Global Development Institute podcast

Alumni chat: How has the SEED Changemakers programme shaped your university and graduate life?

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 35:04

In this episode, we chat with five recent graduates about their time with the SEED Changemakers programme. Participants include:

  • Laura Acosta
  • Ife Agboola
  • Patrick Caskie
  • Eddie Groves
  • Thando Mathe

As well as chatting about their reasons for becoming Changemakers, participants describe their reasons for supporting social enterprise One World Together, the skills they learned as students, and their experiences of navigating a tough graduate jobs market. A must-listen for current and prospective students!

We covered a lot of initiatives and topics during the course of the interview, so we've provided some relevant links below:

 Find out more about the Global Development Institute:

Intro music Anna Banana by Eaters

Speaker 1 [00:00:02] Welcome to the Global Development Institute podcast. Based at the University of Manchester, we're Europe's largest research and teaching institute addressing poverty and inequality. Each episode, we'll bring you the latest thinking, insights, and debate in development study. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:00:32] Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Global Development Institute podcast. I'm Louisa Hann, Research Communications Officer here at GDI. And today we're doing something a little bit different. I have with me five alumni who recently graduated from the university. And we're going to discuss what they've been up to since receiving their degree and kind of more specifically their involvement with something called the Seed Changemakers program, which supports students to make lasting real world impact in their communities and beyond. So we've got quite a lot to get through today and quite a few people involved. So I'm going to go straight into introductions. So can you each introduce yourself to our listeners, telling us your name, the course from which you graduated and what you're up to at the moment. So let's start with Laura. 

 

Speaker 3 [00:01:23] Thanks, Louisa. Hi, everyone. My name is Laura Acosta. I'm from Colombia originally. I studied a master in global development, development management specifically. And I've been interested in NGOs mostly. I worked before in NGOs in Colombia. So right now at the moment I'm working in the charity sector. An NGO that is called the Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine, and I'm working as development officer there. So I work with partnerships, grants, and fundraising, basically. And yeah, the Seed Changemakers was useful, but we will go to that shortly. Great, thank you. 

 

Speaker 4 [00:02:13] Hello, my name is Ife and I recently graduated from the Global Development Program. I was on the politics pathway. Currently, I work at the university supporting with teaching, learning and student experience. Great, thank you. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:02:29] And Patrick.

 

Speaker 5 [00:02:30] Yeah, thanks for having me on. So my name is Patrick Caskey. I recently graduated from global development with a pathway in migration, mobility and displacement. And since graduating, I've joined the No Recourse Northeast Partnership, which is a partnership between statutory and third sector bodies in the Northeast of Scotland that deals with the No recourse of public funds immigration condition, which should be familiar to a number of international students and teachers at the university. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:02:55] Great, thank you. And Eddie. 

 

Speaker 6 [00:02:58] Hello, yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah, so my name's Eddie. I also, like Ife, was on the Politics, Governance, and Development pathway of the Global Development Masters. And since graduating, I have been working for Citizens Advice as a generalist advisor. So my job largely consists of assisting people with energy and water issues, but also helping people with benefits queries, and I also do little bits of fundraising and grants management as well. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:03:32] Great, thank you. And last but not least, we have Thando. 

 

Speaker 7 [00:03:36] Hi everyone. It's good to be here. My name is Thando. I'm from Zimbabwe and I was studying global development as well, but my pathway was focused on environment and climate change. I currently work as a graduate professional at the United Nations Institute of Disarmament Research. We're an independent research institute and most of my research focuses on preventing an arms race in outer space. So we're looking at the policy and the regulatory measures that are currently available and how best we can improve them to prevent weapons of mass destruction in outer space. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:04:13] Great, thanks Thando. Clearly, you're all getting involved in really exciting things. So yeah, I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about. So I mentioned earlier, this changemakers initiative, and it's kind of linked program One World Together, which our audience probably wondering what it is, what it's all about. So I wonder if Laura, you could kind of give us an indication of what it is what's involved. 

