![]() |
Winter Newsletter HELLO and WELCOME to our first quarterly newsletter of 2017, rounding up the latest news and events from UNU-MERIT. Here we explore the push and pull of international development: innovation through science and entrepreneurship, and governance through public policy analysis. Coming up, we look forward to joining the Future Force Conference in the Hague; to being one of eight host sites worldwide for the NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition; and to hosting our spring Master's Open Day. More details below! |
|
![]() |
Latest News - Our top news is that Gloria Bernal, GPAC2 fellow cohort 2017, has been awarded a scholarship by the Netherlands Fellowship Programme. Her work will focus on the performance gap between public and private education in her home country of Colombia. - Major events in late 2016 included a science reporting workshop in Panama, 12 December, a seminar on mining innovation in developing countries, 7 December (featuring the newly appointed Prof. Carlo Pietrobelli), and a social protection workshop in Thailand, 3 October. |
|
![]() |
Upcoming Events - At the Future Force Conference in The Hague, UNU-MERIT will host the breakout session ‘Operation Peace’ on 10 February. This will consider the UN peacekeeping architecture and how best to prepare it for the security challenges of the 21st century. - Graduate students from NASPAA schools will compete at UNU-MERIT and seven other sites worldwide in a day-long simulation on 25 February. Students will analyse a Food Security problem (related to SDG#2) and present solutions to a panel of expert judges. - Finally, we look forward to hosting our spring Master's Open Day on 18 March. Information sessions will be offered throughout the day and visitors will have a chance to chat informally with staff and students. |
|
![]() |
Application Deadlines - Apply by 15 February for our PhD programme on Innovation, Economics and Governance for Development. Our multidisciplinary course trains fellows to become both scholars and practitioners in the fields of governance and the economics of technology. - Call for papers for the 2017 international conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) on ‘Public Policy & Governance Beyond Borders’. Deadline: 31 January. Also, we're offering up to four scholarships for students from developing and transition countries; deadline: 1 March. |
|
![]() |
Alumni Activities Four countries, 13 cities: the third edition of Maastricht University Star Lectures will take place on 2 February. Over the last two years, the UM Star Lecture concept has proven to be highly valued by alumni in the Netherlands and abroad. The concept: a number of leading UM professors share topical scientific insights with alumni on the same day, at the same time in 13 different cities across four countries. Check the website to find a lecture close to you or on a topic that interests you. |
|
![]() |
Recent Publications - Two of our journal articles looked at innovation and development: on technological spillovers and industrial growth in Chinese regions, and on social enterprises in the Indian sanitation sector. - Also, our researchers published working papers on gender equality and research productivity in Mexico; on capacity building through PhD education in Africa; and on the impact of quantitative easing in the Netherlands. - Meanwhile, our PhD fellows defended theses on topics including transnational corruption between multinationals and public officials; on the administration and regulation of the EU-Turkey customs union; and on poverty dynamics and social mobility in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
|
![]() |
Multimedia - Until next time, in early April, please check our social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Recent videos include a joint interview on mining innovation in developing countries with Profs. David Kaplan and Carlo Pietrobelli. - Meanwhile, our 'Mygration Story' series continued with two frank accounts from Profs. Melissa Siegel and Jørgen Carling, including details of their Nordic ancestry. - Finally, stay up-to-date on all our major publications via our monthly ‘press review’. |
|