UPCOMING EPD & OTHER EVENTS
COVID-19: Policymaking in the Throes of a Global Crisis | Every Wednesday, 1-2 PM EDT
An online seminar co-sponsored by the School of International and Public Affairs, the Earth Institute, and the Mailman School of Public Health. For more information on this online seminar series CLICK HERE. September 23rd seminar: “COVID-19 Vaccines in a Time of Anti-Science featuring Peter Hotez, University Professor, Baylor University. To join CLICK HERE to register.
EPD Internship Panel | Thursday, November 5, 2020 | 1-2 PM EDT | Zoom
Join us and learn from 2nd year students sharing their summer 2020 internship experience. From searching, applying, anf the actual working experience!
Andrew Carmona (WeRobotics)
Lavanya Lal (World Bank)
Melissa Trimble (ABT Associates Dev)
Alexandra Treat (UNDP)
Click here to register
SIPA Story Slam
Nov. 5, Thursday 2020 8-9PM EDT
Zoom Link
The SIPA Story Slam is an evening of stories where students, staff, and faculty share their diverse perspectives. As we continue to face challenges past, present and future, this story slam, we will be exploring 'Stories of Resilience' Storytellers are welcome to interpret this in any way they prefer, including multiple formats (i.e., music, spoken word, traditional, etc.)
If you would like to share your story of resilience, please contact Dean Shapses at ss4874@columbia.edu
2020 Peacebuilding Fieldwork Symposium
November 6, Friday 2020 1-4PM EDT
Register on CampusGroups: http://cglink.me/r881760
Zoom Link: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/j/96566193043
Password: 344472
Join Columbia University graduate students that have recently returned from peacebuilding-related internships as they discuss their experiences and reflections on the current dynamics, challenges, and opportunities in the diverse and evolving field of peacebuilding. This is the final event for the "Applied Peacebuilding: Core Competencies for Fieldwork" cohort of 2020. Hear first-hand accounts of work in Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, Palestine, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, and the United States. Students, faculty, practitioners, and others interested in the field of peacebuilding are encouraged to attend.
Join the SIPals Mentoring & Networking Program! | Sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs
Second-year students are matched with first-year students to build community and create opportunities for networking, mentorship, and friendship. Any SIPA student in any program can volunteer to participate. Second-years are randomly assigned to mentor one or more first-years. All students will meet at a virtual social event sponsored by OSA (and at an in-person reception when conditions permit). Participants are also encouraged to arrange independent opportunities for networking and socializing throughout the year.
Click Here to sign up. Deadline: November 6, 2020.
[Virtual] Lunch with Professor Series: Rumela Sen
Nov. 9, 2020 Monday | 1-1:45 PM EDT
Click HERE to register. | Zoom Link
Rumela Sen teaches the core course Politics of Policymaking and will be teaching Persistent Problems in the Global South and Politics and Policies in South Asia: Challenges and Opportunities at SIPA. She is also affiliated with the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace at Columbia. Prior to joining SIPA in 2020, Sen was the postdoctoral research fellow (2017-2019) at the political science department at Columbia. In 2016-17 she was the postdoctoral fellow in peace and conflict studies at the Pacific Basin Research Center, Soka University of America. Her research focuses on civil conflict, post conflict governance, development and state building, primarily in the context of South Asia. Her first book (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) examines how Maoist rebels in India quit armed groups and return to the same political process that they had once tried to overthrow.
(We are looking for a student volunteer to moderate this session. If you are interested, please reach out to Selena and/or Saiful)
Measuring the Success of Impact Bonds: 5 questions for the first 10 years
Nov. 10, 2020, Tuesday | 1-2PM
Click HERE to register
Dr. Gustafsson-Wright is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Her current focus on effective delivery of social services including early childhood development, education and health interventions in developing countries has consolidated her role as a global expert on innovative financing mechanisms including payment by results, public-private partnerships and impact investing. She is the premier thought-leader and convener in the emerging field of social and development impact bonds and is regularly invited to contribute to high-level global conversations on impact bonds and outcome-based financing.
