Social Protection (M.Sc.)
MSc Social Protection Insights: November
November 2023: Social Protection Insights
📢 Excursion to Brussels
On Monday, October 23, our 2023 batch and programme staff boarded a bus together at 6:00 in the morning for the annual trip to Brussels, Belgium. Students enjoyed a very full day learning from international organizations about how social protection is being enacted and assessed in real time all over Europe and the world. Our group had the distinct please of meeting with representatives from the European Commission, the International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC, German Social Insurance European Representation, and Toestand vzw. Thank you to these organizations for taking time to meet with our program and continuing to partner with us to help shape the future of social protection.
📢 40+ Students Officially Graduated
The Graduation Ceremony of 2023 at Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS) was a momentous occasion, marked by artistic highlights, celebration of achievements, and speeches by the university president, the Mayor of Bonn and other distinguished speakers.
Among the many brilliant graduates, it was a time to honour and congratulate our 40+ master's students in Social Protection who have dedicated their time, effort, and passion to the programme in the past years. As they walked across the stage and tossed their graduation caps in the air, a sense of accomplishment and optimism filled the air.
We now send them off with our best wishes to continue their work with their newly acquired knowledge and skills, or to embark on their journeys in finding fulfilment in new professional positions and academic endeavours. They are well equipped to face the challenges of our ever-changing society and make a significant impact in the field of social protection. 🚀
Congratulations to the Master's graduates of 2023 – we are very proud of you and the world awaits your positive contributions! We are excited to welcome you as our alumni, to stay in touch with you, and to continue following your journeys. ✨👨🎓👩🎓
Check out the university website for some pictures and the aftermovie: H-BRS Graduation Ceremony 2023
Module 2: Foundational Skills
Our students have just started their second module on Foundational Skills. In the following four sub-modules, they will be equipped with essential skills to master this study programme and their future jobs:
M2.1 Economics of Social Protection: taught by Prof Dr. Krzysztof Hagemejer
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This course deals with determinants of the demand and supply of labour, decision making in the conditions of uncertainty and imperfect information , market failures, asymmetric information, public goods and common resources and social protection as well as the economic impact of social protection interventions.
M2.2 Statistics: taught by Stephen Elvis Ampah
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In this technical course, students tie in with what they have learned during the pre-course in Statitics. They are introduced to survey methodology (e.g. datasets, data confidentiality and ethics) and inference statistics (e.g. sampling, mean, standard errors, hypothesis tests and p-values).
M2.3 Demography: taught by our professor for medical informatics Prof. Dr. Johannes Mockenhaupt
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The concepts of fertility, mortality, measuring migration and impacts on demographic developments, demographic transition and ageing populations as well as demographic projections are covered in this course to enable students to make sustainable and effective decisions about the design of social protection programmes and strategies.
M2.4 Poverty and Risk Assessment: taught by our honorary professor and practicioner at German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) Markus Loewe & guest professor Dr Masauso Chirwa
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This course covers the intertwined concepts of poverty, vulnerability, inequality and risk. Students learn about the different measures of poverty and inequality in a theoretical and technical way, and how to distinguish the key terms risk, shock, hazard, vulnerability and resilience. Finally, students should be able to assess when and why social protection is needed.
In Module 2, students are familiarised with the main micro- and macro-economic determinants and implications of social protection schemes and systems. In addition, you will get to know the basics of survey methodology and inferential statistics, which serve as a basis for the subsequent analyses carried out in the following modules in the master’s programme. In order to understand the (changing) needs for social protection, the courses on demography, poverty and risk assessment lay a foundation to be able to design but also evaluate the effects of social protection schemes, which are not only influenced but also impact demography, poverty, inequality and the risk exposure of a country.
Get to Know Our Students, Lecturers & Alumni
Students of the Month
Name: Damla Çalık
Batch: 2022/23
Country of Origin: Türkiye
Social Protection Experience: My engagement with social protection began during my undergraduate studies, where I actively contributed to various International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in Türkiye, focusing on supporting migrants, refugees, the LGBQI+ community, and youth. Over the course of five years, I undertook significant responsibilities at the Turkish Red Crescent within the Community Center project. During this time, I worked across diverse programmatic settings including protection, psychosocial support and livelihood to provide essential support to vulnerable populations, primarily of Syrian origin, but also from various other countries of origin.
At present, I am based in Kyiv, Ukraine, working as an Advisor at the German Red Cross. My role is to leverage the expertise gained from my work experiences at the Turkish Red Crescent, particularly in the establishment and operation of Community Centers, to collaborate with the Ukrainian Red Cross. Together, we aim to provide vital support to the affected population, drawing on the lessons and experiences accumulated during my time at the Turkish Red Crescent.
Research Interests: My primary research interests lie in the field of migration and refugee studies, with a specific emphasis on child protection and gender dynamics.
„The program has uniquely prepared me for the future by providing different angles of social protection and humanitarian work. A highlight was the opportunity to have valuable connections with professionals in the field and lecturers. I highly recommend this program to future applicants for its practical, real-world exposure and the chance to be part of impactful humanitarian efforts. But there's one point about this program that I can't go without mentioning – I've made wonderful, intelligent, and successful friends whom I want to keep in my life forever and share the same aim. ”
Damla Calik - 2022/23 Batch
Alumni Spotlight
Name: Luisa Carmona
Batch: 2016
Country of Origin: Colombia
Current Role: Legal Officer - International Labour Organization (ILO)
Master's Thesis Topic: Legal framework and effective coverage of disability pensions in Colombia
Internship: International Social Security Association (ISSA) - Social Security Development Branch
„This master's programme is highly suitable for anybody seeking to support the effective realization of the human right to social security. The curriculum is very topical, and the highly experienced lecturers are social protection practitioners bring their expertise and hands-on knowledge in development economics, actuarial science, research methods, and other relevant fields.”
Luisa Carmona - 2016/17 Batch
Meet our Lecturers
A warm welcome to our new guest professor Mr Masauso Chirwa who will join us for the academic year of 2023/2024. He will be taking over many of the courses of Prof. Dr. Esther Schüring (on leave). We are very happy to have you on the team and mutually benefit from each other's experiences.
Name: Masauso Chirwa PhD
Position: Guest professor for International Social Protection Systems
Teaching since: 2011 (joined H-BRS in 2023)
Course(s) in 2023/24: M1.2 Social Protection Systems: Driving Factors; M2.4 Poverty and Risk Assessment; M3.2 Social Transfers
Country of Origin: Zambia
Expertise: Migration, Disability, Child Protection, Cash Transfers
„They are an amazing group - very engaging and they prepare very well for lectures. This does not only show their dedication to the topic and the program but makes the work easier for the professors and lecturers.”
Dr. Masauso Chirwa - Guest Professor for International Social Protection Systems
Resources and Publications
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"Gender-transformative social protection in crisis contexts: guidance note" was recently published by STAAR Facility, and commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
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SocialProtection.org is now publishing a quarterly digest, check out the first edition HERE!
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Amirhosein Rahbari of batch 2020 provided SocialProtection.org with an overview of our alumni event in Tanzania. Check it out here: Sessions on Exploring Social Protection Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Tanzania
Contact Us!
We are always interested in creating partnerships with those of you working in the field! We would love to hear from you if are interested in
- being a #ThesisSupervisor,
- providing #Internship opportunities to our students,
- publishing a paper in our #WorkingPaper series, or
- visiting our university as a #GuestSpeaker!
Your feedback and suggestions to improve the newsletter are also very welcome.