Empowered by Learning: How Three Courses' Alumni Transformed Their Career

Anna-Karin began her career as a researcher and university teacher, eventually transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry over 20 years ago. Throughout her professional journey, she has gained diverse experience in sales, marketing, leading cross-functional teams, launching innovative medicines, and driving change and transformation. Her extensive background in Life Sciences led her to seek new opportunities for growth at Hyper Island.

Anna-Karin was first introduced to Hyper Island’s tools and approach while working with Markus Spegel, a Hyper Island alumnus, at Novartis. “Ever since then, I have been wanting to experience the Hyper Island learning environment firsthand”, she says.

Due to the fact that Anna-Karin, at the time, was in a professional transition, the timing for spring 2024 couldn’t have been better.

And the journey for Anna-Karin doesn’t stop there; she has set aside funds for a third course this fall. “Even if it takes stepping out from a new job for 3 days, I know already it is an investment that will pay off”.

Anna-Karin joined both the AI for Business and the Hyper Island Facilitation© course with clear learning objectives and very high expectations. She mentioned that even though she had a rough idea of the experience-based learning at Hyper Island, she was honestly blown away.

She left the courses feeling inspired, empowered, and equipped with both new knowledge and new connections, with people from all over the world and different industries.

She is echoing a quote from one of her fellow learners, Adrian Tuazon-McCheyne from Melbourne, “Still reflecting, there is so much to unpack”.

Currently, Anna-Karin’s work life entails a mix of exploring new job opportunities, volunteering, coaching, and mentoring. She has made good use of her new HI skill set in numerous ways:

Patricia Ysabel has been in the marketing industry for the past seven years and is currently part of the marketing team of an educational network in the Philippines. Since joining the company during the pandemic, she has taken on several roles, from digital marketing and content management to her current position as National Sales Manager. 

The educational network that Patricia works for has ambitious goals: reaching one million graduates within the next 10-12 years. In order to reach this ambition, Patricia and her team have identified the need for more agile solutions.

Patricia found the course to be extremely valuable, particularly because it wasn’t solely focused on the tech industry: "Since Agile is something mostly used in the tech industry, we wanted to join a program that would be more general rather than technical so we could apply it in other industries", she explains.

One of the most surprising and beneficial aspects of the course was how feedback and reflection were integrated into the schedule, something that truly characterizes Hyper Island’s approach to learning. "I've learned more and retained my learnings for longer because of this. I think that would have been my favorite part, aside from the very insightful discussions we've had."

With a background in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and a strong passion for the human side of innovation, Shubhesh Aggarwal is a Senior Agile Project Manager at Epiroc, a mining and construction equipment manufacturing company. In his role, he focuses on fostering cross-functional collaboration to drive technological innovation and maintain a competitive edge.

"I first heard about Hyper Island through Simone Giertz’s YouTube videos during my bachelor’s. Knowing she was an alumna sparked my interest”, Shubhesh explains.

Shubhesh found the Agile Ways of Working course to be incredibly insightful, particularly due to the diversity of participants and practical approach:

One of Shubhesh’s biggest takeaways from the course was the importance of maintaining curiosity and an open mind. He also emphasized the value of retrospective discussions in facilitating team progress and innovation: "Focusing on defining problems before jumping to solutions fosters collaborative discussions and brings in diverse perspectives", he shares. 

The stories of Anna-Karin, Patricia Ysabel, and Shubhesh Aggarwal show how experience-based learning can strongly impact professionals in different industries. They each came with unique backgrounds and goals but left with new skills, insights, and connections that have greatly shaped their professional journey.

Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Explore our courses and find the perfect fit for your professional goals.