EPD Grab N Go Lunch
Nov 12, 2020, Thursday | 1-2PM
Sign up HERE before Nov. 6 to get a free roti roll (limited to the first 40 people)
Get a free roti roll and have a socially distanced lunch with your fellow EPD-er around campus!
Latin America’s Recovery after the COVID Crisis: Economic, Social and Political Dimensions
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | 6-7 PM
Click HERE to register and receive Zoom link
Join José Antonio Ocampo, Co-Director of the EPD Concentration at SIPA; Member of the Committee on Global Thought; Co-President of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University; and the Chair of the Committee for Development Policy; Vicky Murillo, Director of the Institute for Latin American Studies and Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; and Miguel Urquiola, Chair and Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in a discussion on way lies ahead for the LATAM continent, amidst the pandemic-induced crisis, particularly in the political, economic, and social context.
Economic and Political Development Career Panel Series | Nov. 19, Thursday 1-2PM
For more info and to sign up, click HERE
Meet and connect with SIPA EPD concentration Alumni in fields including development consulting, impact investing, political risk, and multilateral organizations.
List of alums and organisations will be updated and finalised by OCS soon!
(We are looking for a number of student volunteers to moderate this session. If you are interested, please reach out to Selena and/or Saiful)
SIPA Speaks!” Nominations Open for SIPA’s Student Speaker Series
“SIPA Speaks!” is a student speaker series designed to showcase SIPA students and their diverse professional and personal backgrounds. SIPA students come together to learn about the amazing backgrounds and contributions their fellow Seeples bring to the School. Students may share experiences involving prior employment, community/volunteer/public service, social entrepreneurship, or any other topic of interest to the SIPA community. All enrolled SIPA students are encouraged to nominate themselves or others to participate.
Click here to nominate yourself or another student to participate in "SIPA Speaks!"
OCS EMPLOYER SESSIONS
LMI Consulting Information Session
When: Monday, November 2, 2020
Time: 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM
Where: Other
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
LMI is a consultancy dedicated to powering a future-ready, high-performing government, drawing from expertise in digital and analytic solutions, logistics, and management advisory services. We deliver integrated capabilities that incorporate emerging technologies and are tailored to customers’ unique mission needs, backed by objective research and data analysis. Founded in 1961 to help the Department of Defense resolve complex logistics management challenges, LMI continues to enable growth and transformation, enhance operational readiness and resiliency, and ensure mission success for federal civilian and defense agencies.
Please note this event has been organized by fellow APSIA member – Sanford School of Public Policy. SIPA students have been invited to participate. If this event is being recorded it will only be accessible to Sanford students.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
Merck Policy Academy Information Session
When: Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Where: Other
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
The Merck Policy Academy offers opportunities for rising professionals who wish to grow as future global leaders. Today’s complex and fast-paced health care policy environment requires professionals who have the right tools and experiences to manage diverse teams, cross-sector programs and transnational challenges. In support of our global business, the successful candidate may be located in a variety of geographies dependent upon a number of factors including, but not limited to: participant interest and skill set, developmental needs, professional opportunities and business needs.
Who we’re looking for:
• MPA (Master of Public Administration) or MPP (Master of Public Policy) program graduates
• 3-5 years professional experience (policy advocacy, government)
• Deep interest in the healthcare, international policy / trade
• Passion for making an impact in patient lives
The successful candidate will commence two x 10-12 month assignments.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
How to Write Effective Cover Letters
When: Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
Cover letters are critical to an effective search for internships and jobs. In addition to outlining your qualifications, your cover letters reveal much about your professionalism. In this strategy-based workshop, participants will learn how to construct powerful cover letters that address employer needs and highlight the strongest points of their candidacy.
Presented by Jill McIntosh
Associate Director of Career Services
SIPA Office of Career Services
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
APSIA Webinar on the Alfa Fellowship
When: Thursday, November 5, 2020
Time: 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM
Where: Other
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
Please join us for an APSIA Webinar on the Alfa Fellowship with Melissa Graves, Alfa Fellowship Program Director
The Alfa Fellowship Program is an opportunity for young Americans, Britons, and Germans to complete a high-level professional development program in Russia.
