IE School of International Relations and the United Nations System Staff College have  signed an agreement to cooperate on the design and implementation of a Master’s degree in International Development.

The Master in International Development (MID), a valuable partnership between the United Nations and a top-tier university, will provide a world-class training for professionals who want to tackle the complex challenges associated with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The first cohort will begin in September 2019 at the IE campus in Madrid. Prospective students can start applying in October 2018. All sessions will be conducted in English. The faculty will be made up of high-level experts, many of them currently working for the United Nations, as well as top scholars in sustainable development.

The Master will make use of the most advanced learning methodologies. Traditional lectures and debates will be complemented with simulations, international competitions, practical workshops, experiments with emerging technologies, interviews with global leaders and prestigious specialists, professional coaching sessions and applied studies on innovation for sustainable development.

The Master will also include a one-week immersion experience within a large UN hub, where students will be able to observe the real opportunities and challenges that decision-makers face. Students will develop an applied consultancy-type project to address a specific problem posed by a partner organization. They may have the possibility to continue their studies with an internship within the UN or other prestigious institution.

“In recent years we have witnessed a growing questioning of the international architecture built since the end of the Second World War. This process has now undertaken the form of a deep political convulsion that is shaking the fundamental pillars of that order”, highlights Manuel Muñiz, Dean of the IE School of International Relations“. “Multilateralism, international law and human rights are today being questioned around the world. Within our societies we see a growing mistrusts of minorities and a return to nationalist politics. Across the board we see a deep loss of faith in political and intellectual elites and the institutions they build”, adds Dean Muñiz.  “It is therefore a source of great pride for us to partner with the UNSSC in the endeavour of launching a Master in International Development. We will seek with this degree to promote the Sustainable Development agenda and to train individuals capable of understanding the complex world around them and of having a positive impact on the societies they inhabit".

Jafar Javan, Director of UNSSC, pointed out that “multi-stakeholder partnerships are key to implementing the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, the partnership with IE University allows bringing theory and practice more closely together to better address the SDGs. The College is looking forward to contributing to this new Master that further promotes the reality that the 2030 Agenda can only be realized if all stakeholders involved are truly working in tandem.”

IE University

IE is a Spanish University, based in Madrid and Segovia, that offers programs in international relations, business administration, law, technology, social sciences and architecture. With over 7,000 students, 70% of them from foreign countries, and an active network of 60,000 alumni distributed among 165 countries, IE is characterized by its diversity and openness to the world.

The University is broadly recognized by the quality and innovation of its programs, which include, among others, the best Executive MBA in the world, according to the Financial Times ranking, and the second-best MBA online, according to The Economist.

The IE School of International Relations has over 1,000 students enrolled in its bachelor and master programs in international relations. In order to increase its social impact, the School has recently launched the Center for the Governance of Change, which analyses the challenges generated by rapid social and technological changes, and the Transatlantic Relations Initiative, which is opening, in partnership with Harvard University, new channels of dialogue between Europe and America.

The IE School of International Relations is a full member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), which encompasses the most prestigious academic institutions in this field.