Global Insights Virtual Q&A

Hello. My name's, Andy Sumner. I'm a professor of international development at King's College London.

So my own research is around issues of, global poverty, global inequality, and also some expertise around economic development. My original training is in economics, but, actually, my work now is, much more cross disciplinary than that. So it's a mix of politics and economics and some other disciplines too.

I'm Regina, in Juto Martinez, and I'm a lecturer in, project management and evaluation in the department of international development at King's College.

And I'm one of the module conveners for, the program of international development in MSc.

I'm also very excited to be here and I hope to be seeing some of you once the programme starts.

My own research is on social policy and welfare in China and I have a PhD in international development studies as well. And previous training has been in sociology and psychology.

I'm, Simona, professor Simona Talani.

I'm professor of international political economy at King's College European and and international, studies department. I'm here because I'm coordinating together with doctor Rockwood Master in the group of critical economy online.

There's a really important thing about being inquisitive and, not taking at face value anything you read or hear and trying to interrogate some of the things that are very well established in sort of popular narratives around development and around around all these kind of questions may actually not be based on very much empirical evidence or maybe thought of in in very different ways depending on where you sit in the world. And, you know, even the question of what is development means so many different things, and it looks different from around different parts of the world. So I think we're we're looking for for students who are happy to engage with that kind of critical edge on, on on what they're doing.

And, of course, you know, it's it it also requires, a lot of hard work because there's, you know, there is a lot of reading and it it is a master's degree. And so I guess you need to be prepared for that sort of, you know, the the the kind of really engaging and close reading of text and, you know, be really you know, be be driven an interest in the subject. You'll be doing you know, the students who are doing this degree, I would imagine, you know, this is gonna be their career or their career that they that they're gonna pursue after the degree. So I think some some some some passion and and care about the topic, as well as that critical edge is is is really, really essential because this is really, you know, this is the this is your future, and and this is why you're studying this.

So what we do have the program is about global political economy. So we analyze, the politics of economic developments in the global, in the globe, in the world, in the international context. But we do not have any pre requirements, which is really useful thing because the analysis is not done in a formalized mathematical way. So there is no pre requirement neither in mathematics, nor even in economics to be precise.

They are and not in politics or in social sciences. The reality is that we've been teaching this course, for many years, as I said, in person to people coming from all kinds of paths in life, including people doing cinema, arts, especially people that are doing the arts and humanities, digital arts, or, obviously, economics, social science, international relations. So if you want even physics, which I've had some students doing physics before, they wanted to, recycle themselves in a way into something, more attached to reality, possibly, in physics or formal.

Anyway, so so there are no, pre requirements. Obviously, there is, the pre the pre requirement is that you're interested in the subject, which is a usual pre requirements, and, don't need to stress it. It's it's pretty evident.

In terms of, what else, there isn't much more I should say. Usually, the course is, the course is organized in a way that everyone will be able to follow and, the course itself. In particular, we do have introductory course on economics, introduction to international economics with some micro macroeconomics in it that is obviously not formalized and allows everyone to be able then to catch up with basic concepts like what is the GDP, what is inflation rate, and, you know, if you need to do international monetary systems, you'll have to do what is an exchange trade, know what is an exchange rate, and so on. But as I said, there are no real pre requirements. So you're really welcome to apply, from all parts in life.

Anything is fine.

Our program in particular has that, that sort of focus very centrally because it's a, you know, it's a part time mode and so that the the program has been set up, in fact, in with a sense that, you know, people have jobs and and full time work and so part time learning can be a very useful way for gaining a master's degree whilst continuing to work. So, of course, you have, you know, each term, there are the the two modules, and you have the the workbook for each module.

And then there's the weekly seminar online.

Of course, it it may take a bit of juggling with your existing work in terms of the timing of the online seminar.

That said, you have the the drop in hours for the tutor and the workbook to work through and the readings.

So the the the packet that you have, will have everything that you need to study, and then the seminars are a chance to discuss and get some clarification in the the, the two the two hour seminar. So I think, actually, of of all the the programs I've worked on, the design of this one is particularly, to try and support people who are sort of part time and can't stop working, to get them up to to to study for a master's degree. And so we've tried very hard to sort of make it, to work flexibly for those who who are working around it.

You don't have to be physically there. You can read your lecture anytime you want. You can listen to your videos anytime you want. Overall, it's the highest level of flexibility any any course, the higher education level you can expect.

I think it's part time as well. So you're not supposed to finish within a year necessarily, but you are gonna have a little bit longer. You can there are various access points. If I'm not mistaken, at least there there will be various access points for the MA. So it's generally or completely up to you, when and what you want to do. There are requirements in the sense that if you do not pass the exam, then you cannot have MA, but I think this is the only really so you love to study something, but this is the only real, constraint apart from these, lectures are online.

Chaminers are not compulsory, so it's incredibly flexible.

As I said, it's a broad program, which opens a lot of careers.

Most of them are in, either as political, consultants, various organization, international organizations, NGOs, or European institutions, or, a lot in the press, journalists.

I have a lot of students who are journalists. One is an anchorman. Some of them go and and work for the city of London as a political commentators or political analysts in the city of London. There is a certain number of of students who end up there.

This would be more or less with, with the careers that they opened. So journalism, organizations, international organizations, NGOs, and, City of London.

Approximately thirty percent of of graduates go and work in professional activities, scientific and technical, including, like, think tanks and and consultants, as Simona was saying, in inter international intergovernmental organizations, World Bank, IMF, you know, the UN agencies but also non government organizations.

Approximately twelve percent, fifteen percent of our graduates go to working in the public sector, so in public administration. So we also have students that have ended up in finance and so on. So, and some students around five, six percent might end up going to education or, the financial sector as well. So also, some students go some graduates go to to work in, you know, in nongovernmental organizations that also are working on on financial, for example, micro credits and so on. So there's, there's that wealth of of a range of of career destinations and also, of course, health and social work organizations.

Yeah.