I have always been interested in pursuing a PhD. After working for a number of years and having a family, I felt that I needed a programme that would allow me to pursue my PhD and my career, while not having to interrupt either in any way. GPAC2 was the programme that appeared to fit the most....
I’ve worked for UNICEF on programme planning, monitoring and evaluation, focusing not only on countries in development but also humanitarian contexts. This has given me a deep understanding of how to tailor programmes in order to ensure a timely and effective response – especially in emergency situations. As I grew professionally, my interest shifted to research, social policy and social protection. I decided therefore to start a PhD on social policy and social protection....
My research addresses the problem of deforestation and forest preservation in Brazil. This country has the largest stretch of tropical forest in the world. Surprisingly, and this is good news for once, Brazil has reduced yearly deforestation levels dramatically over the last decade. Since the Rio Conference in 1993, the Brazilian government has given protected status to 40% of the ‘Amazônia Legal’ region. This means it has demarcated indigenous areas, monitored deforestation via satellite imager...
Midsummer, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) published the “E-Governance – A powerful tool toward resilient, inclusive and sustainable disaster risk management”. You contributed as an author on e-resilience and e-government. Can you please elaborate what the survey and publication are about?...
Your PhD revolves around the redistribution of land and its impact on agricultural outcomes; this is timely and relevant given climate change and its impact on food security. Can you elaborate on your dissertation topic? ...
You defended your PhD thesis ‘A tall order – Improving child linear growth’ on 19 June 2018. When you applied to the programme, you were working as a project manager for the UN’s World Food Programme. Was there a link between your activities at work, and the choice to apply for a part-time PhD?...
You defend your PhD on 19 June 2018. Can you briefly describe your thesis? My research looks into strategic planning within Palestinian local governments. It considers the conditions, factors and dynamics that shape the design, launch and roll out of local strategic plans within fragile contexts. The conceptual framework is based on two interlinked elements. First, that fragile states are marked by weak national institutions, where the legitimacy and effectiveness of central governments are ofte...
You defend your PhD thesis on 24 November. In your research, you study a remarkable ‘Case Management Information System’ in Kosovo. Can you briefly explain the background and why you decided to study it? / My research looks into the roll out of a ‘Case Management Information System’ (CMIS) in the judiciary of Kosovo, which began in 2001 and remains ongoing. ...
On Thursday 23 November, you will defend your PhD dissertation “Prioritizing the HIV Response: A multi-criteria decision analysis”. Can you briefly describe what your study is about? / Nearly 35 years since the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS, the political and financial momentum that saw rapid progress in increasing treatment coverage and reductions of new infections is showing signs of slowing down. The reduction in donor funding for HIV response in transition economies like Viet Nam, ...
Why and how do some female child carers in Lesotho manage to stay in school despite being responsible for running a household? This was the question that researcher Brenda Yamba, originally from Zambia, wanted to answer. She defended her PhD at Maastricht University last June. “Brenda was what you might call a model student”, her supervisor Melissa Siegel says immediately. “In addition to being disciplined and eager to learn, she also dealt extremely well with feedback. She was hugely motivated ...