Archive for Columbia University – Page 71

Practitioner Faculty Members at SIPA

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Saturday, November 21st, 2009 
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The following blog entry was prepared by Sandhya Chari, an MPA student concentrating in Economic and Political Development.

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When I reflect on what I’ve learned at SIPA, I find myself very appreciative of my opportunity to study under adjunct faculty. While the full time professors have been nothing short of excellent, I would never have anticipated the importance or impact of the practitioners in my academic career. Last year, I had the opportunity to take Tools for Advocacy, taught by two professors from George Soros’ foundation, OSI, and a course in Microenterprise Development taught by a professor who also works full time at Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI). This semester I also have the good fortune of taking a course in Microfinance with a professor who spends the majority of his time working at Oxfam.

For me, these courses have all provided that necessary real world touch that I wanted out of my policy education. Of course, I know the importance of economics, statistics and development theory and I enjoy those course as well, however these other classes have offered something uniquely different. They have provided opportunities for real world hands on learning, with more feedback for learning without the risks that come with the real world. Like most of my peers, I worked before coming back to SIPA, but one of the biggest reasons for my return to school was that I wanted a shift in my career. As such, a lot of what I hope to do after graduate school will be new for me. For this reason, it is great to ‘get my feet wet’ in an academic setting first.

For example, I had never before encountered a request for proposal or had the need to apply an advertising campaign to a policy issue. My classes taught by professionals currently in the field have given me the opportunity to do these things. They have presented me with work that is identical to what they deal with every day, and have allowed me to learn the basics of creating these things in an academic environment. Further, they have provided a great meeting point of academic theory and practice. The professors assign the readings that they know shape their work and then show how those readings are regularly applied in their professional environment. This makes the experience of doing the reading much more interesting as it shows direct use and application beyond classroom discussion.

In addition to these practical skills, working with practitioners has also allowed for an opportunity to meet with professionals in the fields I am interested in. Having sustained interaction in a non-professional setting with these professors has allowed me to catch a different glimpse into their work lives. It has allowed me also to seek their mentorship regarding career possibilities and to explore other areas that might be of interest to me based on their course or organization. In short, they serve as one stop resources where students are able to learn about their field of interest in setting that is academic and professional at the same time.

These classes have been invaluable to my time here at SIPA, in fact this summer I was able to directly use things I learned in my micro-enterprise course. I found my bosses referencing the authors we had read, and I found discussions at meetings focused around topics we studied in the classroom. I had never before experienced a melding of classroom and conference room in quite that way before. I’m really thankful that I have the chance here to work with faculty who are in the field I see myself working in some day.

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Columbia Approves New SIPA Dual Degree In Brazil

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Sunday, November 15th, 2009 
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FVG-166x250Columbia’s University Senate has approved SIPA’s establishment of a dual degree in São Paulo, Brazil with the Fundação Getulio Vargas Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (FGV). Pending approval from the state of New York, SIPA and FGV plan to enroll the first class in the fall of 2010.

SIPA and FGV have designed a unified two-year curriculum, drawing on each school’s strengths, cultures and traditions. During their first year of study, students will complete the core curriculum in public policy in New York or São Paulo, developing analytical skills in economics, statistics, and political systems and gaining an overview of public and nonprofit management. Students will then move to the partner school for a second year of study during which they can choose from a wide array of public policy and business fields to develop a specialization, and graduate with a degree from both institutions. SIPA already offers dual degrees in partnership with Sciences Po Paris, the London School of Economics and Political Science, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, and Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

Additionally, SIPA is in the process of developing new exchange programs in Moscow, Cairo, and Mexico City, and a program with INSEAD, one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, with campuses in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. These partnerships will complement SIPA’s existing exchange programs with Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City, the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy, and the School of Finance at Renmin University in China. The exchange programs allow students to transfer credits toward their degree at SIPA.

Since 2006, SIPA has participated in the Global Public Policy Network (GPPN), a partnership between Columbia University, Sciences Po Paris, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. The mission of the GPPN is to address the most pressing public policy challenges of the 21st century. It aims to have policy impact, be influential in public policy education and training, and to be innovative in teaching and research through dual degree programs, student and faculty exchanges, collaborative research and publications, and more.

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This Week at SIPA

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Sunday, November 8th, 2009 
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The Harriman Institute and the Russian American Cultural Center
Fragments from the Past: A Photography Exhibition by Yuri Shalamov, who worked for top Soviet magazines and newspapers for over thirty years.
11:00 am to 5:00 pm
International Affairs Building, 12th Floor
For additional information: www.russianamericanculture.com

Monday, November 9
The Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: China’s Science and Technology Talent Pool: Competitive Advantage or Critical Problem? with Denis F. Simon, professor, Penn State School of International Affairs and Cong Cao, senior researcher, the Levin Institute, State University of New York (SUNY).
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918

The Middle East Institute and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender
Talk: Palestine and  Israeli Occupation, with Amira Hass.
12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Knox Hall, Room 207 (122 St. between Broadway and Claremont Ave.)