 

Speaker 3 [00:04:40] One World Together is a social enterprise that Nicola Banks and Chibwe funded. And I would say mostly it exists to change how the global development system works, the aid system works because the money goes directly to the communities instead of going through donors and their interests and demands. Instead, they empower directly the communities. And because they are the best to know what they need and what they want to do in their countries. And the Seed Changemakers initiative was basically a way for us as masters students and could be also undergrad students to support this beautiful organization. And it could be through different ways. In our case, we basically supported the event that was for celebrating their seconds. Anniversary event, so we gather different people interested, partners, other students, teachers for participating and celebrating One World Together's second anniversary. That was basically what we did. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:05:57] Thanks very much. And I'm going to include kind of information about One Word Together and everything that all great things they're doing in the show notes so listeners can kind of find out a bit more in their own time. So I think kind of, you know, working towards a degree naturally takes up a lot of time and there are plenty of kind of societies and extracurricular programs open to students that you could have got involved with. So with this in mind, I'm just going ask a couple of you. To explain what kind of would spied you to choose this path and become change makers. So let's start with Ife. I think 

 

Speaker 4 [00:06:32] for me, it was at the beginning of the year, and I'd gone to, I think about as part of Welcome Week, I'd go to like this seed changemakers cafe thing that Nikki was running. And I guess the first day was really inspiring. And she had mentioned that if you were interested in your project, you know, should be happy to support. I think at that point, I was thinking about things I could do aside just learning, like a way to actually get involved in making change. And so when Laura came up with the idea of supporting One World Together, it just felt like it was the right thing to do, especially because it was an opportunity to like get my hands on something that was specifically Manchester and an opportunity to do something interesting that was also very related to what we had been studying on the course about how the current system of aid in the world doesn't work. So it was a good opportunity to try to make change. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:07:28] Great. Thank you. I'm going to move now to Patrick. 

 

Speaker 5 [00:07:31] Yeah, so it was One World Together itself, as opposed to the Seed Changemakers program, which initially drew me in. So during the admissions process where I was applying for master's degrees, I would listen to each of the school's relative podcasts. So I listened to the GDI podcast extensively, mainly during marathon training, which helped me quite a lot. And it happened to be that one of the episodes was when Nikki came on to talk about One World Together, and even prior to receiving an offer to attend the university. I'd signed up to become a member. The pledge is quite small, but it's really effective. Thereafter, I hadn't actually attended the first Changemaker session, but a classmate of mine had understood or had realized that I had signed up to support the One World Together program and had suggested to come along to the next Changemakers meeting because the work was aligning with the social enterprise and we were working towards a shared goal. I joined thereafter. So it was the call is more so than the program that led me there, but I think they obviously dovetailed really well. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:08:27] Great, thank you. It's always good to hear that the podcast is like making that kind of real impact in some way. Hopefully this one will too. So yeah, let's get into kind of the practical side of things a little bit. So it'd be great to find out what being a changemaker involves, what kinds of activities did you get up to during your time with the program, et cetera. And so, Eddie, if you could start. 

 

Speaker 6 [00:08:50] Yeah, absolutely. I think, well, Laura already kind of alluded to it a little bit at the beginning, but the overarching event that we all kind of worked together to put on was the One World Together kind of two year anniversary kind of celebration, fundraiser, get together. And it was really, really amazing to be a part of that. And I know Tando will have a lot to say about it as well, so I won't take too much of his time for it. That one of the things that I helped out. With that event specifically was kind of like location scouting and finding, helping with finding like partners to help either, well, maybe initially sponsor, but also we did a bunch of fundraising activities and we got lots of local community projects and businesses to like donate either time or services or just items in general for a big a tombola in true British fashion. And yeah, it was just a lovely evening. It was at the local garden center. I think it just was a really big success. I'm sure we can all agree. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:10:00] Great, thanks Eddie. And let's move on to Thando. 

