Testimonials

Gloria Nalule from Uganda, graduate from year 2017

“In this Master’s programme, I specialised in Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion. Being part of the Gender class equipped me with specific competences to define the needs and interests of marginalised people and promote and mainstream social inclusion. It gave me a tremendous level of confidence to get out into the world and pioneer the change I want to see. The programme enhanced my professional skills development and gave me exposure to different country development practices on a more applied level. It has enabled me to have a competitive advantage in the international development sector. These days, I work as a programme manager with the United Nations Populations Fund in New York.”

Pradeep Rai from Bhutan, graduate from year 2018

“The programme has trained me well to become an effective ‘facilitator of change’. I studied the specialisation Rural development and Food and this gave me a strong foundation towards understanding the issues at stake. This highlighted various aspects of development and philosophies that are prerequisites and a must to excel in the course. Studying value chains and business management is very relevant as well, and made the entire course programme holistic. Studying at VHL equipped me with tools that are relevant to me as an independent researcher/consultant in the field of Rural Development. It also gave me confidence and taught me ‘How to teach others to fish instead of just giving fish'.”

Mohammad Ghofur from Indonesia, graduate from year 2019

“I saw the need for the local food production and security system to improve in Indonesia. However, knowledge on dealing with differences in the matter of food production techniques was not yet widely shared. This is where I wanted to step in! After completing my Master’s programme at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, I returned to Indonesia to apply my expertise and help develop local agriculture. To improve Indonesia’s food security, I focus on identifying problems with food production in the traditional farming methods in some rural areas. I collaborate with local farmers to analyse their farming methods and propose modernised techniques to them. The result: more farmers are strengthened with knowledge and more food is secured for future nourishment!”

Kwei Menyen from Liberia, graduate from year 2020

My country is facing challenging man-made disasters that continue to hamper the growth and development of poor people struggling to earn sustainable livelihoods. I was motivated to study Management of Development so that I can contribute to reducing the impacts of these phenomena on the livelihoods of poor Liberians. The specialisation of Disaster Risk Management taught me how to design both short-term and long-term interventions that involve participatory learning actions. After graduation, I was hired by GIZ Liberia to serve as the Health Safety and Security Risk Management Advisor. I would not have come this far in my career without the rich curriculum of the Management of Development program and the supportive lecturers.