Please register by 11:59pm ET on November 4
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Information Session
When: Thursday, November 5, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
You are invited to attend the Asian Development Bank, information session which will provide a description of the mission, activities, organization, and staffing of the Asian Development Bank. It will also address Summer 2021 and Spring 2022 internship opportunities, the Young Professionals Program, consulting opportunities, and regular full-time, post-graduate employment openings at the Asian Development Bank.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
The Urban Institute Information Session
When: Thursday, November 5, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
Please note this event has been organized by fellow APSIA member – Sanford School of Public Policy. SIPA students have been invited to participate. If this event is being recorded it will only be accessible to Sanford students.
Entry-Level Recruitment & Internship Program
Interested in a career that impacts social and economic policy? We want to meet you!
Attend the session to learn about our paid, 10-week internship program and entry-level full-time opportunities for recent graduates.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
Credit Suisse: Training the Street Workshop
When: Friday, November 6, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM- 5:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
Only open to first year students with 3 years’ experience in finance
Training the Street Workshop (November 6 from 1:00pm-5:00pm ET): This workshop will provide you with a better understanding of finance concepts that are frequently tested during technical interviews. Please register by November 1
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)Information Session
When: Monday, November 10, 2020
Time: 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
Join Fiona Li, SIPA Alumna, Ashley Medlar, Recruitment Manager, and Hayley Leonard, Program Associate, to learn about the Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps summer fellowship. Since 2008, EDF Climate Corps has placed over 1,100 graduate level fellows in host organizations including American Red Cross, Google, Lyft, New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, and TPG Capital. Working under the guidance of a host supervisor and EDF manager, fellows uncover energy and sustainability solutions for their host organizations. Projects may focus on: Scaling energy efficiency solutions, carbon mitigation strategies, renewable energy and vehicle electrification and sustainable supply chain management. As a Climate Corps fellow, you will be custom-matched with a host organization based on your location, industry and project-type preferences. You will participate in interactive training, have access to online resources, and receive ongoing professional development opportunities through the summer and your career. Presentation will include an overview of the program, tips on the application and virtual interview process and Q&A with program alumni.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship Briefing
When: Monday, November 10, 2020
Time: 4:15 PM- 5:15 PM
Where: Other
Work Authorization Requirement: N/A
ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship Briefing
(Hosted by Harvard Kennedy School, Office of Career Advancement)
The Local Government Management Fellowship (LGMF) is a career-development opportunity designed to attract recent MPA/MPP (or related programs) graduates to be placed in full-time management-track local government positions. Finalists are selected based on academic performance, demonstrated leadership potential, commitment to public service, communication skills, initiative, creativity, and positive attitude. They then interview for 12-month fellowship appointments at local governments across the country, during which they receive direct mentorship from a senior government leader at the organization. (Appointments may be extended beyond the one-year term.) Since the program's launch in 2004, 30 alumni fellows have been hired as chief administrative officers or assistant chief administrative officers; many others are in senior positions in local government. See where Fellows are now.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship Information Session
When: Monday, November 10, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM
Where: Zoom
Work Authorization Requirement: US Citizens
Applications are now open for the 2021 Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations. This prestigious program offers our country's most outstanding civic-minded international affairs students the opportunity to work on solving some of our biggest national and global challenges. In addition to gaining experience working for a congressional or executive branch office, fellows also attend virtual lectures and panel discussions where they will hear from recognized foreign policy experts. Fellows will also benefit from networking opportunities with key decision-makers and individuals who can help them plan for a career in public service.
For more information and to register CLICK HERE.
JOBS, INTERNSHIPS AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Check out this week's OCS New Job and Internship Opportunities CLICK HERE and Upcoming Deadlines for Jobs and Internship Application CLICK HERE
Technical Officer, Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative
Location: New York, United States
The BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI) seeks to hire a Technical Officer for a growing team that provides advisory services, and technical assistance around the Ultra-Poor Graduation approach to a variety of partners, ranging from governments, multilateral institutions, and NGOs. Reporting to the Senior Technical Advisor, this junior-level role will support technical assistance to partners, contribute to business development, and deliver on donor commitments, including knowledge management and reporting. This position will be based in New York and will work with staff members in New York, Washington, London, Bangladesh, and elsewhere globally.