 

Speaker 7 [00:10:03] Yeah, I guess like Eddie said, I think the anniversary celebration was actually a big highlight. It was, I think, the biggest event that we organized. And it was really amazing to have interaction with the community and the community of supporters for One More Together as well. I mostly helped out with marketing the event, especially producing content. We made a few video ads. And we turned some of our team into actors and actresses. That was really nice. And during the event, I also got a small chance to sort of do the introduction and the emceeing, so I really improved my, it was an opportunity to practice my public speaking skills. And I was a bit nervous, but it was quite fun. And we took great photos as well, and they're all available on all together Instagram. And together with the Changemakers program, we also hosted a film screening for a short documentary called We Don't Do Charity. And you can tell from the name, it's about taking sort of an activist approach to the language that is used in the aid sector, capturing the essence of language and how it influences approach to the aid sectors. And that event was attended broadly by the students. And we had the directors and the producers of the film, they got to interview them, ask them questions. And, you know, it was really sort of a full circle moment to have the things that you had learned previously in class and then have to see them on screen and actually interact with people who are pushing the same objectives in the real world. I think that's similar. A similar workshop that I attended by one would, I think this is more with the change makers program. I was not a member yet, but it was, you know, one Anshu Gupta was from India. He runs a social enterprise called Gunish and they're based in India. They basically do community engagements, initiatives, but they approach them in a manner that upholds the dignity and they engage that community as equal stakeholders. And that's something that really stuck with me because I'm involved in similar initiatives and I tried to learn a lot from this approach as well. So that just shows you how much the work of the change makers as well as one altogether is integrated with the curriculum as well things that were happening in the real world. Thank you. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:12:51] Great, that's great. Thank you. And everything you've described, clearly lots of skills involved in, you know, acting and interviewing people, that kind of stuff. So I kind of lead on to my next question, which are, you know, what are the most viable lessons or skills that you learned during your time with One World Together and the Changemakers? And yeah, how did it complement your studies? So I'm going to go around everyone. Let's start with power now. 

 

Speaker 3 [00:13:15] I would say for me, and I'm sure everyone can agree with this, the skill that I think is the most important was teamwork because through all the different sessions we have for planning the event in this case, mostly for example, and also the film screen that Sandu just mentioned, all of this was about agreeing between all of us to how are we doing this? Why do we want to do it like this or not like that? And consider different options, so all this brainstorming, but at the same time, organizing the things with timeframes, tasks for everyone. I would say for me, a great skill was, my leadership skills got very improved by this. It was challenging, it was difficult sometimes, but it is part of what we all learn there, to work as a team and to try to get things done, you could say, because... Because that's helpful in any environment you are at, like in the job. Of course it is because you need to do things and you need set dates for that and organize the team. So I would say that is being helpful for me at the moment in my current job, for example. And I am grateful to the team change makers and the team for this experience because we were a great team. I mean, I need them sometimes of course, But yeah, I would say. That's the biggest thing. And I'm sure all here have other ideas. That's great. Thanks, Laura. 

 

Speaker 4 [00:14:51] I think I'll just bounce off what Laura said, which is when I was thinking about it, I'll say it's like the power of working together. I think that's like, the key thing I learned, like the part of working with other people in a team. And I think also learning skills around influencing for change, because I think that that's, like, a key thing that the course requires you to be able to take away, but you might not be able learn in the classroom. But I think working on the event and, you know, even the person just trying to to your friends or maybe getting someone from the community to attend, it's like, oh yes, you're learning how to influence for change. But then I think also like learning how to like balance changing priorities, cause it's, like, oh yes you're working on this event, but then at the same time, you need to like manage that with your, like your school workload. So I think, and I think that's a skill that lots of employers want to know that like you can do many different things well at the time. And I think the events like helped with building that skill. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:15:44] Great, thank you. Patrick, what do you think? 

 

Speaker 5 [00:15:47] I think the Seed Changemakers experience sort of enriches and works alongside the MSc experience as I found it very easy to sort of go to my lectures tutorials and kind of check out thereafter but I found this group of people and I don't think it would be unique to just the people we worked with but I think all students who engage in this sort of work find it really easy to make friends which then itself enrich the experience of working in groups and other related courses and made the general experience and atmosphere at the Global Development Institute and the University of Manchester better. I also think it provided a nice reminder about when you work with these large macro ideas about sort of restructuring the way founding is done, embracing localization, that there's a lot more than just large grant funding and research, someone has to put the tent up when you're doing a pop-up to get funds and not to belittle any amount of money given the fact that even two to 300 pounds makes a massive difference, which is something I found in my work after university that as much as when you looking at these massive. Multi-year £100,000 grants, £500, £50, £10 can still be effective. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:16:47] Great, thanks. Eddie. 

