Ten Years of Development Studies at the University of Passau

The participants agreed: current political developments around the world mean that graduates with a Master's degree in Development Studies are needed more urgently than ever. The anniversary event at the University of Passau included an interactive masterclass for students and doctoral candidates in the field of development studies with Professor Johannes Jütting (PARIS21/OECD) and Professor Chusak Wittayapak (Chiang Mai University) as well as a full-day symposium on the topic of "The future of development - Development 2.0 in a changing world". It focused on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable global development against the backdrop of the climate crisis and the changing world order.

The symposium was opened by Professor Martina Padmanabhan, Director of Studies, Professor Ulrich Bartosch, President of the University of Passau, and a welcome address by Dr Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Barbara Zacharias, Head of the International Office, and Professor Maximilian Seiler, Dean of the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, also spoke.

The keynote speaker was Professor Ann-Katharina Hornidge, Director of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), a research institute and think tank in Bonn. In particular, she emphasised the effects of the decline in (financial) commitment to development cooperation by Western countries and the increasing questioning of universal norms and values that until recently characterised international development policy. "In future, Germany will also increasingly have to cooperate with 'non-like-minded' countries in certain areas, such as the fight against climate change. This is shown by a series of voting results within the UN General Assembly. This makes it all the more important to clearly state the differences," she says.

In the ensuing discussion, Prof Jütting emphasised that development aid in the traditional sense is increasingly disappearing and needs to be rethought. "A foundation based solely on the international sustainability goals will no longer be capable of achieving a majority in the future," he believes. Prof Chusak made it clear that despite these developments, the need for action in many countries of the global South is still enormous. He emphasised the challenge faced by many Asian countries in maintaining a good economic and political relationship with the West and China at the same time. To round off the event, programme convenors Professor Michael Grimm, Professor Martina Padmanabhan and Professor Wolfram Schaffar presented their current research projects and discussed with the external experts how these fit into the context of "Development 2.0".

In addition to the new student initiative Ubunto Mondo, which was recently founded from the M.A. Development Studies programme, many alumni were also among the participants, some of whom had travelled from far away.

There was also a birthday present for the degree programme: a commitment from the DAAD for a further six years of support as part of the Helmut Schmidt Programme (HSP). The HSP allows up to ten excellent students on the degree programme to be awarded a scholarship each year. Up to 900 people from the Global South apply for the places each year. Deputy Director of Studies and applicant Professor Michael Grimm: "This acceptance is not only an award for a convincing application and a very good study programme, but also a unique selling point compared to many other similar programmes offered in Germany."