Key factors in my world, which are drivers for my continuing professional development

What direction my development might take in the future?
My main occupation is architecture, architectural journalism and architectural education. Nevertheless, at periods I’m undertaking additional professional activities, working as an artist, designer, author, etc. While, these activities may seem contradictory to each other, I conceive them as parts of the broad employment opportunities that the architectural occupation offers. Thus the personal viewpoint that the architect is one of the most ambiguous and multifarious professionals (or personalities) merging the creative and artistic skills of a designer with the technical and scientific knowledge of an engineer, influences considerably my perspective about continuing professional development. 

            In order to illustrate further the above judgment, I decided to draw a table with my latest CPD (Continuing Professional Development) activities, categorizing them according to the affect that I think they had to my professional development. All the activities that I attended during the last years were selected voluntarily by me and they were not compelled by an employer.

Motivation =  Artistic development	Motivation =  Development in both artistic and technical knowledge	Motivation =  Development in technical knowledge.
-Ceramic apprenticeship in the studio of an artist (duration: more than 2 years) -Several workshops and seminars for artists (small duration)	-3DS Max training (190 hours) -Spanish language and literature (interrupted)	-CPD in energy-saving buildings (400 hours)

In an attempt to self-evaluate my CPD choices (why I selected the particular subjects and what I was expecting from these CDP activities) I would say, that I was always oscillating between the activities that could improve my artistic expression and those that could provide me with the necessary technical knowledge. Unfortunately, for me, the two directions were always contradictory, as too much attention, to the artistic development resulted in damages to my professional practice as an engineer and the opposite. And, because this dilemma caused me many times frustration and disappointment, while it was the main reason for abandoning one activity in order to undertake another, I’ve decided, some time ago, to turn my focus in one direction and to limit significantly the field of my interests, to those CPD activities that could develop mostly the artistic creativity. Of course, I’m aware that the artistic development (art learning) is a slow, uncertain and time-consuming procedure, like the art itself, with vague learning outcomes.

At present, I am working as a part-time adjunct instructor in a faculty of fine and applied arts. The particular professional context is extremely competitive, since the majority or the training staff is highly qualified and have clear aspirations for promotion. Under these antagonistic circumstances, a common approach for anyone who wants to increase the opportunities for academic career and to build a competitive CV, is through the Continuing Professional Development and the subsequent obtaining of a degree. Consequently, and since the minimum requirements for an academic career is the Master or even better a PhD degree and since I plan to continue teaching in higher education, then I must limit the selection of CPD activities to those that lead to the obtaining of a degree.

So, as far as now, I have identified two key factors derived from the characteristics of my professional practice and will become drivers for my future continuing professional development. These are: 

·         The improvement of my artistic skills.

·         The obtaining of an academic degree.

The above criteria must additionally fit into my style of life and to my learning preferences. For example, I have recently moved into a small town with limited educational facilities, while the possibility of a new relocation in the near future is significant. Moreover, I prefer those CPD activities that I can attend from my home, at my one pace and time schedule. So, I consider any CPD educational program guided by the two key factors previously identified and offered via distance learning, advantageous for my future professional development.