Marianne Kujala-Garcia began her career as a special needs teacher and was first inspired about international assignments during her studies as an exchange student. Interest in internationalisation and developing countries later led to an international career in education sector development cooperation. Although Kujala-Garcia no longer works as a teacher, her teacher education has given her an invaluable understanding of the teaching sector, helping her to succeed in expert assignments across the world.
Eighteen years ago, Marianne Kujala-Garcia, who had previously worked as a teacher, took up an international career in education sector development cooperation. Now, years later, she has gained experience in education sector development cooperation from several different countries and continents. Her current workplace is in the Delegation of the European Union in Ethiopia, where she is working as an expert posted through FinCEED, the Finnish Centre of Expertise in Education and Development.
“In my work as an expert, I am responsible for programmes in the education sector, which here in Ethiopia include elements of both humanitarian work and development cooperation. My tasks include project management ranging from identifying projects to concluding agreements, monitoring and evaluation. In addition to project management, I also participate in the EU’s own regional programmes and strategic planning. In my work, I also closely monitor the planning of two Team Europe projects aimed at the development of teacher education and vocational education and training in Ethiopia at the country level.”
In addition, networking with the different stakeholders in the education sector is an important part of Kujala-Garcia’s job description.
“For years, the EU has been absent from the Ethiopian education sector. One of my most important tasks is therefore to form good relations with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and other stakeholders in the education sector so that rebuilding a strong relationship with the European Union would be possible.”
Ten years of practical experience in teaching have helped me to understand the challenges teachers have in the classroom. It has been valuable in my work with development cooperation projects.
Before transferring to international assignments in the education sector, Kujala-Garcia worked as a special needs teacher in Helsinki for a long time after having graduated as a teacher from the Department of Special Education of the University of Eastern Finland in 1995. She finds that her background as a teacher has given her important competence and perspectives that have helped her to be successful as an expert in an international environment in the education sector.
“Ten years of practical experience in teaching have helped me to understand the challenges teachers have in the classroom. It has been valuable in my work with development cooperation projects. It has helped me to realistically assess what kind of methods it is possible to implement development cooperation with when you take into account the daily work of teachers and its requirements,” Kujala-Garcia says.
Her interest in internationalisation and international assignments first developed during an ERASMUS exchange in Madrid in Spain when she was a university student. She also says that the University of Eastern Finland had cooperation with developing countries at the time, which already increased her interest in developing countries during the teacher education. However, after she graduated, it was teaching she went on to do.
“Teaching absorbs you very quickly,” Kujala-Garcia notes. She says that she spent a lot of time in developing countries during the long summer holidays from teaching, which further increased her enthusiasm for an international career in education sector development cooperation. However, she needed more experience.
“My first experience of working in a developing country was when I was a volunteer in a UNESCO project in Peru for about a year. After that, I still returned to Finland to work as a teacher for a few years. However, after the time I spent in Peru, the desire to work in developing countries became so strong that I soon moved on to work as an expert for UNICEF in Honduras for three years through a volunteers programme of the UN. After that, I worked as a senior specialist in the education sector for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at different diplomatic missions in countries such as Nepal, Ethiopia and Mozambique for 13 years.”
It's never too late! Don’t hesitate to take on new work assignments even if they are not exactly from your own field.
To everyone interested in working as an expert in education sector development cooperation, Kujala-Garcia recommends obtaining experience in developing countries. She mentions the Teachers without Borders network as a good route for gaining practical experience in an international environment. Furthermore, it is advisable to obtain experience in development tasks and project management, as it is highly appreciated. Enhancing one’s own competence through studies also plays a key role: “After graduating as a teacher, I did some additional studies in research on developing countries. For example, it is a good idea to look at the courses offered by the Open University and the training organised by different organisations (UNESCO and the World Bank). FinCEED also organises training for education specialists,” she says.
The work as an expert in education sector development cooperation has been very rewarding and Kujala-Garcia has found a second home in several countries over the years. She has a clear message to teachers and teacher students who dream of an international career: “It's never too late! Don’t hesitate to take on new work assignments even if they are not exactly from your own field.”
