Social Protection (M.Sc.)

MSc Social Protection Insights: March

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Dienstag, 23. Januar 2024

March 2024: Social Protection Insights

We are thrilled to publish the seventh edition of our monthly newsletter, "MSc Social Protection Insights," dedicated to providing valuable and engaging content to our esteemed community of social protection professionals, students, lecturers, and enthusiasts. This newsletter aims to provide insights into the life at H-BRS, and is a platform for sharing news around the Master's programme.

📢 H-BRS Department for Social Policy and Social Security Studies Turned 20

Campus Sankt Augustin Panorama 20220608 foto eric lichtenscheidt 06 fs22.jpg

The department had something big to celebrate in February: the department's 20th anniversary! Back then, the department started with a handful of colleagues and a Bachelor's degree in 'Social Security Management - Accident Insurance (BA)'. Almost 10 years later, the Master's program in Social Protection was added, then still under its old name as 'Analysis and Design of Social Protection Systems (MA)' - today as 'Social Protection (MSc)'. The range of courses on offer is now supplemented by a further Bachelor's degree course in 'Sustainable Social Policy (BA)' and a certificate course in Prevention and Employability.

Over the course of time, many professors and researcher have joined the department, conducting research projects on topics such as sustainable labor migration, health insurance in Pakistan, the sustainability of medical rehabilitation, and the AI-based detection of fake news and misinformation (NEBULA). The department partners with renowned organizations for research, internships, teaching, guest talks and theses. They have been continuously expanded and include important players in social protection, which will be presented in our next issue.

Ultimately, the department mutually benefits from its intensifying partnerships with other universities international like the The Institute of Finance Management (IFM) in Tanzania, the University of Zambia and the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. Just recently, arthur ngasani from IFM taught a course in Poverty and Inequality as a guest lecturer and Masauso Chirwa PhD joined the department as a guest professor from the University of Zambia for the winter term 2023/24 and summer term 2024.

📢 Recap of Brown Bag Lunch Series Events During the Winter Semester 2023/2024

We had three Brown Bag Lunches with brilliant guest speakers last semester. Thank you presenters for the generous offering of your time and expertise, and thank you for those who joined for the conversations! We are looking forward to more compelling topics this summer. Here's an overview of the winter semester topics:

 

  • Including Migrant Workers in National Security Systems with Anas Ghonaim: In his presentation, our alumn Anas went through his research collaboration with the ILO Arab States regional office on the inclusion of migrant workers in national social security systems and reforming end-of-service indemnity in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The presentation included migration-related definitions, demographics analysis of international migrant population, ILO minimum standards and principles for the inclusion of migrants in social protection, and the case study of migrant workers’ inclusion in GCC countries. (Tipp: see related publication below!)
  • Social Protection and Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study on the Philippines with Amirhosein Rahbari: Our alumn Amir(hosein) introduced his award-winning master's thesis research. He developed a comprehensive framework for assessing the convergence of social protection and climate change adaptation (SP-CCA nexus) across policy, coordination, financing, and program levels by conducting an extensive desk review and key informant interviews. In the seminar, Amir gave an overview of his systematic evaluation of the SP-CCA nexus within the Philippines' context, culminating in a set of recommendations for system enhancement.
  • Adaptive Social Protection in Colombia with Carlos Alberto Garzón Riveros: In the third brown bag lunch, Carlos gave an overview of the social protection system in Colombia and explained the term adaptive social protection in this context. He derived lessons learned, limitations and challenges to consolidate an Adaptive Social Protection System (SPSA) in Colombia.
  • Lessons of Using Social Insurance in Crises in Sub-Saharan Africa with Sayanti Sengupta: Our alumna Sayanti concisely used case studies to report on how social insurance helps to protect people in sub-Saharan Africa during crises and thereby draws from her experience as a freelance technical social protection advisor. She has already given this short presentation at our alumni seminar in Tanzania, which captivated our local partners. We have invited her again so that our current students and colleagues can also benefit from her expertise and network with her.

Get to Know Our Students, Lecturers & Alumni

Student of the Month

Name: Maureen Barasa

Batch: 2023/24

Country of Origin: Kenya

Social Protection Experience: Social Worker, providing support to at-risk children. Focus on community engagement, social development programs, policy design and implementation, and working with vulnerable groups.

Research Interests: Human rights issues, social development

„The Master's in Social Protection has been a transformative experience, deeply enriching my understanding of global social protection strategies and policies. A key highlight of the program is the practical application of theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios, providing me with the tools to effectively address social vulnerabilities. I would highly recommend this program to future applicants for its comprehensive curriculum and the unique opportunity to engage with international experts in the field.”

Maureen Barasa - 2023/24 Batch

Maureen Basara

Alumni Spotlight

Name: Sajanika Sivanu

Batch: 2020

Country of Origin: Canada

Current Role: Independent Social Protection & Climate Consultant // Technical Advisor for the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

Internship: Junior Researcher at the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

Some of her most recent publications (the first 4 co-authored by our alumna Sayanti Sengupta) include:

 

 

„This programme not only equipped me with a strong understanding of social protection fundamentals but also facilitated valuable connections with practitioners and organizations – essentially kick-starting my career.”

Sajanika Sivanu - 2020/21 Batch

Sajanika Sivanu

Meet our Lecturers

Name: Dr. Deepta Chopra

Position: Professorial Research Fellow Institute of Development Studies

Teaching in the programme since: 2022

Course(s) in 2023/24: M3.3 Social Care Services

Expertise: Gendered politics of policy processes, empowerment of women and girls, paid and unpaid care work

 

„This is an exciting programme for those who want to deepen their knowledge and expertise in Social Protection. I teach the Social Care services module – where our focus is on designing gender and care-sensitive social care policies and programmes for vulnerable populations – with the ethics of care at the heart of these policies.”

Dr. Deepta Chopra - Lecturer

Dr. Deepta Chopra

Resources and Publications 

Since our students are on a semester break and our MSc Social Protection supporters are sharing numerous valuable publications, we've expanded the resource section this time. We hope it keeps you equally inspired and well-informed!

Publications:

New databases and mappings (that might be useful for your thesis research):

Podcasts:

Team Master Soziale Sicherung

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

Your feedback and suggestions to improve the newsletter are also very welcome.

📩 msc-socialprotection@h-brs.de