I am Brazilian and had spent most of my career in finance when I applied to GLODEP, driven by a long‑held desire to work in international development. When I received my admission letter, I knew I couldn’t miss the chance to study a subject I cared deeply about, alongside people from around the world, in three different countries. Arriving in the Czech Republic felt like a turning point. The diverse curriculum, spanning development issues, economics, and quantitative methods, gave me the tools to enter a new field. But I believe I learned the most from my classmates. Coming from 17 countries, we lived and relied on each other daily, and their stories and perspectives transformed the way I understood the world. That new outlook guided my next steps. During my final semester, I interned at the UN Office in Geneva, working at the Joint Inspection Unit on Disaster Risk Reduction evaluations. After graduation, I completed a traineeship in the statistics department of the European Central...

How did you use GLODEP to get where you are now? What is your current position? I would like to start by thanking the European Union through the Erasmus plus Programme for the opportunity to study a Global Development Policy (GLODEP) Masters Programme in International Development Studies. Prior to my Masters Programme, I was a Disaster Preparedness Officer which I still am, and was confined largely to routine office/ desk job and field work related to disasters. I have faced a challenge of limited promotion opportunities and ability to transfer within Government since the humanitarian office is only under one ministry. However, despite the limitations mentioned, I have been fortunate to chair meetings with more senior colleagues, participating in high level panel discussions among others involving senior officials and heads of UN institutions/ senior government officials and legislators. The most recent can be seen on the link below where I make reference to the humanitarian-development...

My journey with the GLODEP program has been instrumental in shaping my career trajectory. When I joined GLODEP, I was seeking a platform to expand my understanding of global development challenges, and best practices to overcome them. The comprehensive curriculum and exposure to international development theories helped me acquire valuable knowledge and skills that I now adapt in my past and current roles. GLODEP’s focus on practical experience in the last semester through a research stay with an Italian NGO enabled me to engage directly with ongoing efforts in humanitarian and development work, offering a real-world context to the theories discussed in class. This hands-on experience was crucial in landing my first job post-graduation, as it helped demonstrate the direct application of my thesis into real-world results. The diversity of my colleagues and professors in the GLODEP program enriched my learning experience, allowing me to gain diverse perspectives on global issues....

I’m currently working as a Doctoral Researcher at the Sustainable Urban Systems and the Urban Environmental Policy research groups at the University of Helsinki. Before my current position and following the graduation from GLODEP I worked as the Policy and Advocacy Manager of Habitat for Humanity Hungary, a local branch of the US-headquartered international NGO advocating for the eradication of housing deprivation and the improvement of housing conditions of people of low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds. Both in my previous position and in my current role I have built on the knowledge and experience gathered during GLODEP. Switching from a more policy-oriented position to a more academic position was also a smooth process, to which GLODEP contributed greatly via providing an excellent foundation for both formulating research-based policy recommendations and producing policy-relevant research. The multidisciplinary approach has proven to be one of the key strengths of GLODEP. I have...