Interview with Dominic Nyambane, Kenya, USS 2011 participant

What is your background?

I work as an economist in the Ministry of Planning and National Development. I work in formulating, coordinating economic policy and tracking the results of its implementation. We focus on poverty and aim at creating economic development with equity and benefits for the poor - economic development for all Kenyans.

Why did you decide to join the USS programme?

In Kenya, we had post-election violence and the financial crisis hit us at the same time. This had an adverse impact on people’s livelihoods, especially the livelihoods of poor households. The government needed new ideas and initiatives to make poor people’s lives more bearable. I also wanted to learn skills that would enable me to assess the impact of this crisis, and the situation of the poor and come up with policies to tackle these challenges. I wanted to gain the tools to analyse why some interventions do not work, and what alternative policies could be employed. This course seemed appropriate for this purpose. I wanted perspectives I could not get in Kenya, other perspectives that the international ISS seemed to offer. I saw this as an opportunity to be exposed to field experiences in the Netherlands and India and best practices, as I am participating in the India leg of the programme. The India experience shows us how civil society and state agencies approach wellbeing.

What did you get out of your USS experience?

Firstly, I have realized that there should be a mix of universalization and targeting to meet the needs of the poor. You have to know who you are targeting, why, and whether targeting is feasible. I learned a lot from the different country experiences shared in class discussion and the lecturers that come from different parts of the world. The contexts vary and there are different experiences with social security. I see Kenyan policies and interventions through a different lens now! Also, I have learned that poverty is not a homogeneous experience, but multidimensional, and this forces us to know the poor, their context, their needs and the reasons why they are poor before we intervene.

The ISS coursework broadened my understanding of poverty as a multi-dimensional phenomenon which has to be addressed in a holistic and integrated manner. The requirement to keep diaries and to prepare and submit individual and group presentations coupled with study tours enabled participants to translate theories and concepts learned in class into practice. This empowered me to assess the social security needs in Kenya and, as a result, identify universal healthcare as critical towards poverty eradication and national development. The lively class discussions and experience sharing amongst students from diverse country and professional background made it possible for me to identify community based health insurance as a possible solution. My research paper on Universalising Healthcare in Kenya: Is Community Based Health Insurance an Option?” was enriched by the field experience in Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram

What has been the most enjoyable part of your USS experience?

I really enjoyed the class discussions that were so lively. The teachers are also very accessible and knowledgeable and broadened my perspectives. Outside class, we did study trips in the Netherlands, as well as to the EU in Brussels, which showed us how theories and practice of socioeconomic security link at the national and international level. This made the learning experience complete. I also met people from different social, academic, professional, and cultural backgrounds, which widened my scope as a person. I shared food with all these people and learned about their practices and experience just by interacting with them all this time. ISS is definitely a melting pot of world cultures!

Interview with Emese Viszoczky (Hungary), USS 2011 participant

What is your background?

I work in the Hungarian National Development Agency, I am a Head of Unit. I coordinate EU funding for social and economic cohesion. I am responsible for national programme design and monitoring and I work as the contact person with the European Commission.

Why did you decide to join the USS programme?

I wanted to get a more theoretical background for my work. I deal mostly with social programmes – education, employment, health. I feel we take the notions and theories underlining our work as ready-made, and there is little space to discuss why we choose a particular approach for our programmes. Two years ago I was in Pakistan and found so many similarities between my country and there – similar problems, policies, implementation and institutional challenges. It was exciting! I wanted to learn more about these issues in an open, development studies context. This type of short course was not available in the Central and Eastern European region. ISS had short courses, while other courses usually last 1-2 years. Ten weeks was the maximum time I could take away from my office. I read about the course, and the international study environment. I saw that only 9% of the students come from Europe, and my husband jokingly warned me that I would probably end up being the only European in my group! But I found the course is very useful, also for Europeans!

What did you get out of the programme?

The classes and study materials were useful and the teaching was good. Together, they gave a broad overview of the subject matter. Also the classmates, the sharing of experiences and ideas gave me just as much as the classes themselves. I think of the benefits and see these two parts as interlinked. The course was useful for my work. I look at the issues from a different perspective now. I learned to challenges everything that I had taken for granted. I broadened my thinking about my work a lot.

I found the USS course outstandingly relevant as it was able to combine academic theory with the best practical examples, like the SEWA model in India, and the experiences of the participants. The mixed nationalities, professional backgrounds and experiences provided excellent soil for discussions and sharing. My research topic looked for a deeper understanding of why policies have often failed to address the needs of the Roma communities in Hungary. The theoretical part of the course has contributed a lot in terms of comparing policy approaches, like the participatory or social exclusion approaches. The Indian track gave me two different, very powerful experiences: the bottom-up approach of SEWA in Ahmedabad, struggling for the full-employment and self-reliance of now 1,3 million women all over India; and the exposure on the rather top-down approach of the Kerala model. I fully enjoyed being a student again in a very inspiring and supporting environment, where emphasis was placed on our strengths, giving all professional and technical help in order to be able to enhance our knowledge in the chosen field.

What was the most enjoyable part of the programme?

The diversity of my classmates! We came from different countries, ages, cultures, and still, because of our open minds, we became like a family, where everyone had a role and a place.

Interview with Lynn Nawata (Canada), USS 2011 participant

What is your background?

I am the executive director of an NGO in the Phillippines that provides scholarships and feeding programmes for disadvantaged children and youth. I have a post-graduate degree in Asia Pacific Management.

