IEE Newsletter No. 29

Editorial

Dear Reader,

Since its foundation, the IEE has promoted multifaceted research with a goal to find theory-based solutions for real-world development problems. Currently, its research activities are based on the expertise of around 50 researchers and PhD students with backgrounds in economics, geography, law, political science, and sociology. The diversity of disciplines convened at the IEE is reflected in the publications from IEE members over the last year, covering diverse topics, such as urban settlement, social movements as drivers of urban policy, fair trade wine, productivity of urban farmers in West Africa, refugees economics, and African procurement law, to name a few.

The multi-disciplinarity of the Institute is not only a strength when it comes to running interdisciplinary Master and PhD programmes, such as our Master in Development Management (MADM) and the PhD in International Development Studies, but has also been a key feature of research projects conducted in cooperation with other universities.

At the end of last year, the multidisciplinary project Urban Food Plus ended with a closing conference in Nakuru, Kenya. The IEE contributed studies from the field of economics to a larger project involving researchers from many disciplines, ranging from soil science to ethnology.

The new year started off with our summer school for all MADM students in Cape Town. In the 4-week summer school, the 28 students learned how to conduct a field research in a 2-week intensive course. Based on a given research topic, the students developed their own research question and questionnaire and then went to the field to collect the necessary data. In the second week, the students learned how to work with the data and analysis it with SPSS. In the last two weeks of the summer school, the students attended workshops and lectures with different local Professors.

Currently, the IEE is organizing an alumni conference under the title: “Evaluation of Development Interventions - Current Debates, Methods, and Best Practices”. This conference is devoted to reflecting on how well typical evaluation practices yield the desired insights in the actual outcomes and impact of a development intervention. The call for submissions was announced several days ago.

More insights on our activities are on the next pages. Enjoy the read.

Sincerely,

Unterschrift

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