Postgraduate Masters Student Profiles & Videos

I went almost straight from my Bachelors in Human geography with a minor in conflict studies, at Utrecht University, to this Masters at Edinburgh University. I am interested actually in a lot of different things. From environmental ethics to political ecology, moral economy, sociology and anthropology of everyday life, qualitative research methods and alternative food networks. Being a geographer has made me see the value of approaching different environmental topics from an interdisciplinary social sciences perspective. It comes therefore as no surprise that the MSc Programme in Environment, Culture and Society has been the right choice for me. I have been able to choose courses that cater to my own field of interest perfectly. In this way, my curiosity of different themes within the environmental social sciences has been answered partly. Why only partly? Because I think I will always find topics I want to know more about!<br><br>Apart from studying, I have been actively involved in the European Geography Association. I organised and participated in congresses, activities and exchanges, gave trainings and was in the board of the Utrecht entity. Here in Edinburgh, I am a class representative and I am organising an event for the Innovative Learning Week. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me!<br>

Nationality: Australian/Dutch<br><br>Profile: Experience in environment and climate change policy and programs, including nearly four years working as an economist and policy adviser with the Victorian Government (Australia) and one year working with a Vietnamese civil society organisation on sustainable forest management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.<br><br>I had the opportunity to work with Australia's Victorian Government developing climate change policy and helping to develop and implement an offset program for native vegetation. To broaden my understanding in this field, and to satisfy my desire to apply my skills more directly, I spent 12 months in Hanoi working with a Vietnamese civil society organisation. My primary role was to work with local communities to help them adapt and become more resilient to the changing climate - in particular, to more frequent and severe natural disasters. I also participated in a number of Vietnamese networks working to address climate change and develop the UN REDD+ (reduction in emissions in deforestation and forest degradation) pilot in Vietnam, and helped my organisation coordinate the Vietnamese non-government organisations’ Forest Law, Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) network.<br><br>I decided to return to study because of my desire to spend time in an environment where I can learn and be mentored by experts with experience in my field who will challenge my approach and help me to focus in more detail on developing solutions to some of the issues I have come across. My deep desire to concentrate on the technical aspects of developing environmental policy led me to the decision to go back to university to study in more detail the economic mechanisms to create the right incentives for environmental and climate protection. <br><br>I believe that ecological economics offers a way to balance competing social, economic and environmental demands. Through environmental assessments, innovative cost-benefit analysis and by considering policy tools such as market-based instruments, it is possible to reveal the true trade-offs of our actions, helping to change the decision-making equation. I believe that by fully accounting for environmental costs and benefits we can create a system with the correct incentives where people are driven to do the right thing.<br>

“The conceptual understanding of social issues I acquired has proved very useful in my job. This Masters has helped me immensely in understanding and analysing different social phenomena.” - MA International Social Development

"I am really applying what I studied at UEA to my job, especially about communication for development. So most of the time when am working I remember our classes and smile."<br> - Assistant Communication Officer, UNICEF, Nairobi.<br><br>

"I am very happy to say that after a year I have been offered a new position within the local authority, the London Borough of Barnet, working within the Overview and Scrutiny Office. Since completing the MSc in Environment and International Development I[...] have been continuing study on a part time basis at Warwick Business School on a postgraduate course on local government management. Long term I am hoping to explore the possibility of undertaking a PhD in the area of governance perhaps focusing on the role and influence of stakeholders, particularly NGOs and other non-government actors such as think tanks." - MSc Environment and International Development

"I was an intern with Oxfam after completing the MSc Impact Evaluation. As part of my internship I worked on an impact evaluation on women’s empowerment in Uganda where I spent 2 months collecting and analysing primary data. It was a valuable experience and the knowledge and skills I gained during my studies helped me tremendously to work with the evaluation professionals at Oxfam."

"This MA has been just brilliant. I get to use a lot of what I learnt at my job but more importantly, also in life in general. It's changed the way I see things."<br> - Project Co-ordinator at Video Volunteers, India<br><br>

"I'm so glad that I chose the MAED course. After I handed in my dissertation I got a call from Cambridge Health and Education International to offer me a job! They invited me to apply for a position of Project Officer and suggested that it may help me to get more experience. It's a temporary role for 5 months, however, at the interview they asked me if I'd still be interested in being an Education Adviser." - MA Education and Development<br>

"I was attracted by the course’s holistic approach to teaching impact evaluation. The programme was able to tackle the realities one experiences when doing field work without sacrificing the rigor needed when doing research. The course equipped me with up-to-date practical and statistical knowledge of evaluation methods and processes which has since been an asset when applying for development jobs."<br>

“This degree enabled me to gain recognition as a professional in the field of education and development, and it has created opportunities for jobs within bi-lateral and international agencies.” - MA Education and Development