 

Speaker 6 [00:16:49] Yeah, I couldn't agree more with what everyone else has been saying. Um, I think I really resonate with what Ife was saying about how there's a certain, one of the lessons I think, I learned from, especially during the, the big, the big two year anniversary event was kind of a lesson of determination and resilience, which is, you know, it's really, really important to have. I mean, we're all very lucky that we've kind of got our employments now after, after graduating. But it's certainly not the case for everyone. And it's becoming increasingly difficult. And the global development sector is not one that's expanding at the minute particularly. So I think the lessons in determination, having the ideas and really putting yourself out there to push for community participation, for... No, like we want to do it on these dates and we have to do on these dates and that's what we're going to, we're not going to set up for less. And all these, all these other things. And I think as well, in terms of linking it back to the master's degree, I think we learned a lot about how in lessons that is we learned a lot, about how effective policies, effective change happens through a teamwork, but also effectively like managing all the different parts and aspects, and we certainly had to do a lot of that sort of stakeholder kind of engagement. Even just with each other. I mean, we're all very lovely people, but we've all got different ideas, plans, values, interests. So it's all things you have to consider. And I think the Master's helps bring that all together. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:18:26] Thanks, and I'm sure everyone's covered most of the things at the moment, but Tando, have you got anything else to add? 

 

Speaker 7 [00:18:33] Yeah, the guys have really said a lot of it, and like Eddie has said, effective organization, and Patrick did mention the issue with trying to operate in a bigger structure and trying to bring change in such a structure. That's something which I think the complimented the whole. Sort of objective of getting into development studies, especially through the Global Development Institute, where they focus mostly on critical approaches, critical analysis. So making that critical contribution and having, you know, to build the courage to take the path that is less traveled and also having that courage to communicate, you know that you stand by this cause or you believe in this approach. That's something that I have seen that is very valuable, especially in my work right now, where I am operating in a bigger system, the United Nations, contributing some independent views or some different approaches. It's kind of a tough thing to do, given funding priorities were still something that you have to be mindful of. This whole approach has not really penetrated. All of the world's organizations. And so just having that courage to air out your views and to suggest whether they accept it or not, I think that's a skill that I really value that came from both the masters and working with one all together. And I also have to say that this is something that came for my first interaction with Niti when she was lecturing, you know, one of the lectures that you're being... Development fundamentals, was it now forgetting? But she was talking about a driven development. And I was one of the students, you know, to raise my hand and say, you know, no, aid driven development doesn't work. Aid benefits those who are giving it more than those who are receiving it. And we sort of had that challenge. And after that, I I started talking to afterwards and, you know, she explained to me her work and her research and so forth. I was really drawn to it and I guess, you know, that critical contribution is something that I really appreciate because it's not something that I was used to. For me, it was mostly, you just giving a challenge, but then you don't know what path to follow afterwards and, you don t know what community to interact with to hold you accountable to those views and to support you on your journey. So I think that's that's a blend of skills and and maybe values that I have taken away from both the masters and working with one work together. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:21:29] Great, thanks. Yeah, it's a really good example of how, you know, research can translate into, you know, real action that you guys are all involved with. So, I mean, we've kind of touched on, you now, what you've learned during your time as changemakers has kind of translated into your current lives, but how have you taken what you've learnt into the world beyond university at all your fantastic jobs? And also... What advice would you provide new students hoping to make, you know, a real difference in the world? And back again to Laura. I would say. 