CAREER RESOURCES
EPD Recruitment Orientation (Session's Recording and Slides)
If you missed the EPD Recruitment Orientation Session organized by the Office of Career Service (OCS) on Monday 9/14, we got you covered! CLICK HERE to access the presentation slides, and CLICK HERE to watch the recording of the event.
SIPA Career Website & Resources
Check out great career development resources for students that can be found on SIPA Career Resources Website.
Factsheets on Career Development - Tips for international students and on connecting with alumni, interviewing, networking, PMF information, writing resumes and cover letters and other career development topics.
Career Overview Factsheet - Information, sample employers, and online resources for a variety of fields and industries
Sector-Specific Fact Sheets - Lists of employers by industry or field, organizational charts, and information on IFC and World Bank internship programs and YPPs.
Check out other resources in the website to get access to general career fact sheets, career overviews, PMF information, lists of employers by sector, tips for international students, and sample resumes and cover letters, as well as online databases, paid subscriptions, and the OCS Weekly News e-newsletter.
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: Kristy Kelly
Kristy Kelly is a sociologist specializing in the politics of knowledge, gender and development, feminist theory, organizational learning, qualitative methods, and Southeast Asia. She is Associate Clinical Professor at Drexel University and simultaneously affiliated with the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. She is also a founding member and Co-President of the Society of Gender Professionals which is global membership organization for feminist academics, practitioners, and activists working to raise the profile of gender expertise globally.
Can you tell us about the courses you're teaching at SIPA?
I am currently teaching two courses at SIPA: Mainstreaming Gender in Global Affairs and Gender and Development in Southeast Asia. Each course introduces students to different gender and development frameworks, styles of teaching and mentoring, and has different learning goals in mind. I am personally committed to developing a community-of-practice model of learning in my classes, so they each are learner-centered. Mainstreaming Gender was actually designed in 2011 as a collaborative project between the gender-specializing faculty and SIPA students. The students had lobbied for a course introducing feminist theory, research methods for gender analysis, and applied skills for careers in gender policy work. Once it was approved, we collectively designed the course, and it has been my honor to be invited back each year to teach it. Each year, current students contribute to the redesign for the following year, so it is really a “living SIPA course.”
Gender and Development in Southeast Asia operates more like a traditional graduate seminar. Each week, students read book-length studies that illuminate how international interventions have shifted gender relations in different geographic and temporal spaces. Students collectively facilitate discussion drawing attention to the roles played by colonialism, nation-state building, civil society, families, markets, education and schooling, the media, development organizations, social movement actors, and tourists in shaping the region’s history and development story.
Can you share any research or work you are involved in right now?
I recently published two books: Gender and Practice: Insights from the Field (Advances in Gender Research, Vol 27, Emerald), and Gender and Practice: Knowledge, Policy, Organizations (Advances in Gender Research, Vol 28, Emerald), both co-edited with Marcia Texler Segal and Vasilikie Demos. Both books were the result of collaborations with feminist scholar-activists working around the world to
I am also finalizing (at long last!) a book manuscript titled Whatever Happened to Comrade? The Politics of Gender and Development in Vietnam. Based on nearly 20 years of research, this book seeks to understand work that transnational feminist networks have played in transforming development practice through gender mainstreaming policies and practices since the Women’s World Conference in Beijing in 1995. In the changing political contexts of globalization and development, women’s ways of organizing for gender justice have changed, especially in the so-called Global South. While still grounded in local struggles of inequality, gender mainstreaming presented women with new opportunities to network regionally and transnationally, and this has had a profound effect on what issues have been taken up, how, and by whom in different local contexts. Extending the emerging scholarship on transnational feminisms, this book shows how women’s organizing has moved beyond classic movement strategies such as protest demonstrations and media campaigns to include the establishment of new transnational machineries, networks, education and training programs, policy advocacy, and new organizations. Whatever Happened to ‘Comrade’? illuminates the role transnational connections play in linking global policy arenas to local feminisms in ways that produce new gender knowledge, institutionalize new movement practices, and reconfigure gender and development as a professional field requiring particular expertise.
