went there to find a PhD, or some kind of research opportunity. I could not find anything for almost two years, and I was struggling in getting any kind of feedback about the reasons why I had been rejected every time.

I decided I needed to take a step back, gain some experience, and then try again. I contacted some potential supervisors to do an MRes, and I found one in Edinburgh, Scotland. After two years in Ireland with no real improvements, I finally had something to work for. I went to Scotland at the beginning of 2019 to start this new degree, in sport physiology.

July 2020, I am submitting my MRes thesis and, again, I am looking for a PhD. This time, I am looking for something about esports, as I decided that this is going to be my field in the future. It's my passion, and it's a promising area that needs more researchers and more studies about it. Hopefully, I'll be in the field soon.