"What happens when research meets entrepreneurship, education and real-world impact? This is a question I have been exploring throughout my recent professional journey at UCL Innovation and Enterprise "SPERO: Learn for Researchers": I’m delighted to share that I've completed the programme, was selected as one of 10 finalists in the UCL Pitch Competition for Reseachers, received individual mentoring that helped me sharpen my idea and ultimately secure grant funding from Lewisham Council, and was invited by the School’s Director to join a creative focus-group developing a new course for PhD students. I will also be bringing some of these ideas into the lectures I’ll be delivering at UCL School of Management this September-October.
For me, SPERO was much more than a course. It helped me connect the different strands of my work - as a researcher in psychology, AI and education, founder of Wise Parents School, educator, author, STEM-mentor and project lead - and see how research, entrepreneurship, learning, wellbeing and social impact can reinforce one another.
A special thank you to the SPERO teaching team and mentors Warrick Harniess, Mario Moustras for their expertise, generosity and, especially, their personalised guidance. Those one-to-one conversations helped me cut through the noise, focus on what really mattered and turn an idea into a much clearer proposition - with a very tangible outcome. I’m very grateful to the School’s leadership Jerry Allen for the trust, encouragement and opportunities to contribute beyond the programme itself. With huge gratitude to Nataliia Hrytsiuk, I hope my lectures will inspire the aspiring entrepreneurs on the course with valuable insights and help turn their ambitious ideas into meaningful results.
A huge thank you to my fellow participants for the inspiration, meaningful conversations and generous exchange of ideas throughout the programme Russell de Roeper, Andrew Cummins, Grazzielle Lefranc, Dr Xandra Miguel-Lorenzo, Valentyna Bilan, Alina Marm, Julio C. Ortega Cambara.
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I’m looking forward to putting everything I’ve learned into practice and inspiring the next generation through my lectures, mentoring, community events, and the development of projects that create meaningful impact."