Episodes
-
Migration and Development: Melissa Siegel
Dr. Melissa Siegel, the Head of our Migration and Development Research Theme, talks about our priorities, partners and impacts: http://www.merit.unu.edu/research/rt6.php
-
Taking Communities of Learning to a Higher Level: Martin Rehm
PhD fellow Martin Rehm joins us ahead of his PhD defence on 1 March 2013. The full title of his thesis is: "Unified yet separated: Empirical study on the impact of hierarchical positions within communities of learning". http://www.merit.unu.edu/about/profil...
-
Report: Cutting Poverty and Boosting Social Protection in Cambodia
Over the last 20 years Cambodia has cut poverty rates by a third on the back of rapid economic development; yet most of its people are still vulnerable to malnutrition, natural disasters and precarious employment. So in 2011 the Cambodian Government launched a ‘National Social Protection Strategy...
-
Innovation in the Wine Industry in Chile and Argentina: Fulvia Farinelli
We're joined for a pre-defence interview with PhD fellow Fulvia Farinelli, whose thesis investigates 'Natural Resources, Innovation and Export Growth: the Wine Industry in Chile and Argentina'. http://youtu.be/qhD6dEkuvBs
-
Energy Poverty and Rural Energy Markets in Pakistan: Bilal Mirza
This time we're joined for a pre-defence interview with PhD fellow Bilal Mirza, whose thesis looks at improving access to energy for poor people living in the countryside of Pakistan. We also hear how his research can be used in other developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa....
-
Manufacturing and Innovation in Chile: Rodolfo Lauterbach
We're joined for a pre-defence interview with PhD fellow Rodolfo Lauterbach, whose thesis title is 'Innovation in manufacturing from product variety and labor productivity growth to economic development in Chile'. http://www.merit.unu.edu/about/profile.php?id=1061
-
'A Very Short Introduction to Governance' -- New Professor Mark Bevir
Mark Bevir is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkely; and from 2013 will become an Affiliated Professor at UNU-MERIT and its School of Governance. We have a brief chat about his new book: 'A Very Short Introduction to Governance'; we ask him to explain what…
more -
PhD Fellow Wins prestigious South American Award
Omar Rodriguez Torres has won the Jorge Bernal award, granting 8,000 euros to support his research into the impact of entrepreneurship policies on the poor. Jorge Bernal, 1952-2010, was a Colombian activist and scholar whose life and work were dedicated to the defence of democracy and social...
-
Who Joins our Part-time PhD Programme?
Today we’re joined by Carlos Cadena Gaitan, one of our PhD fellows who also coordinates our GPAC2 dual career programme. That’s our part-time PhD course, designed for people who want to combine doctoral research with a full-time job. I asked Carlos to summarize how the programme works, to explain...
-
What's it like to study with us? Stefania Innocenti
This week we spoke to Stefania Innocenti, a new PhD fellow on our Joint PhD Programme in Economics and Governance. She gave us her first impressions of the institute, city and PhD course. In terms of background, Stefania has a BA in Development Economics and International Cooperation and a MSc in...
-
"Working at the grassroots level in the mountains" -- N.K. Perumal, FINISH Sanitation project
In the last three years our FINISH project has built over 100,000 household toilets in India, changing the lives of half a million people in the country. Short for 'Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation and Health', FINISH held its latest project meeting in Maastricht in August 2012, drawing...
-
Tracking Afghan Migration: Melissa Siegel
The head of our migration group at the School of Governance recently returned from Afghanistan, where she's been overseeing a migration project with the Afghan Government and international organizations. Siegel speaks of the Afghan ministries she’s been working with, the questions asked in over...
-
Balancing Renewable Electricity: Thomas Ziesemer
"By 2050 anywhere from 80 to even 100 percent of our electricity will be generated from renewable energy sources." That's the ambitious and controversial claim made in a recent German report co-authored by Dr. Thomas Ziesemer. We ask him to justify this figure and to give his recommendations for...
-
Assessing Innovation Policy in Thailand: Adam Szirmai
Professor Adam Szirmai runs our DEIP programme, short for 'Design and Evaluation of Innovation Policies in Developing countries'. It is a course which began in 2004, and since then has trained about 800 senior and mid-level government officials in developing countries. Countries as far afield as...
-
The Afghan Diaspora and Knowledge Transfer: Katie Kuschminder
On 13 March Katie Kuschminder presented to the Dutch Government the first policy report for the IS Academy: Migration and Development Project. Her report looked into the temporary return of highly skilled migrants to Afghanistan and their role in training, employment and ‘capacity building’. In…
more -
Mobilizing money in Africa: Siegel and Fransen
A new working paper tracks the rise of financial transfers via mobile phone in Africa. Building on this, our latest podcast asks authors Melissa Siegel and Sonja Fransen to explain the trends and the potential for growth across the continent. We hear how new services are boosting economic...
-
Third Age Online: Stijn Bannier
In our first podcast of 2012 we’re joined by Stijn Bannier, who works on our ‘Third Age Online’ project. This international web-based project aims to build and grow a community among the over-50 age group to improve their social integration. We hear from Stijn about the tens of thousands of…
more -
New globalization institute in China: René Kemp
A new 'Center for the Study of Globalization' was inaugurated on 23 November at the International College of Renmin University in China, and René Kemp, representing UNU-MERIT, gave a lecture at the opening ceremony. The institute uses a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach to conduct...
