When I stepped away temporarily from my career to return to university, I wasn’t just looking for a credential. I had spent years working with vulnerable communities in Kenya and had realized the effect that environmental issues and climate change had on them. I had a deep yearning to not only know how I could be part of the solution, but to also understand the root cause of all the environmental and climate shocks I had witnessed as this would enable me to give the right solutions.

The University of Manchester had always been a top choice for me, not only due to the fact that it is ranked as the 35th top Global University, but also due to the fact that The University of Manchester is ranked top 10 globally on sustainability rankings, showing that they also walk the talk when it came to matters environment and sustainability. The GDI department where developmental studies are carried out, was also ranked 6th in the UK and 11th in the world for development studies which affirmed my need to study this particular course at The University of Manchester.

My favourite aspects of the course are that it explores the intersection between environmental challenges and sustainable development.

In today’s world, a common discussion has been around climate change however most conversations do not seem to go beyond carbon emissions and carbon targets. This course is different as it first sets the stage to understand the history of the environmental challenges the world is facing, it goes ahead and ties this in with other global challenges as you soon come to discover that all developmental challenges are interlinked. The course ensures to touch on different developmental theories and the history of development which allowed me to understand how we got to where we are now. A part that I really enjoy about the course is the focus on just transitions. With everything happening in the world today, the common question is, how can we ensure that climate mitigations and adaptations are a just transition for the vulnerable within the society. This is important for me as this was a question that would play in my head while I was working. In addition to this, the course also looks beyond human-centred development, to introduce aspects of multispecies justice which is important to me as a nature lover and advocate. The course also has a heavy focus on politics which I have found intriguing. Through this course, I have come to learn that everything is political and it is important to understand the underlying political factors if we are to succeed with environmental and climate change mitigations and/or adaptations.

As the GDI department is research-centred, the course explores different case studies in the Global South. Part of the course involves a fieldwork trip. This trip is ideally meant to give fieldwork experience of both social and economic development. My fieldwork trip this year will be to my home country Kenya where we will get the chance to study climate adaptations in informal urban settlements. I am excited about this as it will provide me with an opportunity to situate my studies with real life experiences and possibly act as a guide for future policy proposals once I am back to work.

Looking forward, once I am done with this course, I am confident that it will give me the toolkit I need to be a strong player on environmental and climate change policy interventions in Kenya.

Written by Ivy, currently studying MSc Global Development (Environment and Climate Change)

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