Blog Post

SDSN welcomes the consortium of Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) programs

  • By Cheyenne Maddox
  • •
  • 26 Jul, 2019
  • •
SDSN is delighted to announce the integration of the Association of the Global Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) programs into the SDG Academy as of July 2019.  As a part of this transition, we are especially pleased to welcome Lucia Rodriguez, who serves as the Director of the Global Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) project as the newest member of the SDG Academy team at SDSN in New York.
The MDP is a two-year, graduate-level program designed to train aspiring practitioners to understand, design, and manage integrated approaches to sustainable development challenges. The rigorous academic curriculum spans four disciplines: health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and management. It also fosters the acquisition of critical knowledge, skills, and behavioral attributes needed to work successfully in developing or developed societies. At the core of the curriculum is a field practicum component, lasting two to three months, in which students learn through hands-on participation on development projects and contribute solutions to real-world problems.
Today there are 37 MDP programs (and expanding) in 26 countries around the world. Most courses are face-to-face, but some Association members, incorporate some form of “blended learning,” a combination of online and face-to-face interaction. Regardless of how content is delivered, the curriculum can offer a variety of courses. Hundreds of students are currently enrolled in MDP programs, including a large number from Asian, South American, and Sub-Saharan African countries. Students come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds; represent multiple cultures, languages, and ethnicities; and have technical skills and interests that run the gamut of development issues. The overall mean student age is just over 25 years. Women outnumber men, representing two-thirds of the student body in some MDP programs. Today there are thousands of MDP alumni around the world working in multilateral organizations, government ministries and non-profit organizations, among other things.
The MDP is the only one of its kind—a global, interdisciplinary, collaborative program that trains professionals in the field of sustainable development; students include generalist development practitioners, experts in a particular domain of sustainable development, policy administrators, private sector professionals, educators and professionals from the public sector.  Upon graduating from the MDP program, many return to work in these professions.
Dr. Lucia Rodriguez works with the members of the Global  Association of MDP programs to manage, scale up, and secure the financial sustainability of the global network of MDP programs. At her new home within the SDG Academy at SDSN, Lucia looks forward to opportunities to engage with SDSN members and expand the reach of the program by creating new ones. Pedagogical innovations promise accessibility of this program to future MDP cohorts. A broad canvas of learning priorities as demonstrated through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030 presents new fields of study for MDP programs; and fresh partnerships within and outside of the SDSN network beckon.
SDSN is excited at the new possibilities that the MDP brings to our goal of education for sustainable development; and in our shared mission of supporting academic institutions around the world to build excellent programs of development practice. We look forward to deepening this relationship, and in supporting the MDP to meet the challenges of sustainable development that our current times present.
If you are an SDSN member, and want to join the MDP program, or simply learn more, please visit www.mdpglobal.org or contact Lucia at lucia.rodriguez@unsdsn.org.
Partner MDP Institutions (as of July 2019)
Africa
University of Botswana, Botswana
Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
University of Pretoria, South Africa
East Asia
National Taiwan University, Taiwan
Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
Tsinghua University, China
KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Republic of Korea
Europe
Hebrew University of Jerusalem AND Jerusalem Institute’s Milken Innovation Center, Israel
Sciences Po – Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA), France
Lund University, Sweden
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
University College Dublin, Ireland
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
ETH-Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
Latin America
CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza), Costa Rica
Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
North America
Columbia University, USA
Emory University, USA
Harvard University, USA
Regis University, USA
University of Arizona, USA
University of California, Berkeley, USA
University of Florida, USA
University of Minnesota, USA
University of Waterloo, Canada
University of Winnipeg, Canada
South Asia/Central Asia
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), BRAC University, Bangladesh
James Cook University, Australia
TERI University, India
Universiti Sains Malaysia (Penang), Malaysia
University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan
Monash University, Australia
Sunway University, Malaysia
 

SDSN Newsletter - July 2021

By SDSN Secretariat • 03 Aug, 2021 •
This month, SDSN celebrated its growing network, talked about the incredible amount of media coverage on the 2021 SDR, and reflected on this year's High Level Political Forum

WRI Report Spotlight: “Unlocking a Renewable Energy Future: How Government Action Can Drive Private Investment”

By Fiona Laird • 02 Aug, 2021 •
World Resources Institute recently released Unlocking a Renewable Energy Future: How Government Action Can Drive Private Investment, a report outlining key challenges to increasing clean energy investment and deployment. This report digs into the financial and regulatory mechanisms available to support policy frameworks like that outlined in SDSN USA’s Zero Carbon Action Plan (ZCAP), released in October 2020.

