Prof Dr Jo Ritzen is an Honorary Professor at UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University. He served as Minister of Education, Culture, and Science of the Netherlands from 1989 to 1998, becoming the longest-serving Education Minister in the EU. Subsequently, he was appointed Vice-President of the World Bank (1998–2003) and President of Maastricht University (2003–2011). His current research interests revolve around trust in government and sustainability issues, and he is also leading an initiative to i...
The swift spread of COVID-19 required an urgent response from many institutions – and universities were no exception. Classes were quickly moved online, which proved to be a challenge for instructors and students alike. To get a glimpse into how our Master’s programme dealt with this transition, we caught up with Programme Director Dr. Julieta Marotta as well as current student Joshua Hofert. … Dr. Julieta Marotta As a Programme Director leading a Master’s with multiple specialisations, ho...
The Millennium Development Goals were announced to the world in the year 2000. They marked a significant milestone in instituting a goal-based approach towards development. In terms of policies, they have arguably been the most successful in driving the world’s agenda towards global development. But when it comes to education, the extent to which they made a difference after 15 years remains inconclusive. In 2015 the Sustainable Development Goals replaced the Millennium Development Goals. Goal n...
In increasingly diverse societies, teaching must recognise the importance of affirming students’ cultural backgrounds in all aspects of learning. Shutterstock A joint post by Prof Louis Volante, Dr Christopher DeLuca, and Prof Don A. Klinger Classrooms in many parts of the world are increasingly diverse. International migration patterns have significantly changed the cultural make-up of many industrialised societies and, by extension, their school-aged populations. Such changes are particularl...
March 2018 marks the relaunch of two online group-based courses: ‘Introduction to Political Science’ and ‘Governance in Theory and Practice’, which will now start at fixed intervals. Course coordinator Dr. Mindel van de Laar spoke with one of our long-term tutors, Biljana Meshkovska, about this small but important innovation. … You’re the tutor for two of our online courses: ‘Introduction to Political Science’ and ‘Governance in Theory and Practice’. We sometimes see staff rotation, but yo...
There’s no disputing that many African countries’ education systems are in trouble. Despite significant investment and some improvements linked to the push to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, children in large parts of Africa are simply not being well taught or learning what is needed as they progress through the school system....
‘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. Our sixth post in the series looks briefly at the universal human right to education — and then gives a very personal angle on the merits of interdisciplinary debate. … From their inception in the 1948 Universal Declaration, human rights have always been a hallmark of public policy be...