The Harriman Institute
Talk: The Potential for Energy Cooperation with Russia–the Future of Natural Resource Development and Management in the Arctic, with Dr. Louis Skyner.
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

The SIPA International Finance and Economic Policy (IFEP) Concentration
Lecture: In the Aftermath of the Global Economic Crisis—Redesigning the WTO for the 21st Century, with Professor Debra Steger, WTO Appellate Body Secretariat with comments by Professor Michael Ewing-Chow, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore; Jennifer Hillman (invited), member, WTO Appellate Body and comments by moderator Professor Merit E. Janow, director, IFEP.
4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
Warren Hall, Feldberg Space

The School of International and Public Affairs and SIPA’s South Asia Association and Urban Policy Concentration
SIPA Global Mayor’s Forum: Urban Policy, Global Challenges–A Conversation with Syed Mustafa Kamal, Mayor of Karachi, Pakistan.
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
International Affairs Building, 1501

The Committee on Global Thought
Panel Discussion: A Bretton Woods Moment? with panelists: Benjamin Cohen, Louis G. Lancaster Professor of International Political Economy, University of California, Santa Barbara; Adam Posen, senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics and Joseph Stiglitz, Professor of Economics, Columbia University. They will be asked to reflect upon the role of governments and central banks in overseeing a new financial architecture, and whether new institutional innovations, such as a new global reserve currency, are required.
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Faculty House, Presidential Room 1
For more information: http://cgt.columbia.edu/events/a_bretton_woods_moment
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36304

The Harriman Institute and Programs in Comparative and International Education and International Education Development
A comparative analysis of the results from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)–Learning Achievement in the CEE/CIS Region, with special guests from UNICEF Geneva Phillipe Testot-Ferry and Erin Tanner. Presentation will be followed by a reception.
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Teachers College, Milbank Chapel
For more information: Erin Weeks-Earp at [email protected]

Tuesday, November 10
The Harriman Institute
Talk: The Economic Crisis and Russian Museums: Some Recent Observations by Kristen Regina, chief art librarian at Hillwood Museum & Gardens.
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

The International Media, Advocacy and Communications (IMAC) Specialization at SIPA
Talk: How the Liberal Blogs Are Keeping President Obama Honest, with John Aravosis, editor of AMERICAblog.com, one of the most influential Democratic political blogs in Washington, DC, discussing the role of liberal blogs in working with (and fighting against) the Obama administration during the 2008 presidential campaign and other far ranging issues.
12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1302

The School of International and Public Affairs
Info Session for the Hertie School of Governance Dual Degree Program in Berlin. For first-year SIPA students, interested in applying for the SIPA/HSoG Dual Degree Program.
1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1510

The Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and the Mori Memorial Foundation in Tokyo
Report: Global Cities Power Index, a comprehensive study of 35 global cities, released in October 2009 that ranks cities based on six overall categories: Economy, Research & Development, Cultural Interaction, Livability, Ecology & Natural Environment and Accessibility with 69 individual indicators among them.
3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Avery Hall, Wood Auditorium
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36805

The Harriman Institute
Book Talk: Join us for a literary evening with Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, while she reads from her latest book, “There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Fairy Tales.”
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Barnard College North Tower, Sulzberger Hall
For more information: www.gs-agency.com/author_show_en.php?id=31
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36425

The Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life
Lecture: Charles Taylor, professor emeritus of Philosophy at McGill University and winner of the 2007 Templeton Prize and the 2008 Kyoto Prize–Can Human Action Be Explained?
6:15 pm to 8:15 pm
Schapiro Center, Davis Auditorium

The Conflict Resolution Working Group, the Center for International Conflict Resolution and ACCORD
Conflict Resolution Career Panel: Opportunities in the Field.
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 403

Wednesday, November 11
Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL)
Faculty and Instructor Workshop: CourseWorks–Getting Started. This workshop is designed to introduce Columbia University faculty and instructors to the basics of using CourseWorks (from logging in to setting up your course syllabus). This free, hands-on workshop is recommended for beginners.
11:00 am to 12:15 pm
Butler Library, Room 204 (CCNMTL Faculty Support Lab)
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36741

The Harriman Institute
Talk: Overcoming Warlords and State Failure–Lessons from Post-Soviet Georgia, with Kimberly Marten of Barnard College and Columbia University.
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219

The Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Presentation: Strategy Serving Tactics–Iraq, Afghanistan, and the New Way of American Warfare, with Colonels David Gray and Gian Gentile.
12:15 pm to 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1302

The Institute of African Studies
African Architecture & Urbanism Series: Timelines–New Perspectives explores contemporary African cities as unique built environments with Abosede George, assistant professor at Barnard College, specializing in African history, women’s history, urban history of Africa, and the history of childhood in Africa.
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501

Thursday, November 12
Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL)
Faculty and Instructor Workshop: Podcasting Essentials–Creation and Distribution will provide in-depth information on how audio and video content is being produced for students in higher education, and will explain how podcasting has helped distribute educational media. The second portion of the workshop will provide a step-by-step demonstration on how to create audio and video media that can be used in a podcast or any other Web-based environment. There will also be a brief demonstration on how you can use online platforms such as iTunes U to promote your media materials. This workshop is recommended for beginners.
11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Butler Library, CCNMTL Faculty Support Lab (Room 204)
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36755

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: Japanese Politics from Tanaka to Hatoyama (via Koizumi), with Margarita Estévez-Abe, associate professor of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse.
12:00 pm to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918

The Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Annual Kenneth N. Waltz Lecture in International Relations, with Dr. Robert O. Keohane, professor of International Affairs at Princeton University, on Social Norms and Agency in World Politics.
12:15 pm to 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
Note: Registration for this event is currently open.
To register: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=35377
If you have difficulty registering, please email [email protected].

