Humans of IHS is a mini-portrait series that features the people who make IHS a unique place. Many of the urban professionals with common roots at IHS, often describe it as a very welcoming, familiar space, where they not only acquired valuable knowledge for their career, but also formed solid ties and friendships with their peers. This is what drove us to create this mini-series: the wish to give others a glimpse of the amazing people that make IHS special.
Teaching is not the only thing he’s been doing. Alexander Jachnow comes from Germany and works at IHS as Lead Specialist in Strategic Urban Planning and Policy. He is responsible for leading the Strategic Urban Planning and Policies Master track. He came to the Netherlands straight from research in Nepal. He worked on practical projects implementations, advisory and consultancy services, and development corporations in Asia and Latin America as a lead specialist in the field.
“Now I want to give all that I have learnt to the students who are coming from those regions.” – says Alex when asked about his career as a researcher.
He says his favourite element of IHS is the daily enjoyment. “Every day I come to IHS, there is something new, a new face, a new colleague, a new student, new thesis, new proposals, new teams. I am more driven by what’s expecting or surprising me rather than what has been done in the past.”
When asked about the one urban issue he would solve, Alex says justice is the biggest problem in cities nowadays. “Unfortunately, cities are very unjust. There would be way more possibilities if we were a bit more just to each other, and everybody would have more or less the same opportunities.” He argued that as a result, there would be fewer economic disasters and sustainability issues because people would be more satisfied with what they have and feel accepted.