Dear Reader,

Welcome to this special edition of our newsletter, a heartfelt celebration of 25 years of the Master of Arts in Development Management (MADM)!

This summer, instead of our regular format, we’re marking a significant milestone: a quarter century of educating and connecting people passionate about development. The regular newsletter will return in Winter 2025, but for now, we invite you to dive into this commemorative issue, thoughtfully designed to reflect on the journey of MADM over the past 25 years.

Why is this edition special? What started in Paris as a creative idea from our colleague Natascha ended up with us reaching out to current and former students as well as staff to collect their impressions, experiences, and stories, creating a mosaic of voices that together paint a picture of the impact MADM has around the world. To help readers explore this rich collection, we’ve organized the alumni contributions according to their current professional fields. We thought this structure would be particularly interesting to those curious about the diverse paths MADM graduates have taken and how they are applying what they’ve learned in their careers.
The newsletter begins with an introduction and a few key facts and figures about the MADM program itself. This is followed by the alumni contributions, sorted by their areas of work. You’ll then get to know the current MADM intake (2024–26) through a series of short profiles, before we move on to the former and current IEE staff members, who also share their fascinating perspectives.

As a final highlight, explore our gallery of MADM cohort group photos, capturing the spirit and evolution of the program across generations. If you’re looking for a specific person, you can refer to the index at the end, where all contributors are listed by name and corresponding page number for easy navigation.

We hope you enjoy reading and exploring this Special Summer Edition as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Sincerely,

Wilhelm Löwenstein and Gabriele Bäcker

Please find the Newsletter in this PDF file.