Social Protection (MSc)
MSc Social Protection Insights: December
December 2023: Social Protection Insights
📢 Applications are NOW OPEN!
The application window for the winter 2024 semester of the MSc Social Protection programme is NOW OPEN! For international students, applications are accepted from December 1, 2023 until February 28, 2024 and until May 31 for students who do not require a student visa.
Interested applicants are encouraged to seize this timeframe to submit their documents online, and join a dynamic community of aspiring practitioners dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the field of social protection.
This year, applications can be submitted six weeks earlier than in previous years in order to give more time for visa applications after acceptance to the programme.
We have received feedback that candidates in the past have not been able to begin their studies with us due to needing more time to make arrangements with embassies to receive visas, and we hope that this new application window will solve this problem.
Applications are only accepted via our online application portal, which can be found on our website: https://www.h-brs.de/en/sv/study/master/social-protection
If you are interested in applying, make sure to join our VIRTUAL OPEN DAY:
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Date: December 16, 2023
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Time: 13:00-14:00 (Germany)
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Modality: Online, via WebEx
More information and the meeting link are available on our website: https://www.h-brs.de/en/sv/event/virtual-open-day-msc-social-protection
📢 Research assistant Brian Mathebula discussed topical research topics at ART4DEV workshop in Tika, Kenya
On behalf of the MSc Social Protection programme, our research assistant Brian Mathebula participated in a workshop hosted by Mount Kenya University from November 20-24, 2023. This collaborative effort, part of the Applied Research and Teaching for Sustainable Development in Africa (ART4DEV) project funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at the university, aimed to contribute to sustainable economic development and enhance educational quality by integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into teaching and research. During the seminar, representatives from the participating universities, namely the International University of Applied Sciences (Germany), University of Cape Coast (Ghana), MOI University, and the Institute for Financial Management (Tanzania), discussed topical areas of research for sustainable economy and will create linkages between the researchers of the different universities beyond the workshop.
The sustainable economy module consists of the following topics:
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Environment and Climate
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Social protection
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Innovation and entrepreneurship
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Microfinance
More information available here: ARTDEV.
📢 Our MSc Social Protection programme has officially been re-accredited with the Agency for Quality Assurance by Accreditation of Study Programs (AQAS)!
While the programme has always been accredited, we are glad to have passed the accreditation agency's tough assessment without conditions. The programme was not only confirmed in its academic excellence but the re-accreditation is a testament of the meaningfulness of the switch from a Master of Arts to a Master of Science, and the subsequent reorganization of the curriculum.
This recognition reaffirms our commitment to delivering a top-notch educational experience that meets the highest standards of quality. Our dedicated faculty, innovative curriculum, and unwavering dedication of students, lecturers, partners and alumni to fostering a dynamic learning environment have contributed to this significant achievement. We extend our gratitude to everyone for their ongoing support in shaping the future of social protection education, and take pride in preparing our students for impactful careers in the field of social protection!
Module 3: Social Protection Policy Instruments
Our Batch 2023 are wrapping up 2023 with four courses on the core social protection policy instruments.
M3.1 Contributory Schemes (Social Insurance) // Markus Loewe
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This course deals with the basic principles and rationales of social and private insurance. The students will learn about conditions of functioning, effects, challenges and limitations - specifically in the informal and low-income context.
M3.2 Social Transfers // Masauso Chirwa PhD
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In the following course, common misconceptions are uncovered along with a discussion of the impact of social transfers worldwide. Further discussions evolve around the analysis of design choices with respect to target, transfer modalities, transfer amoung, conditionaly, duration and exit.
M3.3 Social (Care) Services // Dr. Deepta Chopra
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The conceptualisation and organisation of social care, especially for vulnerable groups and in the international development context, are addressed in this course. Students learn about evidence-based practice, service planning, development and monitoring as well as the needs of the social care workforce.
M3.4 Promotional Measures // Andrea Salvini
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Lastly, this course covers employment and active and passive labour market policies in the context of relevant insitutions and the wider socio-economic context. A core focus of this course lies on activation strategies and country-level labour and employment agendas, labour mobility and migration.
Module 3 familiarizes students with the concept, impact, challenges of different instruments and teaches them how the choice and prioritization of instruments is dependent on the inherent logic of the respective social protection system. For each and every instrument, they analyse the various design options and determine which options are most suitable in a given context. After completion of the courses, students will be able to provide informed and evidence-based policy recommendations on social protection policy instrument choices.
Get to Know Our Students, Lecturers & Alumni
Student of the Month
Name: Dildor Yusupova
Batch: 2022
Country of Origin: Uzbekistan
Social Protection Experience: Dildor worked with SOS Children’s Villages in Uzbekistan for 4 years. The work of the organisation focuses on supporting children left without parental care and families where children are at risk of being separated from their family.
Research Interests: Child protection, family strengthening
„The most valuable benefit of the programme was the opportunity to meet and engage with a diverse group of fellow students, leading to the formation of strong friendships. I highly recommend this programme to future applicants as it provides a comprehensive overview of social protection, encompasses a broad sphere, and offers the opportunity to specialize in relevant topics such as protection of children/youth, persons with disabilities, families, older population, working population or migrants.”
Dildor Yusupova - 2022/23 Batch
Alumni Spotlight
Name: Alex Semba
Batch: 2021
Country of Origin: Malawi
Current Role: I am currently assisting in the Social Protection and Inclusion short course in partnership with UNICEF and the Center for Inclusive Policy (CIP), developed in collaboration with ILO and financially supported by the government of Norway and UNPRPD. Additionally, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. focusing on addressing gaps in community support for persons with disabilities and exploring the role of social protection in community-based inclusive development.
Master's Thesis Topic: An Assessment of Disability Data Collection Tools Across Government Institutions in Malawi: Towards a Harmonized and Standardized Approach
Internship: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) under the Gender Justice and Development Programme
„The master's program was transformative, highlighted by receiving the award as an outstanding foreign student of 2022. [It] equipped me with a comprehensive understanding of social protection systems learning from the many industry experts that presented in the course, the experiences from interning at UNRISD, and contributing to Misereor's social cash transfer pilot study project. The emphasis on real-world applications and partnerships has not only prepared me for a future in evidence-based policymaking but provided a holistic perspective that extends beyond traditional academic boundaries.”
Alex Semba - 2021/22 Batch
Meet our Lecturers
Name: Andrea Salvini
Position: Lecturer
Teaching since: 2015
Course(s) in 2023/24: M3.4: Promotional Measures
Expertise: Labour studies, Labour economics, Migration
„The course on promotional measures has been growing with me in the past nine years. Several students became our collaborators and co-authored in studies and reports published by international organizations, and we continue to engage one or two students every year in training weeks in Budapest funded by my organization. If a student feels an attitude for professional pathways in between the academia and the industry of labour policy practitioners, this MSc is highly recommended.”
Andrea Salvini - Lecturer
Resources and Publications
Our alumni Oscar Darío Sánchez González has shared insights from his recent research on digitalization in social protection delivery:
Contact Us!
We are always interested in creating partnerships with those of you working in the field! We would love to hear from you if are interested in
- being a #ThesisSupervisor,
- providing #Internship opportunities to our students,
- publishing a paper in our #WorkingPaper series, or
- visiting our university as a #GuestSpeaker!
Your feedback and suggestions to improve the newsletter are also very welcome.