Dear readers,

as summer approaches, we are pleased to present the latest edition of the IEE Newsletter. This issue provides insights into recent developments, research activities, academic exchange, and institutional changes at the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE).

One of the major developments at the IEE this year is the appointment of Dr. Anne Siebert as the Institute’s new Executive Director. After returning from parental leave, she took over the position from Dr. Gabriele Bäcker in June 2026. We would like to sincerely thank Dr. Bäcker for her many years of dedication to the Institute and its programmes. In this edition, Dr. Siebert introduces herself, reflects on her academic and professional background, and shares some thoughts on future perspectives for the IEE. We are also pleased to welcome Veronika Bauer as a new member of the IEE team.

This year also marked the graduation of the 2024-26 cohort of the Master of Development Management (MADM) programme. Nineteen students successfully completed their studies and celebrated this achievement together with family members, supervisors, fellow students, and IEE staff. We warmly congratulate all graduates and wish them every success in their future academic and professional endeavours. At the same time, preparations for the next cohort are well underway. Following a selection process involving approximately 1,000 applications, the IEE admitted 28 new students from 18 countries, including seven DAAD EPOS scholarship holders and 21 self-funded students. More information on both the graduation and the new intake can be found in this issue.

You can also read about several developments within the PhD Programme in International Development Studies (IDS), including the arrival of new doctoral researchers, recent doctoral completions, and upcoming thesis defenses. Following a highly competitive international selection process with more than 200 applications from around the world, two new GSSP scholarship holders joined the PhD Programme in International Development Studies (IDS). In addition, the programme welcomed a third doctoral researcher funded through the Gerda Henkel Foundation. At the same time, the programme celebrated six successful doctoral graduations over the past months, with several more already on the horizon. The programme also continues to strengthen its international partnerships, as two current PhD IDS researchers have recently been registered for the Joint Doctoral Degree between Ruhr University Bochum and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague.

Another important chapter continues with the ADAPTED project. Although the official funding period has ended, the consortium remains highly active through publications, conferences, and successful PhD defences. In this edition, the coordinator provides an overview of recent thesis defences, ongoing publications, and the continued impact of the project’s research on poverty eradication and social policy debates in the Global South.

International exchange and academic networking continued to play an important role across the institute. In this edition, a group of current and former PhD IDS students reflects on their upcoming
roundtable at the EADI-IOB Conference in Antwerp, where they seek to foster dialogue on the future of development studies in times of global political and economic uncertainty. You can also read about Samuel Gitau’s experiences in the CERES PhD Training Programme, where he reflects on the challenges, discussions, and personal growth that accompany the early stages of doctoral research.

In addition, Ann-Sophie Rinne reports on her participation in the 100th anniversary conference of the Agricultural Economics Society in Oxford, where researchers fromaround the world exchanged perspectives on food systems, agricultural transformation, and climate-related challenges.

The IEE’s research landscape also continues to expand internationally. We are delighted to share that Dr. Britta Niklas successfully secured a Horizon Europe MSCA Staff Exchange Project. The WINES project brings together 19 academic and 21 non-academic partners from Europe, Latin America, and Africa to analyze the most recent challenges of the global wine market and to foster innovative solutions through transnational, interdisciplinary collaborative research with the aim to enhance the resilience and competitiveness of the wine industry.

We hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we enjoyed compiling it and wish all our readers a wonderful, sunny, and relaxing summer.

Anyone interested in joining the IEE Newsletter mailing list is warmly invited to subscribe here: https://lists.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mailman/listinfo/iee-news.

Sincerely,

Wilhelm Löwenstein



Please find the Newsletter in this PDF file.