Urban work: career paths out of academia and into the city - Veronica Pezzuti and Andreas Schuster

            Have you always been fascinated by cities and city life? Are you interested in finding a job in the world of urban work and developing a career in shaping the city? Do you have a background in urban studies or another discipline that is relevant to understanding the urban? And do you want to become an urban professional and expert, be it in public administration, consultancy, social work, business, an international organization, the cultural sector or advocacy? Then this webinar series will be of interest to you by exploring the diversity of career paths out of academia and into the city.
          

Cultivating connections and exploring intellectually stimulating career options outside the university is not always easy. Yet, listening and talking to people who have pursued a career away from research and education is a crucial catalyst for figuring out where your career path might take you next. The Urban Work webinar series will give the floor to urban experts and workers from across the world and from different fields in order to identify, appreciate and support access to meaningful urban work opportunities beyond academia for urban studies graduates. Each webinar will revolve around the careers of one or more speakers, allowing for an informal discussion on their own career choices and paths taken as well as a critical but concrete reflection on urban work opportunities and labour markets in different cities.

For our fifth and final webinar in the Urban Work series, we have invited the following two speakers:

Veronica Pezzuti

Andreas Schuster

Veronica Pezzuti graduated in 2008 with an MA in European Urban Studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Tilburg University, Manchester University, and Aalto University. She then worked within the European network of the European Music Office and in parallel volunteered within the Brussels cultural networks. Between 2010 and 2013 she held a position in the newly established Agence de développement territorial (Urban Development Agency), a non-profit organization set up by the Brussels-Capital Region. She currently works at Perspective.Brussels, the regional public administration that acts as a centre of expertise and is responsible for Brussels’ regional development strategy. Since 2019, Veronica Pezzuti is also administrator of the non-profit organization Angela.D, whose main aim is to contribute to an equitable housing policy for women and to reduce barriers to their autonomy.

Andreas Schuster studied social work in Munich. Since 2003, he is employed at the local environmental organisation Green City in the field of sustainable mobility and campaigning. He is also organizer of the regular panel discussion “Münchner Mobilitätskultur” (Munich’s mobility culture) and co-founder of the citizens' initiatives “Sauba sog I” (clean air) and “Radentscheid München” (bicycle infrastructure). Since May 2020, Andreas Schuster is also a member of the city council for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) where he primarily focuses on mobility, city planning and environmental issues.

Registration

The webinar will take place on Thursday 20 May 1-3 PM (CET) via Zoom. Please register by following this link.

The Urban Work webinar series is jointly organised by the Brussels Centre for Urban Studies and the Urban Knowledge Collective.