Master programmes going global
Making use of new opportunities for educational internationalisation within the VLIR International Course Programme , we were able to obtain substantial co-funding that will allow us to start implementing the strategic vision for a renewed Globalised Northern- Based Development Studies Institute ( see Annual Report 2015 ), in particular in our core area of Master ’ s education . The principles of the IOB strategy are to build upon existing partnerships , to match demand and supply , to strengthen the nexus of education – research – outreach / impact , and to work using an incremental , gradual approach , allowing for diversified levels of ambition according to conditions and the nature of the partnership . The main instruments concern student and staff exchange ( Mobility Window , fieldwork for dissertations ) and the co-development of MA modules in situ .
The five-year plans ( 2017-2021 ) for the approved ICP projects that support our three Master ’ s programmes aim to achieve , in particular :
( a ) enhanced exchange of students and staff within our existing programmes ( guest lectures by teaching staff from partner countries , research and dissertation internships for IOB students in all partner countries ).
( b ) the co-organisation of joint course modules in the DRC and Tanzania , part of local Master ’ s , but also accredited as modules of our own Master ’ s in Antwerp .
( c ) the co-organisation of a Central American version of our three Master ’ s programmes , i . e . the organisation of three of the four modules in Managua ( LIPR track ) and the second module of the programmes in Antwerp .
In all partner countries , these new educational plans are tightly linked to ongoing and new research efforts and , in particular , new initiatives to further strengthen the quality and social impact of joint and autonomous local research . The strategy also involves cooperation with additional national and international stakeholders , thus avoiding an exclusive IOB-centred process . In the DRC , together with our long-standing partner Université Catholique de Bukavu , we are working towards the creation of a joint IOB-UCB Master module on the governance of natural resources , and the intensification of staff and student exchange . In Tanzania , the educational plans are linked to monitoring and evaluation research aimed at a synergy-platform , involving different organisations of the Belgian development cooperation , as well as other national and international partners of Zumbe University . In Nicaragua , the dynamics of the cooperation process point towards more intense regional cooperation between the three Jesuit universities in Nicaragua , El Salvador and Guatemala . Other international academic partners from the US and Europe will also join this ambitious effort .
30 • Annual report 2014