Staff from the IFAD Country Office for Ethiopia welcomed three students from the TERI University in Delhi before their departure to the field. This was an excellent opportunity for IFAD staff to meet the students, learn about their research, and give them a critical overview of IFAD’s interventions in Ethiopia to help them familiarize with the country and shape their study.
Through the Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice (MDP), students who are citizens of borrowing members of IFAD studying in Global South universities, have the opportunity to undertake their Masters’ programme field practice in IFAD-funded projects. This partnership allows students to gain field experience in development practice while enhancing IFAD’s impact, visibility and quality as learning institution. IFAD partners also benefit from the additional analytical work of enthusiastic students.
Ethiopia has become a popular destination for students from the MDP programme. In 2018, four students from the TERI University in Delhi, pursuing the M.A. Sustainable Development Practice, chose to undertake their in-the-field practice in Ethiopia. One more student from the University of California, Berkeley, is expected to come to Ethiopia for a three-month field practicum between May and August.
Endowed with a highly diverse agro-ecological environment, spanning from temperate and moist tropical highlands to hot and arid lowlands, which is matched by a diverse socio-cultural setting, Ethiopia offers a wide range of IFAD-funded interventions for students to choose from. These projects aim to endow smallholder farmers and (agro-)pastoralists with an enabling combination of the critical assets they require to enhance their productivity and resilience, including natural resources, technology, finance, institutional capacity, and access to markets.
Once IFAD-funded projects submit a list of relevant research topics, these are displayed on the MDP Secretariat’s online platform. Students from MDP can then choose a topic of interest, submit their research application and, supported by the IFAD Country Offices, coordinate with the project staff the research work-plan and their stay in the country.
The IFAD Country Office in Ethiopia has proactively supported the design of these studies, to ensure they are relevant to strengthening the knowledge base that will feed into lessons and project completion reviews. Particularly the extensive contact time with the projects' client communities is expected to yield important in-depth learning that can meaningfully complement specialized consultancy assignments.
Ms Suruchi Upadhyay, from Nepal and Mr Nejarat Malikyar, from Afghanistan, will undertake their research on the Pastoral Community Development Programme III (PCDP III), focusing on gender and nutrition, respectively. After meeting with their field coordinator and project staff from PCDP III, they arranged the work plan to undertake field research in the area of Awash, in the Afar region.
Mr Guche Mekene, from Ethiopia, will carry out research on the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme II (RUFIP II), focusing on the socio-economic impacts of the programme. His research will cover districts from the main four regions of the country: Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.
Through the Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice (MDP), students who are citizens of borrowing members of IFAD studying in Global South universities, have the opportunity to undertake their Masters’ programme field practice in IFAD-funded projects. This partnership allows students to gain field experience in development practice while enhancing IFAD’s impact, visibility and quality as learning institution. IFAD partners also benefit from the additional analytical work of enthusiastic students.
Ethiopia has become a popular destination for students from the MDP programme. In 2018, four students from the TERI University in Delhi, pursuing the M.A. Sustainable Development Practice, chose to undertake their in-the-field practice in Ethiopia. One more student from the University of California, Berkeley, is expected to come to Ethiopia for a three-month field practicum between May and August.
Endowed with a highly diverse agro-ecological environment, spanning from temperate and moist tropical highlands to hot and arid lowlands, which is matched by a diverse socio-cultural setting, Ethiopia offers a wide range of IFAD-funded interventions for students to choose from. These projects aim to endow smallholder farmers and (agro-)pastoralists with an enabling combination of the critical assets they require to enhance their productivity and resilience, including natural resources, technology, finance, institutional capacity, and access to markets.
Once IFAD-funded projects submit a list of relevant research topics, these are displayed on the MDP Secretariat’s online platform. Students from MDP can then choose a topic of interest, submit their research application and, supported by the IFAD Country Offices, coordinate with the project staff the research work-plan and their stay in the country.
The IFAD Country Office in Ethiopia has proactively supported the design of these studies, to ensure they are relevant to strengthening the knowledge base that will feed into lessons and project completion reviews. Particularly the extensive contact time with the projects' client communities is expected to yield important in-depth learning that can meaningfully complement specialized consultancy assignments.
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Suruchi Upadhyay & Nejarat Malikyar (TERI University Students) - middle, with Samir Rayess (KM Consultant), Ulaç Demirag (Country Director), and Frew Behabtu (Country Programme Officer) |
Ms Suruchi Upadhyay, from Nepal and Mr Nejarat Malikyar, from Afghanistan, will undertake their research on the Pastoral Community Development Programme III (PCDP III), focusing on gender and nutrition, respectively. After meeting with their field coordinator and project staff from PCDP III, they arranged the work plan to undertake field research in the area of Awash, in the Afar region.
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Guche Mekene-TERI University student – middle, with Ulaç Demirag (Country Director), Helen Teshome (Rural Finance Specialist), Dagim Kassahun (Country Programme Assistant), and Samir Rayess (KM Consultant) |
Mr Guche Mekene, from Ethiopia, will carry out research on the Rural Financial Intermediation Programme II (RUFIP II), focusing on the socio-economic impacts of the programme. His research will cover districts from the main four regions of the country: Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region.