-
Wim Naudé: New professorial fellow at UNU-MERIT
Our latest guest is Wim Naudé, a South African economist who recently joined us as a professorial fellow. He gives us his views on the relationship between Africa and Europe, on the role of the media in economics and academia, and the need to find a balance between cooperation and competition –...
-
Strong Organizations in Weak States: Joe Abah
Joe Abah is a PhD fellow on our part-time doctoral programme, the GPAC², at our School of Governance. His research compares the performance of six major organisations in Nigeria, including the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria....
-
Population and growth in sub-Saharan Africa: Thomas Ziesemer
Dr Thomas Ziesemer explains details from his recent working paper on investment, growth and consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, touching in particular on issues of population sustainability. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=661
-
Luc Soete: A Mercurial Man
Professor Luc Soete is Director of UNU-MERIT, Dean of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, and in September 2012 will take on the role of Rector Magnificus at Maastricht University. In this brief portrait we find out more about the man behind the titles, including some of his life...
-
Interrupted innovation: PhD defence interview with Daniel Vertesy
Our new season of podcasts begins with Daniel Vertesy, who today successfully defended his PhD on the role of emerging economies in the aerospace industry. We asked him why Brazil has succeeded while others have failed. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=637
-
Prizing Open Education
Can OpenEd bring formal education up to speed with the flatter, online world of the 21st century? Can it guarantee a new wave of culture and class-neutral education? How far is it penetrating beyond the English speaking world?
-
Successfully managing alliance portfolios: PhD defence interview with Tina Saebi
In today's globalized economy, firms depend on external partners to manage uncertainty. After an exhaustive global survey, Tina Saebi explains why firms need to carefully customize their approach in line with their partner portfolios.
-
World food security: Interview with WFP staffer and PhD candidate Tareq Abuelhaj
Subsidies and commodity speculation: how do they affect food security around the world? What is the role of the World Food Programme? We talk with Tareq Abuelhaj, who works in Iraq for WFP, about his doctoral research at MGSoG.
-
Master's degree in Public Policy and Human Development: Interview with Lutz Krebs
UNU formally accredited our MPP programme in May 2011. Education director Lutz Krebs spells out what this means for our students, and reveals plans for more partnerships linked to specializations, capstone and internship programmes.
-
Immigration and growth in an ageing economy: Interview with Thomas Ziesemer
How can the European Union realize the full benefits of immigration? Should integration policy focus not only on the number of immigrants but also on their employability? Is the EU’s blue card policy too restrictive? To find out more click on play or read our working paper on 'Immigration and...
-
Private actors and public services: PhD defence interview with Manos Sfakianakis
How far do risk pricing, state guarantees and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) affect financial stability? Did PPPs contribute to the near bankruptcy of Greece? When should governments intervene in these key partnerships? Click play to hear the answers to these questions and more from Manos...
-
Social impacts of science, technology and innovation indicators: Interview with Fred Gault
Indicators are a kind of technology, a product, which governs behaviour and develops in response to user needs. But what are the real-world social impacts of their development? Could innovation indicators be used to help poorer countries catch up? And is the EU on the right track in terms of...
-
Tuberculosis in India - A case of innovation and control: PhD defence interview with Nora Engel
What are the trade-offs between innovation and standardization of TB care in India? Do local experts 'speak the same language' as central decision-makers? Are we on track to meet Millennium Development Goal 6C, to halt and reverse major diseases like TB, by 2015? Check the podcast below for more…
more -
Connectivity and growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: PhD defence interview with Evans Mupela
Are the high costs of phone, web and media services holding back growth and development in Africa? Should telecoms firms give spare bandwidth to support health and education projects? To hear more check the podcast below. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=566
-
Japan nuclear crisis: A fatal 'technological lock-in'? Interview with Prof. Robin Cowan
After an earthquake and tsunami crippled the light water reactor at Fukushima on 11 March, analysts have scrutinized design choices and risk management in the nuclear industry. Last month UNU-MERIT’s Professor Robin Cowan was cited in the Boston Globe and Atlantic magazine for his paper on...
-
Background on the Arab revolutions: Interview with Researcher Zina Nimeh
As regimes crumbled across North Africa and the Middle East, researchers from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance came together to share their news and views on the Arab revolutions. This interview with Zina Nimeh complements a feature article, to be released shortly on the UNU web...
-
Cultural intelligence: PhD defence interview with Nantawan Noi Kwanjai
This podcast explores the subtle consequences of cross-cultural life, from reciprocation to unification to variation, based on the experiences of individuals at five Dutch firms in Thailand. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=547
-
Innovation in Finance: PhD defence interview with Lina Sonne
Pro-poor innovation with a focus on entrepreneurs and alternative finance is the subject of this brief interview, which also explores the bad press surrounding micro-credit in India. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=546
-
Luc Soete on China Radio International, English Service, 8 Feb 2011
China's phenomenal rise in R&D, including in the field of nanotechnology, and Western 'quality' research vs. China's 'quantity' advantage, are among the subjects touched on in this radio clip. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=544
About this show
WELCOME to the audio channel of United Nations University-MERIT and its School of Governance. We feature interviews on the push and pull of international development through innovation and good governance.
Hosted by
UNU-MERIT
Categories