Why did you decide to join the USS programme?

I searched for a post-graduate programme for one year. My background is in the corporate world, and I moved to the non-profit sector three years ago. I read voraciously but this self study needed to be complemented with credentials so that my NGO and I would gain the trust of our donors. I googled and USS was the only short course that I found on the topic. I have just four staff and if I am gone for one year, the NGO cannot cope. Therefore, USS was feasible - it took place during the slowest work months of the year and the content was the most practical. It also sounded good because you share the course with people with great professional experience.

What did you get out of the course?

I feel it was what I was looking for. The course provides you with a broad conceptual framework. I got affirmation that we are doing the right thing - it makes sense from a poverty perspective to do what we do in our NGO. The study material supported my work and now I feel I manage the terminology, the words related to what we do. I can explain what we are doing. I hadn't thought deeply of social protection because it doesn't exist in the Phillippines, but realised that this doesn't mean we should ignore it in our work - we have to understand the broader framework and context even if our focus is on education.

What was the most enjoyable part of your USS experience?

For the first time I found economics understandable and enjoyable! Also, I enjoyed the cultural sharing between us students - sharing food, making friends, our cross-cultural exchange. I really enjoyed studying again because when you work you are always so focused. Here there is a good environment for learning that gives you a break from your everyday work. Studying uses your mind differently from when we are in our offices. I enjoyed doing my own research, formulating my arguments. I appreciate the fact that the couse is so accessible to mid-career professionals, so enriching. Education should be a lifelong endeavour, but often it is not. I wish I could attend another diploma programme at ISS, and that there were more courses like USS!

Interview with Senait Yohannes (Ethiopia) USS 2011 participant

What is your background?

I have a BA in economics. Currently, I work as programme officer in an NGO. I conduct trainings, and I am in charge of monitoring and evaluation of our child-focused development projects.

Why did you choose to study in the USS programme?

I considered that socioeconomic security pertains to my work. My background is in economics and I wanted to broaden my area to something more social. I found it relevant to my work – getting additional skills to develop social protection programmes in the NGO, to share experiences with the other students working on similar issues in different countries. I wanted to learn to design social protection programmes especially for children. ISS is also well-known, famous, my friends said. It seemed a nice place and a unique course that is not available elsewhere.

What did you get out of the programme?

It was an exploration! I have gained more than I ever expected! It made me question the way I have been working in the NGO, question the design of our interventions. It made me understand poverty differently. Before I saw it as lack of basic needs, no it is not only that. Many aspects come out – the psychological, the dynamics within households, social exclusion. We usually put all them in the same basket of ‘poverty’ and tackle them with one single intervention, while we should better analyse poverty. There can be wealthier people who nevertheless cannot access education or health for some reason. Poverty is not simple. You should not only deal with symptoms of poverty but also its causes, as well as vulnerability to poverty.

What was the most enjoyable part of your USS experience?

I cannot mention only one – they are so many! I came here feeling down for being away from my small children. But soon I started feeling better because I enjoyed the programme. There were no boring classes – the teaching, the interaction, the arguments, the critical approach to the study matter, the diversity of students were great. I enjoyed the tutorials, where we debated the issues being studied. The teachers make you feel that what you know is useful and valid. Teaching is two-way and we debate a lot. You can freely argue for your position. I feel the point of the programme is to give us wings so that we could learn to fly, to take us to the water so that we can learn how to swim. USS made me think. In the middle of work routine, you stop thinking, and now I had time to think. If you want to explore more, it is easy because you have access to all kinds of materials. The ISS library and the Erasmus University library can be used, and I got materials for study for when I return home.

Interview with Shashi Sudhir (India) USS 2011 participant

What is your background?

I have studied many disciplines, most recently a post-graduate diploma rural development. I work in the Indian UNDP as a programme officer in the HIV portfolio. Before that, I was working on issues of rural development and livelihoods.

Why did you choose to study in the USS programme?

Our work in UNDP became divided into thematic divisions. I am looking after social protection issues in the HIV unit. A colleague of mine did USS in 2005 and highly recommended it to me. I could not do a whole degree of 1 to 2 years of duration, so a diploma was a better option because it was shorter. I needed skills to understand what was behind social protection, know the concepts. Everything I knew about it I had learned on the job, and I was looking for an opportunity to update my skills.

What did you get out of the USS programme?

I got to read – something I had not done for so long. I got the concepts of the field clear. I got to ask a lot of questions, which is something professionals hardly ever get to do. I read, wrote, did research, which I have not been able to do for a long while. The teachers were so knowledgeable! I got to listen to them and enjoyed it so much. The content on social policy and social protection will be very useful for my work in India. Also, understanding issues of social exclusion will be relevant and easy to relate to my work, because people with HIV face it every day.

What was the most enjoyable part of the USS programme?

The weekends! And being a student without having to worry too much. I had never lived in a hostel! I enjoyed the interaction with the other students. We were like a big family. All respected one another, we gelled so well. The teachers were not like back home either. Now there was a meaning to my studies, to what I learned. This was meaningful work for me, and I feel I should have done this 30 years ago! These teachers made me understand things from a different perspective. I feel they don’t teach but push you to question things and find answers to your own questions. I also had to do presentations, which made me very nervous but were very rewarding in the end. ISS also has an amazing, very well organized library and IT services. You can sit in your room and search and reserve books. All readings are available online. I think it is the best library I have ever known!