The Middle East Institute
Brown Bag Lecture: Young Women in Riyadh–Between Transgressions of Islamic Rules and Consumerist Norms, with Amelie Le Renard.
12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Knox Hall, Room 208 (122 St. between Broadway and Claremont Ave.)

The Columbia Center for Homelessness Prevention Studies
Grand Rounds: Economic Evaluations of the Housing & Health Intervention Study. Welcome Dr. David Holtgrave, professor and chair, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Medical Center
Psychiatric Institute, Room 6602
Entrance at 40 Haven Ave. and 168 St. (inside bridge goes directly to 6th floor)

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Lecture: Japan and the United States in Afghanistan–A Dialogue, with Sadako Ogata, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and M. Ishaq Nadiri, Jay Gould Professor of Economics, New York University. A reception will follow the lecture.
6:15 pm to 7:45 pm
Faculty House, President’s Room
Reservations are required: https://calendar.columbia.edu/sundial/webapi/register.php?eventID=36521

Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14
The Institute of Latin American Studies
Workshop: Crime, Fear, Insecurity in Mexico–Ethnographic and Policy Approaches brings together scholars from different disciplines to establish dialogue incorporating different perspectives on this critical topic for Mexico and its neighbors.
Friday, Nov 13 from 9:15 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday, Nov 14 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501

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Capstone Workshop: Women and Property Rights in Uganda

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 
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Workshops at SIPA apply the practical skills and analytical knowledge learned to a real-world issue. Students are organized into small consulting teams and assigned a substantive, policy-oriented project with an external client.  Clients include public agencies (from the local to national level), international NGOs and multi-national organizations, and major firms in the private sector.  Student teams, working under the supervision of a faculty expert, answer a carefully defined problem posed by the client.  Each team produces an actionable report at the close of the workshop that is designed to translate into real change on the ground.

Essentially, capstone workshops give students not only a chance to further refine their skills and knowledge, but to make a positive contribution to the world around them.  And capstone projects provide valuable experience and contacts for post-graduate employment.

One example of  a workshop took some SIPA students to Uganda.  People and communities who understand their property rights are usually more empowered to defend them. In a SIPA Capstone Workshop, a student team traveled to Uganda to develop a system intended to track the progress of the Women’s Land, Housing and Property Rights Project. The project is attempting to empower and educate women about their rights with respect to land, housing and property ownership. You can read the team’s final report by clicking here.

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What I Did This Summer: Entry #6

Posted by Matt Clemons 
· Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 
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Anesa Diaz-Uda is a second year MPA student concentrating in Management and Institutional Analysis.  I asked her to share about her internship this past summer and she wrote the following.

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AnesaI spent my summer in Washington, DC working as a Summer Associate for Deloitte Consulting. Deloitte is one of the largest professional services organizations in the world and is one of the Big Four auditors.  However, in DC I worked solely with the Federal Consulting Practice.   It was a pleasure applying the skills I’d garnered at SIPA, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.  Here’s what I was up to…

My client was the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD(I)), and I worked with their staff on a Research and Development effort focused on cultural awareness programming.   We sought to employ commercial methodologies to rapidly build source networks capable of providing information to help frame issues in a rich socio-cultural context to answer Department of Defense (DoD) requirements.

The project had three distinct phases, and I was able to assist in the first two.  When I first started I conducted an online survey of Internet and classified systems to discover and catalog DoD programs providing cultural awareness products to DoD personnel. Upon completion, we created a metric to determine what programs constituted the DoD’s leading practices, and began conducting personal interviews of the top programs.

At this point, I was able to go out on my own to meet with the leadership of these various programs to better determine the strengths and weaknesses of each one.  From here, we began to synthesize our findings to offer a comparative analysis that would eventually become a commercial methodology for DoD cultural awareness programming.  Unfortunately, I had to leave at this point to return to SIPA, but I was impressed and proud of the work I was able to offer our client.

I never imagined myself working for DoD, but it was an exciting opportunity, and an area of our federal government I hope to learn much more about. As you can imagine, I was very apprehensive when I first started.  However, my team did an amazing job preparing me with the proper clearances as well as familiarizing me with necessary information and protocol.  I enjoyed my team immensely, and was constantly impressed by their level of expertise and knowledge as well as their kindness.

I also got to know my fellow interns.  There were seven of us from public policy programs around the country, and it was great to share stories about our schools, as well as learn more about the different projects we were staffed on.  Deloitte is growing its public policy community within the Consulting practice, and it was an exciting time to be with the firm as well and in DC.  I was and continue to be very pleased with my decision to work for Deloitte this past summer.

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"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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