MASTER IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (MERSD)
Transforming our world and putting people in the center of development is the sustainable objective of this programme. Sustainable development is defined as balancing the protection of the natural environment with the fulfillment of human needs so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also in the indefinite future. The term has prompted a global recognition of the close linkage between environmental health and human development as well as the need to alter social and economic policies to minimize the human impact on the planet. The concept of sustainable development integrates social, economic, and environmental policy. It considers both development (a traditional economic and political goal) and sustainability (an ecological goal).
This study offers the description of the MERSD program and the courses that can be seen as the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development as economic development, social and cultural development, institutional strengthening and capacity building and environmental protection.
The final qualifications (end-terms) are: Employability The development expert is capable of approaching an issue regarding sustainable development from an integrated, efficient and effective point, based on the request of a potential client. A MERSD graduate can work in a multidisciplinary team, as he can also independently give recommendations.
Skills
The development expert has, depending on the chosen pillar and personal interest, the following skills:
• Project preparation, planning and implementation;
• Entrepreneurship;
• Responsibility;
• Development of a vision toward sustainable development, methods and projects, chain modeling and observation, identifying and reporting, problem analysis and methodical intervening and communication.
Knowledge
The development expert possesses the knowledge of:
• the dimensions of sustainable development (people, profit (now: prosperity) and planet);
• how decision making processes take place in making policies on sustainable development;
• processes of change about sustainable development;
• the legislation and regulations on environment and sustainable development.
Attitudes & values
Development experts are individuals who:
• are imbued with respect for human life because it is the basis for all other values;
• see cultural diversity and biological diversity as a source of potential strength and as wealth;
• are consciously living in harmony with the natural environment;
• have a strong appreciation for human diversity and family life, community ties and moral issues including responsibility and accountability for themselves and the community;
• have well-developed respect for our cultural heritage;
• have multiple skills, demonstrate autonomous and critical thinking, discuss opinions and practices, and focus on the application of knowledge and reality in solving problems;
• have the orientation as world citizens with positive attitudes toward their own country and their people
This study offers the description of the MERSD program and the courses that can be seen as the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development as economic development, social and cultural development, institutional strengthening and capacity building and environmental protection.
The Faculty of Social Sciences is a large and multi-facetted knowledge center that strives to offer education, research and services of international standards. It has entrusted upon itself to:
Train youngsters academically;
Train new generations of researchers;
Train academics who combine knowledge with professional skills;
Do ground breaking research activities;
Contribute with solutions to social issues.
Professional profile
The profile of the development expert is trans-disciplinary and multi-functional. Trans-disciplinary, because during the training, the development expert gets a large baggage of practical and theoretical knowledge from various scientific disciplines: legal, economical, ecological, cultural, and social. Multifunctional, because of three levels of work: coaching, managing and policy making. Within the general graduation profile, a number of specialization options are offered that are related to the pillars: entrepreneurship, poverty reduction, people’s participation, and community development.