After a challenging summer of Covid restrictions, the IDS community were delighted to welcome more than 260 students from around the world to study our master’s degrees in international development.
The new master’s cohort will experience a hybrid of in-person and online teaching. Last week, the majority were able to be at the IDS building for induction sessions with the hope that travel, quarantine and visa arrangements run smoothly for those still to travel.
While this week marked a milestone in returning students to some in-person teaching, the ongoing Covid-19 situation remains challenging and requires some restrictions to stay in place to protect the health and safety of our community. At IDS, we’re committed to delivering world class education and, having reviewed how to best support our international student cohort, our plans for teaching are to keep some of the best elements of online learning as we believe this provides the best pedagogy, alongside face-to-face interactive sessions with lecturers, and small group seminars.
We also remain focused on providing a full range of activities that will complement learning and encourage students to build connections that are so important to feeling part of our vibrant community. This includes building on some of the brilliant events that took place last year such as the student–faculty online Debate Series; ‘Community Fora’; study workshops and other social events. We know some of our students have already enjoyed the IDS BBQs that happened during induction week and we hope these were a great way for new students to get to know each other.
Making the most of your IDS adventure
For students about to start at IDS, here are a few pointers from our Director of Teaching and Learning, Linda Waldman:
“Congratulations on joining the IDS community! Our aim is that being at IDS will inspire you. You will learn and grow – understanding theory, developing skills, and debating perspectives. We know that we will learn from you during discussions, seminars, presentations as we together grapple with intractable development challenges. Our hope and aspiration is that your time at IDS will equip and inspire you to join our community of development experts all working towards a more equitable and sustainable world where people everywhere can live their lives free from poverty and injustice.
Here are three suggestions for how to get the most out of your time at IDS:
- Know that everyone (including me) struggles to write – regardless of how confident they seem.
- Be responsible for your own independent study.
- Network with your peers and others, discuss your work, share your ideas and get feedback.
We look forward to welcoming you to your new home away from home, a place where you will create new friendships and professional networks that you’ll treasure for life.”
Also…
- For information about settling in, working, living and getting help while studying, see the Sussex student hub.
- For updates on our teaching approach in response to the pandemic, see How we are responding to Covid
- Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Introduce yourself to your new classmates by posting a photo to Instagram with #LifeAtIDS and tagging @ids_uk
- Get a head start by taking a peak at ten of the best essays from our Class of 2019, or check out the IDS Bulletin – a treasure trove of development theory and practice going back 50 years.
- Add the Sussex Development Lectures to your diary.
- Start your networking early by joining the alumni network.
- Sign up to our e-newsletters to find out about all our latest events, news, publications and research.