My latest research project is on gender and corruption. Through multi-sited ethnography, my research explores how men and women in different vulnerable contexts navigate corruption, and what this suggests for understanding corruption as an institution, and a gendered institution shaped by transnational connections, and (re)produced in interaction with global development regimes. Are there any fun facts or other information you would like to share with students?
Are there any fun facts or other information you would like to share with students?
I am addicted to trail running, but my running style is a bit more like “hopping.” I also love cooking, but I am not good at following recipes! I’m always looking for new recipes – the spicier the better – so if you have something delicious you’ve learned during the pandemic, please share (kk2772@columbia.edu).
STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS
Vincent Stueber is a second-year MIA student in EPD and Conflict Resolution. Originally from Freiburg, Germany, Vincent graduated in Politics and focused on Peace and Conflict research. Following this interest, he went to Bogotá to learn about the country’s peace process and started working for the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research, where he led the department for methodology between 2017 and 2019.
He later also graduated in Psychology to learn about role of psychological factors in society and politics, such as in decision making. At SIPA, he combines both interests by taking classes on human-centered design and Behavioral Science for Public Health. He also focuses on development and work on the intersection with peace and conflict as well as humanitarian work. Besides school, Vincent loves sports such as tennis and soccer. Further, he is actively fighting German stereotypes by favoring wine over beer and dancing Bachata. This semester, Vincent is a Course Assistant for Prof. Lindenmayer’s Class on Peacebuilding and works at the Earth Institute in the Sustaining Peace Project with Peter Coleman.
Hi I'm Haejo Kang. (EPD concentration with DAQA specialization) I have mostly grown up in Seoul, Korea, but have lived in different parts of the world. I went to high school for a year in Sydney, lived in Singapore for a semester as an exchange student, and interned in UN OHCHR Human Rights Council last summer in Geneva. Working in UNDP Seoul Policy Centre as an intern led me to become interested in effectively devising economic and social development policies and sharing best practices of Korea with countries in need. I am particularly interested in the relationship between redistributive income policies and economic growth. Apart from my academic interest, I love spending time with my dog, 6-year-old white Pomeranian. I am taking the Fall semester in Seoul and looks forward to studying on campus and meeting SIPA community in person.
(Reach out to us if you'd like to be featured in the next newsletter!)
PICK OF THE WEEK
This week's featured movie: Land of Mine
In post-World War II Denmark, the Danish government puts their hated German prisoners of war to work clearing the 1.5 million landmines from the western beaches of the country. At one such beach, Sgt. Carl Leopold Rasmussen finds himself in charge of one such labor unit and finds they are largely all inexperienced boys. As the boys struggle to complete and survive their dangerous work, Sgt. Rasmussen's hate for Germans gradually cools as he grows to understand the horrific situation these child soldiers are in even as the mines claim more and more victims.
Watch the trailer
HERE, Watch it on
Prime.
This week's featured book: Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?
With every presidential election, Americans puzzle over the peculiar mechanism of the Electoral College. The author of the Pulitzer finalist The Right to Vote explains the enduring problem of this controversial institution. Every four years, millions of Americans wonder why they choose their presidents through the Electoral College, an arcane institution that permits the loser of the popular vote to become president and narrows campaigns to swing states. Most Americans would prefer a national popular vote, and Congress has attempted on many occasions to alter or scuttle the Electoral College.
Available on Amazon
(We would love to hear your recommendations! Let us know what you have watched/read/listened to recently so we can feature them in the next newsletter!)
EPD OFFICE HOURS
José Antonio Ocampo, EPD Co-Director
Sign up online: https://tinyurl.com/officehours-ocampo
Jenny McGill, EPD Co-Director and Workshop Director
Sign up online: https://tinyurl.com/mcgill-oh
Ilona Vinklerova, EPD Manager
Sign up online: https://sipa.campusgroups.com/meetings/1060915/IlonaOfficeHours
Wednesday OH are held at SIPA.
Séléna Batchily, EPD Program Assistant
By appointment at ssb2200@columbia.edu
Saiful Salihudin, EPD Program Assistant
By appointment at sas2409@columbia.edu
