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...
Mahmud Henry Rogers graduated from our Master’s programme in 2012 and is now standing as a candidate in the UK parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015. He is contesting the seat of Bedford and Kempston, located around 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Inspired by his time in Maastricht, Mahmud campaigns on themes including social protection: from raising the minimum wage to defending free healthcare for all citizens. He has also written and debated on sustainability issues — particular...
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania was appointed UN Special Envoy for Yemen on 25 April 2015. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance — a course run by Dr. Franziska Gassmann. In a statement, a UN spokesperson said that Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed will work closely with the members of the UN Security Council, the Gulf Cooperation Council, governments in the region and other partners, as well as the UN Country ...
Described as “an astonishing inspiration for leaders around the world for how to mobilise people, create change in your local community and see the international effects,” PhD alumnus and affiliated researcher Dr. Carlos Cadena Gaitan has won the 2015 Future Sustainability Leader award. “This year’s… campaign searched for nominations for the best and brightest future leaders in sustainability that are mobilising for change and making us all seize new opportunities,”...
Dr. Aziz Atamanov graduated September 2011 from the PhD programme in Public Policy and Policy Analysis here at the School of Governance. He soon joined the World Bank, first as a consultant on the Central Asian region and, since 2012, on data management, poverty and shared prosperity analysis on the MENA region. Dr. Mindel van de Laar spoke with Aziz at World Bank HQ, Washington DC, in early April. She asked him how his PhD launched his career, how he has grown ‘on the job’, and what...
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced 30 January 2014 the appointment of Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania as his new Deputy Special Representative and Deputy Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), where he will also serve as Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed holds a master’s degree in human resources development from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom),...
I started my PhD in 2008 as a mid-career professional, having already worked for several years in Iran and a few years in Afghanistan. Due to my previous experience, I realized that I wanted to continue working with children. I also wanted to work on Iran as I thought my local knowledge would be a key advantage for the study. Back then I was working for UNICEF, so I started my PhD as a part-time GPAC² fellow. Around the same time UNICEF introduced its global study on child poverty. I was working...
Fellows on our part-time PhD programme (GPAC²) work for governments and international bodies around the world. Their day jobs land them at the centre of events in geopolitical hotspots, meaning they are often better informed than even the best connected journalists. In this new series, we speak with alumni and fellows about historic events, hot topics and how their PhD research helped them in their careers. This time we asked PhD alumnus Joe Abah about his new role in the Nigerian Government. Se...