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Getting it right with sustainable planning in 2022
5 Minute Read - It’s that time of the year. People are jotting down new year’s resolutions, setting out the professional and personal achievements they want to have reached by the end of the year, and overall everything just feels new, fertile, and ripe to be undertaking this exercise. But how many are setting the same goal they set for…
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How to get the most out of your time as a graduate student
4 Minute Read - Think about it. Your entire childhood consisted of you getting used to some form of structure. From bedtime routines instilled by your caregivers and waking up at a set time every morning for primary school, to the timetable you were handed in secondary school and your seemingly flexible, but jam-packed university timetable. After having completed a…
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How to craft a bold but practical methodology
5 Minute Read - Research proposals generally consist of three main sections: (1) the introduction, where you spell out your purpose and research questions; (2) the literature review, where you provide a synopsis of the most relevant literature related to your topic; and (3) the methodology section in which you explain how you will go about answering your research question.…
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How to make the most of your ‘proposal stage’
6 Minute Read - The proposal stage is arguably the most difficult part of a research journey. It takes many people outside their comfort zones and can be an incredibly stressful time, especially if you are not sure what topic you want to pursue. But the purpose of the proposal stage is designed to help you gain clarity as you…
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COVID-19 and the Decent Work Agenda
6 Minute Read - The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how valuable time is. We were and still are in a constant race against time. We raced to produce a vaccine to save as many lives as possible, we raced to implement interventions before each new wave hit and the same is happening right now. All of this is in…
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How to increase your productivity as a researcher
5 Minute Read - When I first commenced my studies as an undergraduate student, I did everything manually. I thought that we had come a long way since people submitted hand-written theses and kept printed out copies of every article they referenced in their bibliography. Wrapping up my PhD thesis, just over a decade since I first set foot in…
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Why we need to start measuring quality of work and how to do it
4 Minute Read - Global inequality has become more pressing in recent decades as social unrest has become ever prevalent and writers on the subject more vocal. The predominant focus of the inequality debate has been on the differences between rich and poor countries; African countries being consistently cited as disadvantaged in this relationship. However, this focus has tended to overlook the inequalities which exist…
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Five ways to measure the effects of a crisis like COVID-19 on women
4 Minute Read - Social issues and crises tend to affect women more severely than men. This is why terms like “gender mainstreaming policies”, “gender-responsive interventions” and “gender-based budgeting” have become more popular in public policy discussions in recent years. The case has been made for the need to include gender in every analysis of social policy. But many of…
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6 tips to help you get your New Year’s Resolutions back on track
6 Minute Read - The beginning of the year is the most opportune time to start something new. Consequently, many start off their year with a list of resolutions; from exercising more to drinking less alcohol. Many even spend tons of money investing in exercise equipment, training gear, and other tools needed to make the year a successful one. Unfortunately,…
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Planning For Success: Strategies for Early Career Graduate Students
8 Minute Read - Does it feel like you fluctuate between the two extremes of the students you saw sitting on the lawn reading an economics textbook or casually hunched over a microscope in a white coat in your university prospectus and the meme of the lady in a business suit frantically working against time while pulling out her hair?…
