The GLODEP Program was influential in building a solid foundation for the theory and practice of my craft. I am currently in the field of arms control and disarmament at the United Nations Institute of Disarmament Research where we generate insights to influence regulatory regimes and policy on conventional weapons at the global, regional, national and local levels to help prevent both armed conflict and armed violence and contribute to peace and security of societies. Policy-relevant research is not simply good at collecting data to build insights to support sound recommendations. It is also about understanding the capabilities and needs of your key stakeholders and being able to clearly communicate with them about your research. GLODEP was key for my research training – the theory. Yet, understanding why and how development is delivered for its target “beneficiaries” provided me with an in-depth knowledge on the critical and at times, sensitive role of “experts” – the practice. Through...

I proudly graduated GLODEP in 2021 as part of the third cohort of this Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Program. Studying abroad with classmates from 24 different nationalities, all while moving to a new country every 5 months, was as hectic, eventful and marvelous as it sounds. This multi-country degree opens the door to a variety of perspectives, ways of life, administrative systems, and many other aspects that fill all your senses and shape your learning experience day to day. Particularly, the variety of topics learned throughout the 2-year program and the exposure to a wide network of leading researchers and development professionals -all while submerged in an inherently multicultural and multidisciplinary environment-, inevitably change how you see the world and interact with it. The assimilation of this blend of topics and academic approaches impacts the way in which you approach the analysis of socioeconomic conditions, development challenges, and reality altogether. This degree offered...

Hi, I’m Luis Pineda, GLODEP alumni (2019-2021) and I am currently serving as a Nature-based Solutions Associate Programme Officer at the United Nations Environment Programme, a position that builds directly on the skills and knowledge I gained during the GLODEP Master. Before joining the masters, I worked on environmental and development projects at the local level, and one of my main motivations for enrolling was to broaden by complementing my environmental and social expertise with economic knowledge and a global development perspective. This combination ultimately helped me transition from project-based roles into programme-oriented work within international organizations. The academic training, together with the experience of studying in a highly multicultural and multilingual environment, has been highly valuable in my professional career.  Studying and living in Olomouc, and in the Czech Republic in general, represented a dramatic and exciting change for me. Adapting to studying...

What is your current position/job, and how did you use IDS master’s experience/its courses to acquire this position?  I’m currently a Senior Associate at IDinsight based in Nairobi. At IDinsight, I use data and evidence to help development leaders make decisions. My GLODEP experience provided a strong theoretical grounding in development economics, which helped me understand the broader context of the challenges we address in my work. The technical courses also strengthened my analytical skills and built on my prior statistics background.   Why did you decide to come to study IDS at Palacky University/Olomouc/Czech Republic?  I wanted a program that could bridge my background in statistics with the development sector, and GLODEP offered exactly that combination. It provided an opportunity to deepen my technical skills while gaining a richer understanding of global development issues.  How was it to study in Olomouc? What were the major challenges?  Studying in Olomouc was both...

What is your current position/job, and how did you use your IDS master’s experience and its courses to acquire this position?  I am currently a Junior Professional Associate at the Governance – Public Institutions Global Practice at the World Bank. I have to say that this master’s degree was a cornerstone for achieving this position. As with many professional journeys, achievements are incremental and cumulative, each step builds on the previous one.  Soon after graduating from the master’s program, I secured an internship at the World Bank. The program’s focus areas, the communication and language skills I gained, the knowledge on development-related topics, the technical terminology, software skills, and the multicultural experience all made me competitive and allowed me to obtain that internship. In the same way, it was my master’s background combined with my internship experience that led to a consultancy at the United Nations. Ultimately, the combination of all these experiences...