European Commission launches proposals to reach 55% emissions reduction by 2030

By Sam Van Hoof • 30 Jul, 2021 •
The ‘Fit for 55' package includes a ban on combustion engines from 2035, a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and a Social Climate Fund among other provisions.

SDSN Canada 2021 Members Meeting Recap

By Giovanni Bruna • 29 Jul, 2021 •

SDSN Canada reconvened the network membership on June 16th, 2021 for the annual Members Meeting.

This year's meeting featured conversations on the current state of the SDGs in Canada, emerging opportunities for post-secondary institutions, networking breakout sessions, and a featured joint presentation by the Brookings Institution and Rockefeller Foundation on mobilizing campuses and communities for the SDGs using the 17 Rooms initiative. A lightning round of member initiatives was also included to highlight a portion of the SDG work happening across the network.

Recap the discussion by reading the meeting notes   or listening to the audio recordings for each session.

Meeting Highlights:

  • The SDSN Global annual Sustainable Development Report 2021  was released June 2021, tracking progress on the SDGs by country (Canada ranked 21st in the world). The report outlines the short-term impacts of COVID-19 on the SDGs and describes how the SDGs can frame the recovery.
  • The Government of Canada has released Canada’s National Strategy for the SDGs, Moving Forward Together. The strategy outlines a set of 30 actions towards the SDGs, including localizing the SDGs, supporting partnerships with Indigenous initiatives, and advancing research into the gaps in Canada's efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
  • The 17 Rooms initiative  is a tool for advancing SDG collaboration, community-centric conversations, and bottom-up action. There are three key principles of consideration:
    • Every SDG gets a seat at the table (a dedicated room).
    • Identify what the next step is, and not the perfect step. What are things you can do together over the next 12 to 18 months that you can implement action on the SDGs?
    • It is about conversations, not presentations. The goal is to learn from each other and create a community of practice.
    • Join the 17 Rooms-X Community of Practice to access the beta toolkit.
  • A ‘lightning round’ of presentations by members spotlighting SDG work from Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Interdisciplinary Research Center in the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD), Vancouver Island University, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Waterloo.

The meeting was also a chance to invite the membership into initiatives designed to be more intentional about the network’s collective presence and impact. In this vein, the network thinks that the 17 Rooms process can be a critical resource for campus conversations on the SDGs. It also relaunched the Member Challenge , is starting the ‘SDG Teaching Community’ for faculty across the network, and is convening a small working group of interested members to talk about an enhanced governance structure for the network.

Public Consultation on SPA Report

By Lauren Barredo • 29 Jul, 2021 •
We encourage stakeholders to provide meaningful input to aid the development of a better and more complete report. We invite feedback from individuals and organizations, from all sectors.

Environmental and Agricultural Impacts of Dietary Shifts at Global and National Scales

By FABLE • 28 Jul, 2021 •
The FABLE Consortium is releasing two policy briefs over the coming months intended to advise national governments on sustainable land-use and diets. The first brief, entitled “Environmental and agricultural impacts of dietary shifts at global and national scales'' is now available.

Media Coverage of the Sustainable Development Report 2021

By SDG Index • 23 Jul, 2021 •
The Sustainable Development Report 2021 has been covered by the BBC, the Guardian, Washington Post, and more than 100 other media outlets.

The Multidimensional Vulnerability Index and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

By Isabella Massa • 21 Jul, 2021 •
SDSN together with the United Nations Resident Coordinators in SIDS and the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda hosted on 12 July 2021 a High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side event to discuss the issue of measuring multidimensional vulnerability, and its relevance for international financing mechanisms.

SDGs Today Launches My School Today!

By SDGs Today • 20 Jul, 2021 •
SDGs Today recently launched their My School Today! call to action, meant to support students and local communities to geo-reference their schools and education facilities as part of an effort to promote timely information on school locations in Africa

SDSN at the 2021 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF)

By SDSN Secretariat • 20 Jul, 2021 •
SDSN and our networks are hosting a number of events alongside the UN's High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). We are thrilled to invite you to join us at the following events, which SDSN is hosting or are organized by our partners.
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