Spring Newsletter HELLO and WELCOME to our second quarterly newsletter of 2017, rounding up the latest news and events from UNU-MERIT. Here we explore the push and pull of international development: innovation through science and entrepreneurship, and governance through public policy analysis. Over the next few months, we look forward to a science reporting workshop in Accra, our first annual internal conference in Maastricht, and an international conference on public policy in Brussels. More details below! |
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Latest News - "An outstanding contribution to society – world leading," was the verdict of an independent review committee on the work carried out by UNU-MERIT and the ICIS Centre at Maastricht University. We are deeply honoured by this and the other positive assessments of our work! - Major events in early 2017 included two DEIP innovation workshops in Peru and India; two lectures and interviews with the Ambassadors of Canada and Mexico; and our UNU Action Debate for the Global Challenges Prize 2017, featuring Dr. Maty Konte and the directors of UNU-CRIS and UNU-EHS. |
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Upcoming Events - The second round of our 'Reach & Turn' science reporting course -- targeting both government and media -- will be co-hosted with UNU-INRA in Ghana on 26-27 April. - UNU-MERIT will hold its first annual internal conference on 28-29 June, with a view to increasing interactions between researchers across the various research themes. - ‘Public Policy & Governance Beyond Borders’ is the title of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management international conference on 13-14 July in Brussels. Read our first minority scholarship report on climate change and security. |
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Application Deadlines - Apply by 7 August for our autumn course on Evidence-Based Policy Research Methods (EPRM). - This 14-week customised course fills the gap between a Master’s degree and the start of a research project, either work-related or for a PhD thesis. It targets researchers from academic institutions and policymakers in developing or developed countries seeking to strengthen their research competencies and outputs. - Participants will: learn to design a proposal for evidence-based research; learn to analyse qualitative or quantitative data; improve their academic writing; and learn tools to disseminate research. |
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Alumni Activities - To give our current Master’s students a chance to meet with alumni, we will organise a small student-alumni get-together event before the end of the academic year. - The event will be open to current and prospective MPP students and feature short presentations by alumni about their post-graduation experiences and careers. - A larger Alumni Day is scheduled to take place during the PAS Festival in Maastricht on 7-9 September. Please contact Alumni Officer Sueli Brodin for more details. |
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Recent Publications - A UN Policy Brief on 'Social Protection for Forest Dependent Communities' was co-authored by Dr. Nyasha Tirivayi and co-published with UN FAO. This report explores the topic of social protection for forest-dependent communities through a global literature review and three country case studies in Burkina Faso, China and Uganda. - The 'Africa Capacity Report 2017: Building Capacity in Science, Technology and Innovation for Africa’s Transformation' was co-authored by Dr. Samia Nour and published with financial support from the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). |
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Multimedia - See our recent interviews with reps from the World Food Programme (on our student simulation competition), the Indian government (on our EPRM programme), and a US university (on our science reporting course). - Our 'Mygration Story' series continues with contributions from UNU-CRIS in Belgium (via Cameroon), UNU-INWEH in Canada (via Indonesia), and UNU-CS in Macau (via Wales). Also check our director's latest post on the poverty line -- and where to draw it. - Until next time, in early July, please check our social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. You can also stay up-to-date on all our major publications via our monthly ‘First Impressions’ roundup. |
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