24
January
2018
|
15:39
Europe/London

Celebrating 60 Years of Development Studies at The University of Manchester

Class of 1960Over the course of 2018, the Global Development Institute will be celebrating 60 years of Development Studies at The University of Manchester.

Over the years we've had a few different names. In 1958 we were originally founded as the Department of Overseas Administrative Studies, initially to provide training to the new generation of post-colonial administrators from newly independent South East Asia countries.

By the late 1960s we began to offer an official Postgraduate Diploma in Development Administration. We grew to become a fully-fledged teaching and research outfit, with a master's programme launching in the mid-1980s.

The big shift towards research and postgraduate teaching crystalised in 1986 when we became known as the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) and began accepting PhD candidates. During the 1990s, the academic profile of IDPM rose rapidly as staff produced ground-breaking books on structural adjustment, microfinance and the rise of NGOs. IDPM also established new research centres on poverty and development economics.

The Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI) was established in 2005 with the support of the Rory & Elizabeth Brooks Foundation to focus on large research projects. BWPI pushed forward thinking and practice on chronic poverty, social assistance, supply chains and the politics of development. Close links with IDPM were retained through a complementary research agenda.

In 2016, IDPM and BWPI joined forces to become the Global Development Institute, acknowledging the rapidly shifting landscape of development. We're now Europe's largest teaching and research institute focused on poverty and inequality, home to over 50 academics, with 95 PhD candidates and 630 master's students, and with over £3.5 million in research income last year.

From being a small training unit on the edge of the University, the Global Development Institute now leads one of its major research beacons on global inequalities. Our research and postgraduate teaching are influential around the world.

Over the last 60 years, development has changed beyond all recognition. We'll be using the year to reflect on some of the changes that have happened and the upcoming challenges we’re likely to face. We'll also be celebrating our 11,622 alumni, many of whom are deeply engaged in promoting development in many countries.

If you have reflections, memories or photos of your time here, we'd love to share them on our blog, Twitter and monthly emails. Please email us at gdi@manchester.ac.uk with any tips.

Celebration events and activities will take place throughout 2018, so stay tuned for more.

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