"I had a very good experience during my Masters programme at Middlesex, this sparked the interest to further my education to the next level."
Valerio De Rossi
Doctorate in Professional Studies: Human Behaviours in Safety Management, 2011
MSc Work Based Learning Studies
Offshore Installation Manager, Council Member at the Nautical Institute
Valerio completed his PhD last year and has published his first book, Cross-Cultural Safety: Effective management in multi-cultural contexts
What last made you laugh?
Watching “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow” on the plane while I was going to work, absolutely hilarious!
What is your ideal weekend?
I love spending weekends with my wife and my 10 year old daughter. Home is in Italy when I am not working around the world, there we are blessed with fantastic summers, therefore my ideal weekend during this season is definitely on the beach. When winter comes, I enjoying skiing very much; with mountains only one and a half hours away, I love spending weekends on the slopes.
What one word would your friends use to describe you?
Happy!
A phrase I use far too often is...
“Do you have a plan?“
If they made a movie about your life, who would you like to play you and why?
Perhaps Russell Crowe,for a couple of reasons. First of all because I am in my mid forties, therefore I think Russell Crowe could be quite credible in my role. Secondly because he performed, in my opinion, a fantastic character in “Master and Commander”,where he played the role of a ship’s captain. The last twenty years my job took me around the globe on ships and platforms, so I think it can be a good adventure movie!
Tell us one thing that few people know about you
That I used to be a diver when I was in the Italian Navy.
What would you say was your proudest professional achievement?
When I was promoted Captain and given command of a ship!
When you think back to your Middlesex days, what is your fondest memory?
Probably the graduation ceremony!
Why did you choose Middlesex to pursue your MSc Marine Ops & Safety Management?
At that time I had quite a lot of working experience and I wanted to further my education with a postgraduate degree. I found the Middlesex Work Based Learning programme very flexible and ideal to suit my busy life.
Which lecturer had the greatest impact on you?
Dr Mehemet Ali Dikerdem, who was my academic advisor during my doctorate and was able to guide me through a challenging programme.
What did you do as soon as you had graduated?
I took my family out for dinner!
You came back and studied for your Doctorate of Professional Studies, what drove you to continue studying?
I had a very good experience during my Masters programme at Middlesex, this sparked the interest to further my education to the next level. What drove me to continue studying was the peculiarity of this programme, where the learner is situated outside the academic sphere, being a practitioner in a working environment. Moreover I love challenges and I wanted to be recognised able to accomplish the highest level of professional achievement, I must say that the doctorate fulfilled this desire.
Tell us about your book Cross-Cultural Safety: Effective management in multi-cultural contexts
I think that this book offers a solution to the complex issue of managing occupational safety in a multi-cultural environment, and it is based on my doctoral research. I do believe that In today's globalised labour market it is impossible to ignore cross-cultural implications and their impact on the health and safety regime. Although the research described in this book was carried out in the offshore oil and gas sector, the findings and the proposed safety model are transferable to other industries too.
In short, in this book I demonstrated that cultural biases and shared beliefs have an impact on the perception of risks, and the knowledge of this correlation would give practitioners an insight into where they need to put ‘safety barriers' to reduce the likelihood of an incident occurring.
The research also gave me the opportunity to present my findings in two international conferences and to disseminate my work through articles in professional magazines.