Development Studies Week

Find out about Sussex's annual Development Studies Week and how you can attend.

A collage of all the different sessions held for Development Studies week in 2023

A sample of sessions that took place during Development Studies Week 2023.

 

With Sussex and IDS ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies by QS for the 9th consecutive year in 2025, Development Studies Week has continued to provide an exciting introduction to where and how we teach development and the top careers our graduates go onto.

Each School and IDS will provide daily online events introducing their disciplines, entry requirements, unique benefits and career prospects.

Sessions will hosted by a range of leading academics who will give an overview of their careers and the courses they teach and answering questions in webinars.

Development Studies Week will take place on the week commencing Monday 28 April.

Browse upcoming events by school below.

  • Tuesday 29 April: University of Sussex Business School

    MSc Development Economics course overview/alumni careers, and mini sample lecture on 'The Community Effects of Electrification'

    9am-10am

    Join Dr Maika Schmidt for a taster lecture examining the impact of community electrification in Burkina Faso on a wide range of development outcomes, taking into account both private effects at the household level, and public benefits at the community level – including both, public goods provision and spill over effects from electrified households.

    Register for this session.

    MSc International Business and Development course overview and alumni careers webinar

    10am-11am

    Join Professor John Da Silva Luiz for an introduction to the International Business and Development MSc course. International businesses need to rapidly respond to concerns on social and environmental impacts. Multinationals are increasingly participating in the Sustainable Development Goals. Hear about the rapid growth in career opportunities in this area.

    Current student Abdullateef Lawal, founder of iDixcover joins the session (pictured).  

    Register for this webinar.

    Sample Lecture: The Economics of Net Zero – Balancing Growth and Green Policies

    11am-12pm

    Join Professor Matthew Agarwala for a taster lecture where he'll examine how economies can transition toward sustainability in the face of climate change. You'll learn how economics plays a pivotal role in addressing the climate crisis and driving sustainable innovation.

    Register for this session.

    Sustainable Finance and Accounting MSc course overview and alumni careers webinar

    12pm-1pm

    Join Dr Sarada Krishnan for an introduction to the Sustainable Finance and Acccounting MSc. Find out about the role of accounting and finance in meeting the key challenges surrounding sustainability development goals. Hear about the rapid growth in career opportunities in this area.

    Register for this webinar.

    SPRU policy masters course overview and alumni careers webinar covering MSc Energy & Climate Policy, MSc Sustainable Development, MSc Science and Technology Policy

    1pm-2pm

    Join Dr Josh Siepel from the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and for an introduction to SPRU and our courses. Plus hear from a department alumnus about postgraduate life at Sussex and career opportunities in these areas.

    Current student studying Sustainable DevelopmentRafael Lopez Zuluaga, joins the session (pictured). 

    Register for this webinar.

    Sample Lecture: Displacing Fossil Fuels

    2pm-3pm

    Join Professor Steven Sorrell from the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) for a taster lecture introducing the different types of renewable energy sources and their current state of development. He will then explore one key challenge for the energy transition: namely the low ‘power density’ of renewables and the consequent implications for land use and the social acceptability of the transition.

    Register for this session.

    The University of Sussex Business School offers the following development courses:

  • Thursday 1 May: Institute of Development Studies (IDS)

    IDS International Careers – Alumni and Career Experience Webinar

    10am-11am

    Mariam Zabakhidze, Alumni Officer, joins IDS alumni to discuss what it is like to study at IDS, what support and advice is available, alumni career progression since graduating and what it means to be part of the network of over 4,000 IDS alumni around the world.

    Register for this webinar.

    Sample Lecture: Escaping Poverty Amidst Intersecting Crisis

    1pm-2pm

    Join Vidya Diwakar, Research Fellow at IDS, as she delivers a lecture exploring the world's period of global volatility, characterised by the intersections of violent conflict, climate-related disasters, economic polarisation and the legacies of a global pandemic. 

    This lecture draws on case studies investigating the dynamics and drivers of poverty amidst intersecting crises in Nigeria and Bangladesh, with a view to identifying ways forward for policies and programming that can more effectively meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries.

    Register for this session.

    IDS overview and current student experience webinar

    2pm-3pm

    Dr Linda Waldman provides an overview of IDS and current student's share their experience of studying various Development Studies courses at IDS.

    Current IDS students joining include: César Fernando Pacheco Rodríguez, studying Governance, Development and Public Policy and Sapontara Bora (pictured), studying MA Development Studies

    Register for this webinar.

    The Institute of Development Studies offers several development courses, including:

  • Friday 2 May: MA in International Education and Development

    International Education and Development course overview and alumni careers webinar

    11am-12pm

    Join Dr Gunjan Wadhwa, Assistant Professor in International Education, to find out more about the International Education and Development MA and hear from current students and alumni, who share their experience. There will also be a Q&A session giving you the chance to have your questions answered.

    Current student Girwani Rana joins the session (pictured).  

    Register for this webinar.

    Sample Lecture - Whose development? Whose education?

    12pm-1pm

    Professor Barbara Crossouard, Professor of Theory in Education, delivers a short International Education and Devlopment sample lecture addresssing the importance of education to development, noting how it has been seen as a key vector for both individual and national development. By taking up postcolonial writers such as Nkrumah, we will raise questions about whose priorities this might serve and the need to decolonise the curriculum.

     Register for this session.

    Find out more about the centre and the course.

Content from previous Development Studies Weeks

Sussex has run a number of Development Studies Weeks previously. Browse an archive of the webinars and live sessions here to find out more about studying Development Studies at Sussex.


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