 

Speaker 3 [00:22:05] For me, as Eddie was mentioning, the stakeholder engagement has been essential in my current job. And when you manage partnerships, also grants, and fundraising, the relationship you have with people and the relevant stakeholders is very important. And the exchange makers Help me to gain this skill because that's something you it is difficult to obtain through the classroom, as Yse was also mentioning. So I also have another job in Colombia. I have two jobs on deployment, actually, and is an NGO in Colombia, and I also work as an international alliances coordinator. So it is also, it has been useful for me to... What I learned at the university in a way that could be practical, you know, so talking to people about what we want to do in my organization, the tool that I work with at the moment. And that's something you need to do once you graduate, but the Changemakers helped me for doing that. And I would say students should take that opportunity because I would say if you... Only go and attend the classes and study and all of that of course that's great but you can learn so much more when you are at different activities right like the student union activities these change makers initially with the GDI it is very useful because it is taking action into the practical stuff that you are interested in and and for me that's making a difference already So we all think like we need to wait to have. I don't know how many years for making a difference, but we actually can make it right now. And I really love that that's what we try to do. And I think we did it with all this amazing group of people, which was believing that we could make a difference with World War II together. And we did that for the time that we participated in the sea change makers. And I would invite all the students to take part on that because it's great. You can learn a lot. You can contribute a lot. And also make friends as Patrick was also mentioning. So, so that's great. Let's move on. 

 

Speaker 4 [00:24:33] So also my current role, I don't necessarily do things that are development-related, but I think the key things I learned from it was always thinking about social responsibility, like in everything you do. And so even like within like the School of Health Sciences, like trying to support social responsibility initiatives and also trying to support students to do student led initiatives, like to make change. But I think necessarily if I'd be speaking to someone who is on the course or someone who's just that's in the like a course in GDI, I would say sometimes where you learn so much in class, you might feel overwhelmed with the weight of the things that you've learned. But I think the only way to walk around it like Laura said, is to actually get your hands dirty, like find something, find an initiative, find a group of people, find a group friends. Because yeah, studying can be lonely, doing a masters can be, you know, by yourself, you know. And I think it would be a good opportunity to first like build some, you like some experience because there's these Every job wants you to have like 100 years of experience, even if you just graduated. And so I think it would be nice to just get hands dirty, like get out of class and be like, oh yes, this is something I'm really interested in and I'd like to pursue it with a group of my friends from the course. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:25:47] Great, thank you, yeah, experience is all important. Patrick. 

 

Speaker 5 [00:25:54] Yeah, I would agree with Ife. On a practical level, engaging with the Seed Changemakers and One World Together specifically provides great evidence of working with an interdisciplinary approach. When you're in your job interviews, I think amongst the many interviews I did, I could have provided a different angle for each one based on what we did at One World Together. It encompasses a lot of stuff. You can play on the stakeholder engagement, the working with multicultural groups, and the actual grit and grind of setting up events and fundraising. I think from the ethos of One World Together specifically, it's important that you prioritize community or experience-led work. Lived experience is really important in any sort of work where you as an individual may not have the experience or are unfamiliar within the work I do. It's really difficult for me as someone who's had a privileged background to understand what it's like not to be able to heat your home during the winter when it's minus five degrees. So centering the voices of people who can provide some practical guidance for your advocacy work. Really important because ultimately when we're working with these single issue but also larger issue third sector organizations or public sector organizations you're working to fix a problem so you should listen to the people affected by the problem they have the best diagnosis better than you could ever make with x amount of research. So I think centering lived experience voices and through one world together they do that explicitly by providing no conditions funding. If you want to buy a laptop as opposed to plug a hole You're going to do that because you think it's better and you should trust people with expertise by experience. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:27:24] Yeah, really important points. Thanks, Patrick. Eddie. 

 

