Master in Management of Development
Turin School of Development (International Training Centre of the ILO)
Key Information
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Campus location
Turin, Italy
Languages
English
Study format
Distance learning, On-Campus
Duration
1 Year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
EUR 9,400 / per year
Application deadline
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Earliest start date
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Introduction
The Master in Management of Development is offered by the International Training Centre of the ILO under the auspices of the Turin School of Development, in partnership with the University of Turin and with the technical contribution of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Master's is a 1-year, intensive blended learning program with a succession of three phases: internet-based distance learning, interactive classroom attendance, and applied for project preparation work. This Masters program, conducted in English, is in its 22nd edition and approximately more than 600 participants from more than 80 countries worldwide have completed it.
Degree
The Master in Management of Development is delivered as a First Level Master by the University of Turin, according to the so-called Bologna Process, which created the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. Therefore, the master's program carries 60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits, equivalent to the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. The Master’s degree is awarded upon successful passing of all the exams, thesis submission, and after having fulfilled all the conditions required.
IMPORTANT: A First Level Master does not give access to PhD programs in Italy. Admission requirements to Ph.D. programs vary from country to country, as these depend on the university system of the country where the Ph.D. program is held. For more information on the minimum requirements, please directly
Admissions
Curriculum
Part I
Distance learning
The first phase of the program consists of 22 weeks of distance learning principally aimed at providing broad knowledge on development as an issue, using as a structuring element the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the foundations are laid on Project Cycle Management and selected other tools for development work. Learning is supported by a dedicated distance learning platform on the Centre’s e-campus, enabling several learning methodologies. Master students are assisted by a dedicated tutor during the full distance learning phase.
Part II
Face-to-face learning
The second part of the program consists of 11 weeks of face-to-face learning principally aimed at making participants able to understand, critically question, and interpret development as a process. This part also aims at making participants exercise the knowledge of development as an issue acquired in Phase I, and to explore the process under question from a practical perspective. The content will be clustered around themes, including:
- Human Development, Human Rights, and Migration
- Development, Inequality and Growth
- Environment and Sustainability
- Local Development and Participation
- Governance and Democracy
- Actors, Partnerships and Financing
- Result-based Management and Project Management
- Methods and Techniques for Development
- The face-to-face part also allows for in-depth preparation of the project-writing task, which will culminate in the preparation of a full-scale project document.
Part III
Final paper
This final part of the program is dedicated to the elaboration of an academic paper on a topic with direct relevance to the project idea developed into the project document in Phase II.
Methodology
The program presents several unique features:
- Integration of theory and practice;
- In-depth coverage of the full spectrum of competencies for project cycle management as practiced in major development institutions; and
- An interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the strong relationship between various disciplines and specific development issues, processes, and practices.
The program is composed of three parts and is designed in a way to minimize participants’ absence from work duties back home (only 11 weeks in Turin).
Online and classroom interaction and teamwork are emphasized to prepare the participants for effective engagement in the participatory approaches of development work.
Gallery
Program Outcome
The program offers an applied learning opportunity to explore the theoretical, conceptual, and operational frameworks for the management of development. This is done from a multi-disciplinary perspective, i.e. integrating socio-economic policies with an in-depth understanding of the legal, institutional, local, and managerial contexts for effective planning and implementation of development programs and projects.
The Master addresses several critical questions for development practitioners and planners:
- What are the defining characteristics of development in the age of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals? Which issues and processes can be identified behind these broad concepts?
- What is the emerging landscape in international development cooperation?
- How to plan and manage project interventions to achieve development objectives?
- What is results-based management and how is it applied in the development context?
- What other tools are applied in development practice?
- What policies and strategies may contribute to sustainable transformations in terms of cultural, political, social, economic, and environmental changes?
The program’s objective is to provide personnel working in the field of sustainable development with the analytical and operational competencies that are indispensable for effective participation in the results-based framework of national development and in designing effective development projects and programs.
At the end of the program, the participants will be able to:
- Demonstrate an interdisciplinary understanding of the issues, processes, and practice of development.
- Apply acquired technical and interpersonal competencies to enhance the economic and social benefits of development projects and programs;
- Conceptualize and formulate a full-scale project proposal for a development initiative/project.
The contents and the learning delivery methods are designed to provide the participants with the full spectrum of competencies needed to effectively deal with the challenges faced by development professionals today in their pursuit of social and economic progress while preserving the living environment for future generations.
Ideal Students
The program is intended for professionals from public and private institutions and NGOs working in the area of development and graduates aspiring to work in this area. The majority of participants will be practitioners with years of experience in the development sector.