UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Lieutenant General Dennis Gyllensporre of Sweden as Force Commander of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Lieutenant General Gyllensporre holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Maastricht University, gained in 2010 via our Dual Career Training Programme in Governance and Policy Analysis (GPAC²). His thesis focused on ‘Competing and Complementarity Perspectives on the EU as a Crisis Actor – Manage...

As coordinators of the Evidence-Based Policy Research Methods (EPRM) programme our job is to look after our participants, not only when they are physically in Maastricht but also when they join us online. We assign course tutors, individual research tutors, and modular coordinators – including Dr. Oxana Slobozhan, who graduated from our full-time PhD programme in 2014. Now based in Turkey, Oxana coordinates EPRM module two, where participants turn their research ideas into full proposals. What d...

We recently caught up with Dr. Andrea Franco-Correa of Colombia, who graduated from our PhD programme in January 2017. She defended her thesis ‘On the measurement of multidimensional poverty as a policy tool: The case of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru’ — and has since started work at the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare....

A PhD can be a game-changer for your career, especially at a research institute or international organisation. But not for everyone. Paul Caldron, one of our recent GPAC2 graduates, is a medical doctor approaching the end of his career – and in many ways he valued personal over professional development. … Paul, why exactly did you join our part-time PhD programme? As you would expect, my answer will be non-traditional. When my kids had all left home, and my practice efficiency had improved to th...

Alumnus and affiliated researcher Dr. Richard Bluhm has won this year’s Prize for Excellence in Applied Development Research from the German Economic Association (VfS). He was awarded first prize in the Young Researcher category for his doctoral thesis on ‘Growth Dynamics and Development. Essays in Applied Econometrics and Political Economy’. “Understanding why some countries are poor and others are rich, and how this gap can be closed, remains the most fundamental problem in development e...

Alumnus and affiliated researcher Dr. Carlos Cadena Gaitán is one of seven emerging leaders worldwide shortlisted for the ‘Inspired Leadership Award 2016’. The award will be presented at ‘The Performance Theatre’ – featuring 150 global CEOs and change-makers from across business, policy and civil society – in London, UK on 17-18 June 2016. Dr. Carlos Cadena Gaitán is the co-founder of La Ciudad Verde, a Colombian activist think tank that promotes sustainable cities through citizen participation ...

Ahead of a recent UNICEF 'Tweetchat' on child social protection, Dr. Mindel van de Laar caught up with alumna Dr. Keetie Roelen, who now works for the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Sussex in the UK. Here's what they had to say about the past, present and future of our global development work....

Civil wars disrupt many aspects of life and development, including the education of the next generation. Yet until now there has been very little research into the subject. We spoke with Dr. Silvia Consuelo Gómez Soler after her record-breaking defence on this topical issue — which is relevant worldwide. 1. Congratulations on your PhD defence! You focused on civil conflict and education, drawing lessons from Colombia. Why did you choose this topic? SG: Getting a better understanding of the...

Judit Vall Castello was one of the first PhD fellows at the School of Governance: she joined our Marie Curie European Social Protection PhD programme in 2006, before graduating in 2010 with a dissertation on ‘Business Cycle and Policy Effects on Labour Market Transitions of Older and Disabled Workers in Spain’. We caught up with Judit after she gave a seminar at the School of Business and Economics in early October. … The European Social Protection PhD was an EU programme to cr...

In early September, Dr. Jinjing Li, a graduate of our PhD programme in 2011, returned to his alma mater. He was accompanying his wife, Jasmin Kientzel, who was here to (successfully) defend her PhD thesis. This smart couple now lives in Canberra, Australia, so it’s a rare honour to welcome them back to Maastricht. Dr. Mindel van de Laar spoke to Jinjing about the new life he’s started on the other side of the world, and his activities outside of research. … Jinjing, can you tel...