Speaker 6 [00:27:28] Yeah. I mean, once again, everyone's, um, touched on some really important stuff. I think for me as well, obviously when you go to university and, and you, and if you go postgraduate studies, like we have, you know, we get taught a lot of, you know the big ideas and theories and, but, you know, developed by very, very smart people over many years. And it's really great to have that like intellectual backing and, and like that knowledge behind you as a, as a way of moving forward. Um, but one of the great things that one altogether does in the change makers really helped with was that kind of translating from the big academic concepts down into reality on a practical sense, you know, we, we when you graduate, you want to try and find a job in, in the things that you've, you've kind of learned and spent time learning and so getting the practical experience of experiencing, um, yeah, the practical experience of watts. Of NGO work and fundraising and this kind of like aid sector stuff, what's kind of going on is really, really important. And as for myself, it's really helped with like my current job, where, you know, I help people kind of, and I'm dealing with very complicated like cases, issues and fighting up against like regulations and industries that are very inhospitable to people and the ordinary person. And so being able to have that experience from what we've got together of translating the message and translating the assistance and the help has been really, really great. Especially with the current state that the sector is in, I know I mentioned it briefly, of like the development sector, it's not very kind to new graduates. It's harder and harder each year. And so it's really important, I think, to therefore take every opportunity that is presented to you. It's, in fact, I'd say it's crucial because, you know, you've got to have every tool in your arsenal to get that job in the end and help out and show that you've go the skills. I was gonna say skills to pay the bills, but I don't know if that's really corny or not, but it's kind of true. And I guess also recognizing the privilege that it is to have these opportunities, you now, and also the privilege that it is to meet so many people from so many different places who have so many perspectives. It's just all around. So. Personally enriching, but also it helps you with developing for future careers and stuff. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:30:00] Yeah, great. Thanks, Eddie. And there's a really good point about, you know, the turbulence of the sector at the moment. We've had a podcast a couple of months ago with people at different career stages, and I think everyone's kind of feeling that at the moment. Yeah, so and finally, you get the final word, Thando. 

 

Speaker 7 [00:30:17] Yeah, lucky me. Yeah, but I mean, I resonate with a lot of the points that Ife and Patrick and Eddie have already mentioned, especially around recognizing how much the job market is right now. Like Ife said, you need 100 years of experience before you're even hired. And Patrick did mention the need for you to sort of realize how fortunate you are to be able to be working at the moment. And so I also saw that. Because I started working just for starting my dissertation. And so to balance those two was a bit tough, but then I would already start seeing trends in the development sector, because obviously, I mean, we have to talk about the elephant in the room. There is no more funding for development work. And most people like to talk about how the US cut funding and how it's moving away from the institutions. But they forget to look at the other countries that have cut funding without really announcing it publicly. A lot of European countries have cut their funding by up to 60% in some cases. And so that means that for young graduates who are now trying to get into the board of development work, it's really tough to get hired. But then at the same time, in my experience working with these guys, I've noticed that they're all now looking for innovative ways to engage in communities. And the approach that is taken by us, the thesis of One World Together is something that is really useful at this moment. It's a really big tool. So it's something that I was actually able to communicate to some of our partners that, oh, you know, we're used to providing these grants and having these sort of mechanisms that you need to enforce on these grants on people. It's actually costly. It's easier for you to, you don't let. Communities sort of lead the way to change and you can match their demands. It might actually be cost-effective. And that's a skill that I would never have learned if I had it engaged with One More Together. And you can easily see how that links to the course that I was doing and how I was able to translate it into the world of work. And so, to a younger vision of myself who's... Actually starting, maybe the master's and is about to graduate, I would really, really emphasize, you know, the value of being unique. You know, you don't have to be extra, but you just need to demonstrate some sort of conviction on certain things that you believe in or on certain approaches that you belief in. Because in this world where everyone is using AI to write a similar cover letter, you need to find a way to show your true self, like who are you to the recruiters that are. That are hiring. I mean, it lessens the burden. Of course, notwithstanding that the job market is still tough, you will need to do a lot of applications. But then one other skill, I think, that Eddie mentioned as well is the power to engage stakeholders in a unique manner as well. I think that is a very important skill, especially when you look at it from a networking perspective. You need to be able to approach people and relate to their work and show genuine interest in their work. And then perhaps you can find gaps and perhaps you find opportunities where you can add value to that work as well. And that's something that makes you remembered and you get referred to job opportunities, you get to the fed to, other professional development opportunities. And I think that's something that is really important. So yeah, thank you. 

 

Speaker 2 [00:34:09] Thanks Thando. That was a great final word. So yeah, thanks everyone for taking the time to chat with me today. I think it's really clear from our discussion that everything you were all involved in during your studies has provided great benefit to, you know, you and those who have been impacted by your work. And I'm sure the listeners will join me in congratulating you all on your graduation and wishing you the best for the future. So yeah, if listeners would like to know more about GDI, Changemakers program, One World Together, or other stuff that we've kind of discussed during this podcast, I'll package a load of helpful links in the show notes. And yeah, that's it. Thanks everyone. And take care.