Spotlight on our Faculty – Dr. Amrit Thapa

In this interview, Dr. Thapa shares his journey to the IEDP, the experiences that shaped his career, and his unique research interests. Read on to learn more! How and why did you join IEDP? After earning my PhD, I became a Research Director at the National School Climate Center in New York. I took leading roles in evaluating school climate projects and developing instruments on … Continue reading Spotlight on our Faculty – Dr. Amrit Thapa

Settling in – Days in the Life of an IEDP student

As I am still settling in, I wanted to take you along on a few days in my life as an IEDP student at GSE. I usually start my day with a quick check of my emails, Slack, and Canvas to check my schedule for the day and make sure I did everything I was supposed to do. There might be some last-minute tasks as … Continue reading Settling in – Days in the Life of an IEDP student

Spotlight on our Faculty – Dr. Tyler Hook

Can you tell us a little about your experience in IEDP and what you did after? Before joining IEDP, I earned a master’s at the University of Edinburgh  in a program focused on Africa and international development. My research there emphasized neoliberalism and education in sub-Saharan Africa. After graduating, I joined the Peace Corps, working as a teacher trainer and high school English teacher in … Continue reading Spotlight on our Faculty – Dr. Tyler Hook

New, New, New across the IEDP Blog

Welcome to the IEDP blog! The new academic year brings a lot of novelty for the 2019-20 cohort of IEDP students in different ways: a new city, a new country, new homes, new concepts, new challenges, new perspectives, and new bonds. Despite our varied backgrounds (which span across multiple countries, areas of expertise, and personal, professional, and educational experiences), we are united by our interest … Continue reading New, New, New across the IEDP Blog

Hasta Luego Roatán

My internship experience in Roatán was a rollercoaster ride zooming in slow motion. I definitely embraced its celebratory peaks, and screamed at its falls. But overall, I am happy with the experience, as I can confidently say it was a major learning experience for me. I have been going through a chronic medical issue for months now, and it was uncertain that I could actually … Continue reading Hasta Luego Roatán

Roatán Adventures

Pre-Roatán The first two weeks of my internship were in Washington D.C, where an IEDP cohort-mate and I were introduced to the English program we were going to be working with and prepared for the field work. I not only learned more about Interactive Audio Instruction (IAI), but also observed how this specific nonprofit organization functions. I was able to sit in on other meetings … Continue reading Roatán Adventures

Tchau, Brasil!

My internship at the UNESCO Office in Brazil has ended! It’s a cliche, but that doesn’t make it any less true: time has absolutely flown by. Not just this summer internship either. This time last year, I was returning home from Peace Corps to start my master’s at Penn. Now I’m one semester away from finishing. (And to those of my cohort who have finished, congratulations!) During … Continue reading Tchau, Brasil!

Meetings

Some of my favorite work activities in Brasília so far have been official meetings, especially interagency meetings. UNESCO in Brazil being just one part of a larger organization, and UNESCO itself being just one of many agencies in the UN system, our office in Brasília communicates and collaborates a lot with other offices and agencies in Brasília, in the region and in the world. This … Continue reading Meetings

Roatán Reflections

“Attendants please prepare for landing.” I slowly turned my head to the right to see the sun glisten the ocean through the plexiglass – blinding me. We were hovering the immense body of water, and still I didn’t see the landing strip. I had to trust the plane wasn’t going to be gulped by the water but instead touch land with it’s — THUD. Welcome … Continue reading Roatán Reflections