ADAPTED Students' Start at the IEE

Akua, Irene, Muhammad, and Natalia – the ESRs of the ADAPTED network – reflect on the journey of starting their positions at the IEE.

We are honored to have been awarded PhD research opportunities under the ADAPTED network, and to be hosted by the IEE. The past few weeks since September 2021 have been spent navigating through the bureaucracy of living, working, and studying in Germany. It would have been quite daunting without the kind support of our colleagues at the Institute who helped guide us to the different offices and make sense of the numerous registration forms. Most of us have now settled in and have started to focus on reading, writing and attending courses.

Over the next few years, we will be focusing on researching economic and social solutions to poverty and deprivation in the developing world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our areas of research span from integrating poverty into extended growth models, to social protection rights and systems, to minimum wages and formal sector employment and how these can hopefully contribute in denting some of the problems confronting the developing world. We are looking forward to this journey at the IEE, and hope to make it successful and meaningful.

Akua Martinson, Ghana, studying the effects of governmentally enforced minimum wages on formal sector employment

I arrived in Bochum in mid-September as one of the four research fellows hosted by the IEE (RUB) within the ADAPTED network. Thankfully, I made it in time to enjoy the very little that was left of the summer before the unavoidable cold, wet, and windy winter. Settling in has been an interesting learning process and our colleagues at the institute have made it as smooth as possible. I cannot imagine navigating the process without their guidance and support.

As has been the adjustment around the world due to the current pandemic, we have had to combine physical presence at the Institute with working from a home office. Through virtual platforms and physical interactions where possible, I have enjoyed getting to know and learn from colleagues at the institute: 14 other ADAPTED research fellows and other researchers through the RUB Research School.

So far, I have mostly only heard from colleagues and friends about the city of Bochum. But in the coming weeks, months and years, as my research work intensifies, I plan to balance this intensity by taking time to explore the interesting sights and sounds in and around Bochum. I have enjoyed my first few months and I look forward to a fruitful journey at the IEE.

Muhammad Saleh, Pakistan, examining the effect of foreign direct investment and official development assistance on job creation and poverty reduction

In the second week of November 2021, I had the exciting opportunity to a two-day webinar on “Intercultural Communication”. Regional diversity was the hallmark, with participants originating from Asia to Europe and from Africa to the United States, and Canada.  Dr. Gabi Kratochwil, the lead resource person of the webinar came with a mix of German and Arab lineage. With many years of experience in the MENA region and Europe; diverse language skills and understanding of cultural diversities, she actively engaged the participants throughout and managed to ignite in-depth intercultural exchanges through small Zoom discussion rooms.

The webinar developed an understanding of communication differences across cultures and how those differences could create conflict and misunderstandings both in professional and public arenas. I learned how to identify, address, and overcome these communication differences effectively.  Dr. Gabi made us realize how the understanding of basic concepts of intercultural communication and the culture’s influences on behavior can be crucial for managing diversity in multicultural work environment. She made every participant realize how understating of different cultural standards and dimensions can help us interact with others, measure success, and embark upon robust team-building processes; not only in formal organizations but also in public sphere.

The webinar organized by the IEE was ideally suited for us the ADAPTED researchers who had just joined the Institute to get ourselves oriented to the subject and communicate and perform more effectively. Apart from her rich knowledge and experience, the pleasant and amusing personality of Dr. Gabi made the webinar an exciting experience for all.

Natalia Zakharchenko, Kyrgyzstan, scrutinizing rights-based approach to social assistance

In September 2021, I was lucky enough to kick off my new position at the Institute of Development Research and Development Policies as a Marie-Składowska Curie Early Stage Researcher and a PhD candidate in the ADAPTED training network. I remember trembling both from excitement and anticipation of meeting my future colleagues, but also feeling the usual anxiety of joining an unfamiliar working environment. The anxiety quickly proved to be unnecessary as the new colleagues surrounded us with a warm-hearted atmosphere, accompanied our battles with bureaucracies, brought us up-to-date on the Institute’s affairs, supervised our academic aspirations, and organized lunches and informal evenings. I frequently slipped into the offices of my benevolent and intelligent ADAPTED colleagues to discuss yet another ‘always pressing intellectual thought’. We had only just started exploring the opportunities at the Ruhr University Bochum and were already thrilled. The course on how to deliver an academic presentation offered from the Research School is my personal highlight and discovery, and I hope more are waiting ahead.

Being away from my family is definitely a challenge; however, that makes me appreciate time and use it wisely. In an attempt to deceive my home-sickness, I decorated my office with a poster portraying the Kyrgyz culture. To my surprise (and to the surprise of my ADAPTED colleagues who discovered it), we found many similarities between Asian and African cultural ornaments and patterns, and spent a whole day bashing geographic determinism. Speaking of geographies, another joyful event was meeting inspiring and like-minded fellows from the Institute of Social Sciences in The Hague, where we visited as part of our monthly meetings. We now hope to greet our counterparts in Bochum and guide them through the famous Bermudadreieck.

To the greatest regret, the COVID-19 pandemic is not giving up on humanity, and we have relocated our academic and social deliberations to our home offices once again. Hopefully, (Daumen drücken!), in the near future, we will have another safe break to appreciate morning kitchen talks in the workplace, reflective and almost meditative, academic debates with our office colleagues, the luxury of personal acquaintances, and casual farewell hugs.

Irene Among – Building coherent social protection systems

It is my delight to start this PhD journey and focus on social protection, a topic that I am passionate about. Although COVID-19 has severely affected the way of life everywhere, it has also offered us the opportunity to think and adapt to new ways of working. The ADAPTED call for PhD applications could not have come at a better time for me! I had been putting off the idea of doing a PhD due to other life pressures. I moved to Bochum in September and was looking forward to discovering Bochum, meeting people, collaborating, and networking. The short time I have been here has allowed me to discover some beautiful places, meet lovely people at the IEE, and work closely with my ESR peers based at the IEE. I have also had the pleasure of meeting other ESRs based in The Hague. Alongside serious work, we have shared food, drinks, and good conversations. Unfortunately, the new COVID-19 restrictions have taken me back to a solitary world. I will nevertheless keep looking forward to seeing happy faces on zoom meetings until life returns to normal.