Celebrating the acquisition of knowledge for development
Doing a postgraduate degree in development studies is seldom easy. In addition to raising the funds, and finding the time, many of our students have been working for years and are no longer used to the rigours of academic reading and writing. Our students come from more than 60 different countries and have diverse expectations of what is required in post-graduate study. They must grapple with different disciplinary perspectives, different and cultural normative values, different styles of writing and with the UK university grading system. And of course, they have to learn, to think about development theoretically, and come up with innovative suggestions for overcoming intractable, multi-faceted and seemingly insolvable development challenges. And that’s before the Covid pandemic disrupted conventional lectures and seminars, forcing all university education online.
On Friday 15 July, IDS will host our biggest graduation ceremony ever. Graduation is a personal highlight for me. It is a moment when, amid a busy academic year, we collectively pause. Staff and students alike reflect on a year just passed, give praise for hard-earned accomplishments, and celebrate achievements. Graduation in Higher Education is a big deal, for our former students, for their parents, partners, children, or others who made sacrifices in order that they might study, and for IDS.
617 former students – who studied during the Covid years of 2019, 2020 and 2021 and were hence unable to attend graduation ceremonies – will be receiving their degrees. They have all excelled in their studies and we at IDS could not be prouder. No other cohort of students has studied under conditions of lockdown, social distancing, online learning and, above all, discovering how to be flexible and an independent learner.
Using knowledge to address development and higher education challenges
Graduation is also a time of transition and reflection. It marks the change in status, from former students to qualified development specialists actively engaging in the world of work. Most IDS graduates already have experience in the development world, and they will continue their work as development practitioners and/or activists, working proactively with governments, NGOs, think tanks, and civil society to shape development initiatives. Some IDS graduates will become academics, researchers, and lecturers, contributing theoretically and empirically to development, policy, and practice.
Yet, whether they seek employment in higher education or in development, no cohort of graduates has entered a job market quite like the current. Covid-19 has reversed so many development successes that we previously took for granted: globally fewer children are in school now than before the pandemic. UNICEF reports that more than 168 million children have lost a complete school year. Covid has also fuelled a global increase in anxiety and depression, precipitating a further pandemic of poor mental health in schools and universities, amongst both staff and students. The effects have however been, as Barker and colleagues argue, ‘most pronounced on those already disadvantaged’.
The Covid pandemic has slashed the economic gains so painfully achieved through years of targeted development work: more people are living in extreme poverty now than was the case two short years ago. Employment, business, global financial flows, and development financial flows have all been negatively affected by the pandemic. And once again, those most disadvantaged have been most affected: casual labourers, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, informal sector workers and most especially women have most commonly lost their jobs, or have had to work without protective equipment, sick leave pay or unemployment compensation. Low-income countries and their already over-burdened health systems have similarly been worst affected.
Coupled with economic uncertainty, democracy itself is threatened as governments increasingly justify and turn to authoritarian actions in support of public health goals; and conflict escalates in many parts of the world. As Melissa Leach and colleagues have argued, ‘“Development’’ – understood as progressive social, economic and political change – is rapidly being undone as Covid-19 threatens collective futures’. What is clear is that there is no shortage of work to be done, yet the challenges cannot be understated.
Graduates pursuing careers in higher education also face a challenging future. The sector has long suffered from huge capacity deficits and the stressful nature of work – including ever-increasing student numbers; the need to teach, research and publish simultaneously; hidden committee work and often-unacknowledged peer reviewing. Added to this are new educational concerns of delivering ‘employability’ and workplace skills; the commercialisation of higher education; grappling with decolonisation (in high-income countries); of delivering online distance learning in the face of Covid (difficult for all, yet especially challenging for universities which lack up-to-date technological infrastructure and skills) and learning to sensitively and supportively deal with students’ mental health crisis. Globally, the impact of Covid is forcing universities to innovate, to find new ways of supporting students and staff, to teach and undertake research in contexts where precarity is far more pronounced.
Embracing uncertainty through collaboration, life-long questioning and optimism
Working with partners across the globe, IDS research has investigated the challenges faced by higher education in precarious and under-resourced contexts. In conflict-affected areas of the DRC and Niger, research has examined the way in which conflict reshapes the nature of marginalisation in education and we are generating new insights on how ‘safe learning environments’ might be developed. IDS researchers have worked collaboratively with higher education institutes in Africa and Asia, exploring new ways of delivering higher education and using participatory methods to catalyse systemic change in how universities teach, while placing competency-based, student-centred learning at the heart of higher education public health curricula. More broadly in development studies, IDS has contributed to the debate on post-pandemic transformations, asking whether the pandemic reveals new directions for development studies, and we have a wealth of work on inequalities, exploring the complex relationships between inequality and governance, asking about the kinds of actions needed to build accountability and collective trust. Research with young people has focused on how, in the current political and economic contexts, can we ensure decent work and political inclusion for young people. Our work into the politics of uncertainty encourages thought into how to do development amidst uncertainty and a corresponding recognition of the opportunities for change. IDS students have been embedded in, and contributing to, these debates and discussions with IDS members and with IDS partners around the world.
Our graduates’ time at IDS has enabled them to develop the skills and knowledge that will help them work flexibly in higher education and development, especially in precarious and uncertain contexts, to tackle the deep scars left by the pandemic. We have seen first-hand their hard work, enthusiasm, and dedication. We know that they have the knowledge and skills to rise to these challenges. We hope that we have also inspired them to do three things, which we believe will help and support them on this journey: first to see the value in working collectively to solve challenges; second, to openly embrace knowledge and always seek to learn; and finally, to actively participate in our global community working towards a better future for all.
