News and Events
Executive Education 2008 summer programs begin with PARM
2008/06/16 14:43:06
The first open-enrollment Executive Education program of 2008 came to a successful close on Friday, June 6. Forty-two participants from 17 countries took part in the four-week program on Project Appraisal and Risk Management (PARM) on campus at DCID. This was the largest group of PARM participants since the program commenced at Duke in 2002.
In addition to classroom exercises and evening/weekend social events, the group traveled to Washington, D.C., where they met with professionals from the World Bank and USAID. For more information about PARM and other DCID Executive Education programs, please see the Executive Education section of our website.
Members of PIDP class of 2008 present Master's Projects
2008/05/07 15:17:36
On March 28, 2008, the PIDP class of 2008 presented Master's Projects to classmates, instructors, and guests. Topics ranged from Consolidating Peace in the Sudan to Enhancing the Role of Armenian Diaspora in Peaceful Development in Armenia. Subsequently, on April 4, the graduating class of the Duke-UNC Rotary Center participated in the fifth annual Rotary Spring Conference, where each of them presented their projects to a larger audience including Rotarians from around the world before taking questions.
The Master’s Project is a required component of the PIDP master’s degree curriculum. Fellows must demonstrate mastery in defining a policy problem, analyzing it in an interdisciplinary manner, and recommending a specific course of action to address that problem.
The PIDP and MPP hooding ceremony will take place on May 10, 2008. 32 PIDP Fellows will participate in the ceremony. May 2008 graduates will receive their Master of Arts diplomas on Sunday, May 11, following the Duke Graduate School ceremony.
PIDP Fellows visit Washington, DC
2008/04/30 11:25:40
A group of PIDP Fellows, along with DCID faculty and staff, traveled to Washington, DC, from January 6-8, for meetings with World Bank officers and professional associates. This annual professional development program is the culmination of several weeks' planning by DCID staff and includes: six meetings within the World Bank, nine organizational visits, and four panels featuring 16 panelists from different international organizations based in DC.
"This annual visit to Washington, DC, gives our PIDP Fellows an opportunity to meet with prominent specialists from international organizations, consulting firms, the World Bank, and NGOs," says Linda Scovill, Professional Development Coordinator for the PIDP. "It is also an opportunity for our Fellows to plan for informational interviews that will potentially lead them to a summer internship or a job."
This year, for the first time, the PIDP expanded its reach into both the national and international Washington communities by coordinating joint sessions with students from the Fuqua School of Business and the Sanford Institute's MPP program. We are also grateful to Rotary International who, with DCID, sponsored an alumni reception at the Embassy Suites Hotel. Many PIDP alumni from the Washington/Baltimore area attended, as well as local Rotarians.
In all, about 60 PIDP fellows, and 15 DCID faculty and staff participated in this year's Professional Development Washington, DC, program.
Managers in Transition Program hosts World Bank - MENA
2008/04/29 22:11:46
In December of 2007, The Duke Center for International Development (DCID) welcomed members of the World Bank senior management team for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for a two-day management and planning retreat on the campus of Duke University. This was the first official gathering of the new MENA leadership team since several positions were recently filled.
The retreat brought eight of the eleven-member management team together for a series of sessions with the core Management in Transition Program (MTP) faculty. Additionally, Sanford Institute Director Bruce Kuniholm spoke at the opening dinner about current political and policy issues of the Middle East region, and political science professor Bruce Jentleson was a featured presenter later in the week.
Prior to working with the MENA group, Jonathan Abels and Gary Nelson led the leadership team of the South Asia Region (SAR) of the World Bank in a successful one-day management retreat and planning session in Washington, DC.
During the fall of 2007, DCID hosted five World Bank participants in the Managers in Transition Program, including the World Bank Regional Vice President for Middle East and North Africa Region.
The Managers in Transition Program core faculty includes Jonathan Abels (DCID), Gary Nelson (UNC), Francis Lethem (DCID) and sports psychologist Greg Dale (Duke). For more information, please contact Kurt Meletzke at meletzke@duke.edu
DCID expands Managers in Transition Program
2008/01/29 12:26:21
The Duke Center for International Development's Managers in Transition Program, originally developed for the World Bank, has a new client: Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI).
The World Bank executives and HFHI senior managers oversee global regions, and therefore face similar challenges in their new positions. This weeklong executive coaching and leadership training program is tailored to each manager’s experience and future challenges. It provides time for reflection and planning, while drawing on the relevant expertise of the academic community.
The new chief learning officer for HFHI heard about the program during a previous consulting assignment with the World Bank and contacted DCID Executive Director Jonathan Abels.
“We thought the program model could be successfully adapted for Habitat for Humanity,” said Abels.
In September 2007, Steven Weir was the first HFHI manager to participate in the program. After serving as Vice President of Asia and Pacific regions, Weir was preparing for a position with HFHI headquarters. In his new role, he works with affiliated NGOs and local governments and provides oversight of HFHI branch offices in more than 30 countries.
During his week with the Managers in Transition Program, Weir met with faculty and students from Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill to share his experiences and hear from others working in development. He spent time with Public Policy faculty Phyllis Pomerantz, Jerry VanSant, Elizabeth Frankenberg and Francis Lethem, discussing topics such as organizational development and leadership. Weir’s schedule also included a discussion with the Rev. Sam Miglarese, an instructor in the Department of Religion and Director of Community Engagement for the Duke Office of Community Affairs, about the spiritual component of community service. After speaking to students about his work with Habitat for Humanity, he attended a dinner with the Robertson scholars and later met with PIDP graduate student Tetsuya Morita from Japan to talk about his research in service delivery.
Two additional members of HFHI’s management team are scheduled to complete the Managers in Transition Program this spring.
For more information about the Managers in Transition Program at DCID, please e-mail Kurt Meletzke at meletzke@duke.edu