IEE Newsletter No. 34

MADM: Second Corona-Affected Semester

After completion of the first online semester and the internship period, our students started their second semester in May ...


After completion of the first online semester and the internship period, our students started their second semester in May. Although the COVID-19 situation was more relaxed in summer, it was still a special term with most of the coursework taking place online, as the ongoing restrictions and regulations of the university did not allow for in-person gatherings.

One key feature and advantage of the second semester in the MADM programme is the students’ flexibility in designing their own individual schedule according to their interests. On a whole, the schedule offered 8 elective courses covering a wide array of topics, such as Economic Evaluation Methods by Prof. Wilhelm Löwenstein and a new specialisation course on Quantitative Research Methods offered by Dr. Christina Seeger and Dr. Elkhan Sadik-Zada. They developed this course only recently following the suggestions of previous students, who were keen to incorporate advanced methods into their MA projects. In the first and second of week of July, Britta Niklas took the opportunity to run the first face-to-face class with the students. Her course, “Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation”, allowed for interactive and group sessions outside and in different rooms – ideal conditions for teaching under COVID-19. Unsurprisingly, students were excited to meet and interact with each other on campus. One of the students told me after class: “It was kind of a first day in school in feeling”.

MADM 2nd semester 1
First interactive class on campus “Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation”

Still, this semester also made some of the advantages of online classes and learning visible. For instance, the new online teaching mode easily allowed for external lecturers and students who are not based in Bochum to take part in coursework. Prof. Chris Tapscott, based at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa; and Dr. Gedion Onyango, based at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, offered a two-week online module on “Actors in Development Cooperation”, comprising of first hand insights into development politics and practice from Africa. Moreover, we welcomed more than 50 students from different international study programmes affiliated with the German Association of Postgraduate Programmes with special Relevance to Developing Countries (AGEP) in different online modules.

Beyond the coursework itself, our students were busy with their seminar papers, which were to be submitted by the end the second semester. The main objective of this paper is to develop a solid foundation for the master thesis project, particularly the literature review and empirical design. Part of this writing process were short student presentations focusing on research idea and design. To develop their projects further, everyone received feedback from their colleagues and the IEE team. In addition, the writing process was supported by an interactive online workshop on academic writing.

This was certainly an intensive semester for everyone – students and lecturers alike. It was quite a task to cope with uncertainties associated with COVID-19 and a full schedule, and was also important in planning and preparing for the students’ upcoming field research period, scheduled directly after the second semester.

MADM 2nd semester 2
Taking a well-deserved break: a barbecue with students and the IEE team at Lake Kemnade


SiebertDr. Anne Siebert
MADM Coordinator

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