Social Protection (M.Sc.)
MSc Social Protection Insights: September 2024
September 2024: Social Protection Insights
📢 Welcome Week Kick-Starts MSc Social Protection Journey for Batch 2024
This month, our new students of batch 2024/25 officially embarked on their social protection learning journey with the Master's Degree in Social Protection programme at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Sankt Augustin! 📚👨🎓👩🎓
We welcomed the 48 students from diverse professional and cultural backgrounds across the world. A very warm welcome to Batch 2024!
A series of engaging orientation activities, interactive workshops, and informative sessions were carried out by the coordination team, colleagues from different departments, current students and alumni. These events are designed to prepare students for their studies and seamless integration in Germany. Highlights of this year orientation session included workshops on Intercultural Communication and an International Dish Party among others.
▶️▶️Welcome Week
Our primary focus is to introduce students to the programme's structure, academic expectations, and the support services available on campus. Equally important, the welcome week presented the perfect occasion for students to network and build connections with their peers. We firmly believe that fostering a sense of camaraderie and collaboration among our students will create a supportive and conducive environment for learning and advancing social protection journey together.
▶️▶️Preparatory Courses
From September 3 to September 12, 2024, students participated in two-week, instructor-led preparatory courses in Economics by Stephen Elvis Ampah and Statistics by Natalie Bröse. These courses equipped students with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to successfully engage with the regular curriculum.
📢 First Report on Second International Alumni Seminar in Ghana
From July 29th to August 3rd, 2024, the second international alumni seminar, “Advancing Social Protection in West Africa,Smart Solutions Developed by H-BRS Alumni Towards an Inclusive Society” took place at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). Funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and DAAD, this event brought together 20 alumni from the Master’s programme alongside key stakeholders in Ghana’s social protection sector.
Discussions centered on smart, inclusive approaches for enhancing social protection systems, especially for persons with disabilities. The five-day seminar featured insights from ministries, academia, NGOs, and international organizations, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. Read the full reports of the first three days here:
🔗Social Protection for Persons with Disabilities in Ghana Day 1 and 2
🔗Exploring Inclusive Policies and Challenges for Persons with Disabilities Day 3
📢 New Honorary Professor Nyascha Tirivayi
Dr. Nyasha Tirivayi has been appointed as a new honorary professor at the Department of Social Policy and Social Protection. With a PhD in Public Policy from Maastricht University and over 20 years of professional experience in applied research, Nyasha Tirivayi currently works at UNICEF Innocenti in Florence. As a renowned expert in development economics, impact assessment, public health, and environmental economics, we envision fruitful collaboration in the coming years!
📢 Prof Dr Simona Helmsmüller has been appointed as the Director of International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE)
Our academic head of the programme, Simona Helmsmüller, has been appointed as the Director of the International Centre for Sustainable Development (IZNE). Read more about social protection experiences, responsibilities, and her vision on sustainability in the interview with Prof Dr Simona Helmsmüller here at IZNE website
📝 Current Courses: Module 1 & Module 2
In contrast to past years, one course is no longer blocked for a whole week but the semester is blocked into two parts during which all courses run in parallel.
Lectures for the winter semester of 2024/25 officially began on September 23, 2024 with
▶️▶️ Module 1: Comparative Analysis of Social Protection Systems: This module examines how to compare different social protection systems, exploring key elements and differences across countries. This module will be delivered again by Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa PhD and Ms Darleen Kolbe
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M1.1 Social Protection Systems: Constitutive Factors | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa
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M1.2 Social Protection Systems: Driving Factors | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa
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M1.3 Comparative Social Protection Analysis | Ms Darleen Kolbe
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M1.4 International Social Protection Policy | Ms Darleen Kolbe
Students attended the Bonn Network Action Day SDGs Fair in Bonn as part of this module. This visit presented a valuable opportunity for students to explore critical global issues related to sustainable development and how social protection can contribute to achieving the SDGs. Following the fair, students had a dedicated session in class.
They will also visit the European Commission, International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC and the German Social Insurance European Representation as part of a study excursion in Brussels, Belgium on October 18.
▶️▶️ Module 2: Foundational Skills: This module explores how social protection systems respond to market failures and economic cycles. It also examines how these systems address issues of rights, equity, and justice. This module has been restructured and now contains the following courses:
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M2.1 Economics of Social Protection | Prof Dr Simona Helmsmüller
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M2.2 Public Finance | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa
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M2.3 Poverty and Risk Assessment | Prof Dr Markus Loewe & Prof Dr Patrick Chanda
In contrast to past years, one course is no longer blocked for a whole week but the semester is blocked into two parts during which all courses run in parallel.
Get to Know Our Students, Lecturers & Alumni
Student of the Month
Name: Nason Kanjirawaya
Batch: 2023
Country of Origin: Malawi
Social Protection Experience: Policy formulation and monitoring and evaluation
Research Interests: Linkages between social protection and climate change, Systems and impact monitoring and evaluation.
„The involvement of guests who are experts currently practicing in the field provides a practical perspective of the theoretical aspects learned in class. It helps to see beyond the textbooks and relate to the actual application in practice.”
Nason Kanjirawaya - 2023/24 Batch
Alumni Spotlight
Name: Mercy Mwebaza
Batch: 2020
Country of Origin: Uganda
Current Role: Project Assistant with International Rescue Committee
Master's Thesis Topic: Enhancing Social Protection for informal sector workers
Internship: Gender-Responsive Programming at Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
Previous Social Protection Experience: Refugee and immigrants resettlement in Germany
About the programme, she says:
„The programme equipped me with knowledge and skills in designing needs-based social protection projects. I highly recommend it because it gives a combination of hands-on experience through the mandatory internship, research methods courses and writing clinics, and interaction with practitioners. The innovative and practical exam formats prepare you well for writing policy briefs and holding presentations”
Mercy Mwebaza - 2020 Batch
Resources, Events and Publications
Events
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Join us at the "Engagement Weltweit" fair in Siegburg on 23 November 2024 from 10 am - 5 pm to get to know the programme and coordination team. Sign up for the event here: Fach- und Jobmesse ENGAGEMENT WELTWEIT 2023 (engagement-weltweit.de).
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Explore Bonn SDG Days events from 20 September - 6 October 2024
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Join the global launch and discussion of the 2024 Global Hunger Index by Welthungerhilfe (WHH) on 1 October 2024 (Registration required | Meeting Registration - Zoom)
Publications & Resources
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Prof Dr Simona Helmsmüller has co-published a paper on The Critical Role of Implementing Partners: Evidence From Training Micro and Small Enterprises Across 12 Financial Service Providers in the Journal of Development Studies
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Honorary professor Dr has co-published two papers on Operationalising social contracts: Towards an index of government deliverables and Drivers of change in social contracts: Building a conceptual framework.
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Read ILO World Social Protection Report 2024-26: Universal social protection for climate action and a just transition
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.
📩 msc-socialprotection@h-brs.de
🌐 Master's of Science in Social Protection | Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS)