Doctorants

Lyna Comaty
Thesis title: Memory and reconciliation in Lebanon. Contributions to the debate through the issue of the Disappeared.
The most interesting aspect of the Development Studies PhD programme is its capacity to enable new, interdisciplinary, and critical perspectives in the study of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, which is my area of research interest. I also benefit from a Research Assistant position at the Institute's Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP), an enriching work opportunity that is directly relevant to my thesis on reconciliation in post-conflict Lebanon.
 

David Gutierrez
Titre provisoire de la thèse : Postures de développement d'Amérindiens d'Amazonie péruvienne ayant accédé à l'enseignement supérieur
Je recommande le doctorat en études du développement de notre institut à celles et ceux qui, comme moi, se sont découvert un penchant pour les méthodes d’investigation qualitatives, ne craignent pas de subir les assauts de la réflexivité et sont prêts, non pas à « faire du terrain », mais à être faits par celui-ci.

Anna Zongollowicz
Thesis title: Re-interpreting and re-articulating the conflict in Burma - in search of new paradigms for effective conflict transformation
Being a Phd student in Development Studies has given me the opportunity to conduct research on Myanmar through a combination of a multidisciplinary academic approach and field work. I cannot imagine a better way to produce research that does not only reflect an academic perspective on my topic of choice but also allows me to collect data that offers a greater insight into the reality on the ground.

Sandra Paola Alvarez Tinajero
Thesis title: Domestic and Agricultural Migrant Labour: Intersections, Permeable Boundaries and Development in Ragusa (Sicily)
The doctoral programme at the Institute offered me the possibility to study the link between migration and social change using a critical and interdisciplinary approach, based on a strong theoretical background on development issues. The combination of theory and practice through fieldwork has allowed me to assess more carefully the meaning of social change, especially through the eyes of the people I have been able to know and interview. I cannot think of a better way to build the subject of my thesis.

Ernesto Arellano
Thesis title: Development Induced Human Displacement: A Discourse on State Sponsored Development Transforming into Development Paradox
The Institute offers an international teaching pool of specialists who are also practitioners in various international organizations based here in Geneva, a valuable resource for anyone interested conducting research in a multi-disciplinary field of study.  In addition to the Institute’s exceptional library, the proximity to UN organizations and their libraries has enabled me to reduce the time and financial resources I would have spent on my research. With the support of my thesis supervisors at the Institute, I’m able to work effectively, gain guidance on a complex research topic, and have even begun to chart my long-term goals.

Geremia Cometti
Thesis title: How climate change influences migrations. The case of Peru.
I’m researching the impact of climate change on human beings, a topic that requires a multi-disciplinary perspective that includes approaches from both environmental and social sciences. I also did my Masters at the Institute and was given the opportunity to publish my thesis. The main objective of Publication Services is to grant visibility to student research, which is a great service for those of us interested in an academic career.