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Prof Ernestina Coast CON.8.15

Dr Stuart Gordon CON.8.10

This course is available on the MSc in Development Studies, MSc in Health and International Development and MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies. This course is not available as an outside option.

Places for MSc Development Studies students requesting to take this course as an option are strictly limited (5 places allocated by ballot amongst applicants). MSc Development Studies students must take DV458 in order to be able to apply for a place on DV453.  Students from MSc Health and International Development and MSc Development Studies will have health-related consultancies.  Students from MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies will have humanitarian-focused consultancies.

Students will gain practical experience of dealing with current policy issues and best practice in the fields of humanitarian assistance or international development by working on a consultancy team project for an external client. The consultancies are based around an experiential learning format. Students receive guidance through a structured supervision process and work on the consultancy report in Michaelmas and Lent Terms with support from a staff coach.

Students are allocated to consultancy teams usually comprising between three and six people. Students can express preferences for particular clients but may not be allocated to one of these. The roster of clients and projects changes every year.

The consultancy project begins in Michaelmas Term with client reports due at the end of Lent Term. The client report and final presentation form part of the assessment.

There are 4 MT lectures plus 1 MT workshop [the inception report presentations] each lasting up to three hours.

This course is delivered through a combination of lectures and workshops. Up to 12 hours of lectures and up to 3 hours of workshops in the MT.

This course will have a reading week in Week 6.

Students will contribute to the Group reports and presentations (inception and final) and will be given feedback and indicative grades for each of these. 

There is no specific reading for this course as this will reflect the specific project Terms of Reference that students work to.

Project (80%, 8000 words), reflective learning report (10%) and group presentation (10%) in the LT.

The reflective learning report is comprised of two individual diaries plus individual performance assessed through 360-degree student reporting and the coach’s own assessment of individual contributions. 

Final client presentations are at the end of the Lent Term and are scheduled by the students in consultation with academic staff and the client. Students should be aware that presentations to clients may have to take place in the week after the end of LT, and students should plan accordingly and be available to participate if required.