Seven MPP students travel to Hungary for an international student event A guest post by Matias Hanawa Simon, current student in our 2023-2024 MPP cohort Within the field of public policy education, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) Student Simulation Competition stands out as an annual global event, offering students a transformative and innovative learning experience. Participants from numerous universities around the world engage in the simulation, a...
Machine learning (a subfield of artificial intelligence) is now routinely used by policymakers in the design, calibration and evaluation of public policies. Solving these prediction policy problems requires tools that are tuned to minimise prediction errors, but also frameworks to ensure that models are fair. Thanks to funding from the Dutch government, three researchers at UNU-MERIT (Stephan Dietrich, Michelle Gonzalez Amador and Alex Hunns) have developed Machine Learning for Public Policy (ML...
3 questions with our expert Julieta Marotta for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women According to UN Women, almost one in three women and girls have been “subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life.” And yet, just 5 percent of government aid is focused on tackling this issue. In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which falls on 25...
Highlights from UNU-MERIT’s Public Policy MPP Conference 2023 By Victor Osei Kwadwo, researcher and lecturer at UNU-MERIT On 8 November 2023, UNU-MERIT played host to thought-provoking discussions at our annual Public Policy MPP Conference, a key fixture on our MSc in Public Policy and Human Development (MPP) academic calendar. This year’s theme, ‘Gender and Public Policy: Navigating the Equality Dilemma,’ brought together students and staff to delve into the complexities surro...
Here’s what happened at the first Critical Policy Conference A guest post by Vincent Tadday, Global Studies student at Maastricht University To effect real change in policy and create social impact by way of re-imagination processes and dialogue, a new student-led initiative has emerged: the Critical Policy Lab. On Saturday 3 June 2023 in Maastricht, the first edition of the Lab’s Critical Policy Conference welcomed around 70 participants from UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University co...
How to choose a topic for your master’s thesis? “Few assignments can be as intimidating at university as writing a thesis,” acknowledges Master’s student Lais Bonetto. How do you pick your topic and how do you conduct your research? Find out what motivated Lais and her fellow students in their choices. Enter keywords...
On 3 November 2021, students of the Master’s of Science in Public Policy and Human Development (MPP) presented papers that they had written for their Public Policy course. Their papers variously analysed the influence of civil society in the policy process of a selected county and on a selected policy problem, and the event aimed to encouraged open debate. ...
‘Public Policy & Governance Beyond Borders’ was the guiding theme of the international conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), held in Brussels on 13-14 July 2017. In this fifth post in the series, Dr. Mindel van de Laar and Ayla Bonfiglio ask how the event contributed to our understanding of global public policy. … As academic co-hosts of the APPAM International Conference 2017, we enjoyed rich and varied interactions with both researchers and polic...
A joint post by Dr. Mindel van de Laar and Prof. David Van Slyke. ••• Governing is no longer the sole responsibility of states – today’s reality is far more inclusive and demands coordination with NGOs, non-profits, and the private sector. These are changes driven by the sheer complexity of policy challenges, which rarely if ever respect national borders. Take for example regional and cross-border conflicts around the world. The fallout from such wars goes far beyond individual countries, affect...
This year, we stayed in our own new Sphinxkwartier neighbourhood to celebrate the closing ceremony of our Master’s programme in Public Policy and Human Development (MPP). The Muziekgieterij, the Maastricht pop concert hall located a few minutes down the Boschstraat in the renovated Timmerfabriek, Maastricht’s former carpentry factory, provided a rough and original old industrial setting for the festive event. The MPP closing ceremony marks the end of the academic year and serves as a...