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Social Protection (MSc)

MSc Social Protection Insights: September 2024

June newsletter

September 2024: Social Protection Insights

We are thrilled to publish the eleventh edition of our monthly LinkedIn 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. Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter community and stay connected with like-minded individuals who share a common goal of advancing social protection practices worldwide. Our regular sections include: *News *Get to Know Our Students, Lecturers & Alumni *Resources *Contact us!
The department's Vice Dean Prof Dr Michael Sauer is welcoming Batch 2024 students

📢 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.

Master Social Protection Alumni Konferenz 2024 Ghana Empfang Deutsche Botschaft
Social Protection alumni and German Ambassador to Ghana at German Embassy in Accra, Ghana

📢 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

Prof Dr Nyasha Tirivayi receiving her certificate of appointment as an honorary professor from H-BRS president Prof Dr Hartmut Ihne

📢 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

  • M1.1 Social Protection Systems: Constitutive Factors | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa

  • M1.2 Social Protection Systems: Driving Factors | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa

  • M1.3 Comparative Social Protection Analysis | Ms Darleen Kolbe

  • 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:

  • M2.1 Economics of Social Protection | Prof Dr Simona Helmsmüller

  • M2.2 Public Finance | Prof Dr Masauso Chirwa

  • 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

Nason Kanjirawaya(Batch 2023)

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

Mercy Mwebaza (Batch 2020)

Resources, Events and Publications

Events

Publications & Resources

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

🌐 Master's of Science in Social Protection | Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS)