Starting their studies and meeting new friends: The MADM Summer School 2018 in Bochum

A report on the MADM Summer School 2018 in Bochum from MADM Coordinator Tobias Thürer

On the 27th of August 2018, the Summer School of the Master of Arts in Development Management (MADM) was inaugurated in Bochum, marking the starting point for the new batch of 16 students. During this summer school, these 16 students met their 12 fellow students from the Cape Town group, who started their studies in the MADM programme at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in May 2018. In total, 28 students from 21 different countries spent four weeks together. The intensive course on statistics was enriched with a seminar on intercultural communication and teambuilding, as well as workshops and presentations facilitated by professionals from diverse German development organizations (DEG, GIZ, UNIDO, Don Bosco, Zukunftsstiftung Entwicklung and adelphi). At the end of their time together, the students travelled to Berlin for four days, visiting the Reichstag and the Bundesrat, among other activities. The students also had a chance to get to know each other at diverse social events held throughout the Summer School.

After Summer School, the students of the Cape Town group started their internship period, where they gain practical experience in the development sector, mostly in organizations based in Germany. The students of the Bochum group have been continuing their studies since then, currently in their first semester. In January 2019, both groups will meet again in Cape Town for the second Summer School. There, diverse courses, e.g. a course on how to prepare and conduct field research, will be offered to the students, as well as the opportunity to meet South African practitioners in the development sector.
After this nice start, we are now looking forward to accompanying our students during their studies in the MADM programme.

MADM students visiting the German Reichstag (Source: IEE)