Kat Hansen

My background is in Linguistics, Germanic languages. I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in 2003, from a university back in my home town in Russia. The city I grew up in, Saransk, is rather small with the population of 300,000 people, but it is also the capital of a province, so the University there is quite big, and it plays an important role in the culture, politics and economics of the region.

After the graduation I continued my studies at the graduate level, and I defended my dissertation in 2010, several months before moving to Calgary. Parallel with writing the dissertation, I worked as a Teaching Assistant at my alma mater, and as a freelance translator.

The teaching position and my graduate studies kept me focused on the academia side; the translating experience provided the challenges of the corporate world. This position also developed my love for motorcycles, as I was a translator for the ice-racing championships organized in my city.

The excitement of the competition and meeting the racers from all over Europe determined my choices. When I moved to Calgary (and far enough from my mom), I learned how to ride and got a sports motorcycle. Riding in the summer and snowboarding in winter keeps me out of trouble.

I work in education, coordinating a preparatory program for the Canadian Chartered Professional Accounting designation – CPA, which is delivered by the CPA Western School of Business in Alberta, BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It is a relatively new program developed in 2013-2014 after a massive unification of the three accounting designations in Canada (CMA, CGA and CA). The program has been changing ever since, and that makes work very stimulating and rewarding – there is always something to learn! With my Master’s in Education I hope to contribute more to my School and bring the knowledge, skills and expertise to improve the programs we deliver.

Being a proponent of life-long learning, I have been in school for 25 years overall, either full-time or part-time. My philosophy is best described by a Latin slogan “Non progredi est regredi”. Constant development is the integral part of evolution, and my entire life seems to be a race. I strongly believe that challenges make us better and stronger.

When almost three years ago I was looking at different programs to fulfill my academic aspirations, Athabasca University stood out. A distance program in distance education appeared to be the ideal choice, as it simultaneously incorporated both theory and practice. I talked to my CEO about it, and he got so excited, that he gave me a hug and said the School will cover the costs, as it was so harmonious with my job.

In 2016 the preparatory program I worked for was available in two delivery formats: in-class and online. Over the last three years the in-class enrollment continued to decrease, with more and more students registering for the distance option. Doing the MEd program in Distance Education was a strategic choice, and I cannot be happier about it now.

My goals since then have not changed much. I am certain that the skills I obtained through being in the MEd program will help me to further my career in the CPA world. I would like to keep contributing to the development of my program and continue improving the policies, creating great learning experiences for our students. In more detail, my goals were as follows:

• Obtain the skills and theoretical knowledge that would allow me to further improve the program I coordinate
• Use the practical experience from work towards my studies (and vise versa)
• Gain better knowledge of the most recent technological advancements in the area of distance education
• Be able to evaluate the trends in distance education and identify the strongest tendencies
• Improve my communication and research skills and get academic writing experience
• Be part of collaborative projects and develop my networking skills
• Obtain a Canadian degree from a well-established university

My ambition is also to start teaching again, now at a distance. Being very passionate about the concept of Massive Open Online Courses, I am intending to apply for the Online Facilitator position for the newly developed MOOCs at Athabasca University.

I am positive that my MEd degree will open exciting opportunities for me in the future, and I am proud to be a perspective Athabasca University graduate.

The rationale behind selecting my five artefacts is explained by my learning progress, the applicability of the assignments to my work, and the most enjoyable challenges that I encountered. The artefact list includes theoretical research, two group projects (combined into one artefact), analytical research of an existing program, and a developed business plan for a hypothetical program which might be introduced to the students I work with.

This selection highlights my program progress and demonstrates the competencies that I obtained. I believe that the reflections on the artefacts comprehensively outline the essence of my MEd accomplishments.