2022 was an eventful period for both staff and students at IHS. For another year, our activities were focused on achieving our mission - to inspire and empower urban professionals and citizens to make cities work for all. In this overview, we look back at the main highlights and achievements of the past year.
Education
This year we welcomed more than 400 students and helped them advance their urban management and development careers through our Master of Science, professional courses, tailor-made trainings and PhD programme.
MSc in Urban Management and Development
One of the main changes in the MSc Urban Management and Development was its redesign. Now, the programme offers four Master tracks. The new specialisation trajectories combine topics such as Urban Housing & Land Justice and Urban Digitial Transformation & Innovation.
Online courses on planning, housing and heritage
Our academic staff joined forces with the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft and created the platform Blended. The content of the BlendEd Platform covers a variety of short educational videos on urban development from both a social science and design/planning perspective.
Click here to learn more about the platform.
The return of Urban Heritage Strategies short course
What is the relationship between urban development and heritage management? We discussed the topic with Remco Vermeulen, Ilaria Rosetti and Jean-Paul Corten, coordinators of the Urban Heritage Strategies short course and four of the course participants.
Research
The work of IHS staff on the research pillar is focused on advancing urban theories, which is essential for critical thinking development. See some of the research projects we conducted this year.
PhD in Urban Development and Governance
Our PhD students were busy with various activities, from developing networks to attending the World Urban Forum and presenting their research during colloquia or defending their thesis. Some of the topics include increasing women’s access to well-being after resettlement, managing the climate-related food-water-energy nexus and inter-municipal cooperation in waste management.
Do cities become "urban graveyards" during pandemics?
During the past years, one major factor affected our lives, COVID-19. To evaluate the impact of the pandemic on cities, IHS Academic, Dr Paula Nagler and Prof Wim Naudé worked on a paper and answered that question.
SCORE on the road
The Smart Control of the Climate Change Resilience in European Coastal Cities (SCORE) is a 4-year project that outlines an inclusive strategy for enhancing the overall long-term resilience of coastal areas. The project’s main concept focuses on 10 coastal city living labs (CCLLs) in Europe, enabling cooperation between citizens and stakeholders to create sustainable solutions. In 2022, IHS staff had the opportunity to visit those cities and exchange expertise with the local stakeholders. Learn more about their journey in our travel blog below.
Advisory
This year, IHS staff was back on the road, visited various countries, and provided expertise to local governments and NGOs.
Tailor-made training
Our academic staff provided expertise and shared knowledge through tailor-made training for organisations in Nepal, Uganda and Colombia. We interviewed two of the participants from TMT Nepal and asked them about their experience from the training.
Refresher course Suriname
The Refresher Course Suriname focused on Gender-inclusive planning in Suriname: an intersectional approach to strategic planning. The course contextualised the knowledge previously acquired on strategic planning, governance, and citizen participation utilising a gender lens.
Refresher course Egypt
In Egypt, our Refresher Course covered building Climate Resilience through Ecosystem-based Approaches, Integrated Water Resource Management and Climate Smart Agriculture in the MENA Region. The participants learned about the impacts of climate change on water, agriculture and food security.
Alumni
We are happy to see that the IHS Alumni community is growing, with more than 10.000 graduates worldwide. We are even happier when those alumni come back to IHS and share their experiences about being part of the IHS classroom and their path after graduating. In these two interviews, we introduced you to Giulia and Borys.
IHS Alumni Impact Award
The 2022 edition of the IHS Alumni Impact Award took place during the World Urban Forum in Poland. 22 candidates submitted their projects, and the public vote, alongside jury deliberations, determined the top three projects. Mariana Fiuza, from Brazil, won the award this year with her On-demand Composting Nonprofit Start-up.
Institutional Updates
We welcomed many colleagues and interns at IHS, but we also said goodbye to some valuable staff members who pursued another journey in their professional development.
In September, we announced the appointment of David Dodman as General Director of IHS. For the past 20 years, David has gained experience as an urban leader and expert in climate change. In his interview for CitiesToday, he shared his views on the role of knowledge and collaboration in policy design.