1) What is your current position?
Adviser in the Education Section in the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
2) What do you do in your present job?
My thematic responsibility in the education section is vocational education and training (VET). Together with a VET-team I am responsible for planning, follow-up, and development of various VET initiatives and projects in Norwegian development policy. I also get the opportunity to work with education issues in general and on country level specifically in Ethiopia and Pakistan.
The position in Norad involves communication and cooperation with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian embassies in partner countries, as well as with relevant bilateral and multilateral development organizations.
3) What was the subject of your thesis?
I studied a policy called National Qualifications Framework (NQF). I found the policy interesting, as the policy has rapidly spread globally. Meanwhile many countries around the world seems to have serious challenges with it. As there was limited research on the NQF policy in Eastern Africa, I chose to explore if NQF had spread to the member states of the East African Community (EAC), namely Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. I found that the NQF policy was mentioned in policy documents in all the EAC states and further examined how the policy was justified. I further analyzed the prospects these states have of fulfilling the expected benefits of the policy.
4) In what terms has your CIE master helped you in getting where you are today?
The CIE master has been critical in getting me where I am today. After I submitted my master thesis in CIE, I joined the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, where I worked specifically with vocational education and training. The master in CIE was key to get this job as well as my current job.
5) Are there any specific topics/methods taught to you during the programme which is more relevant to you in your current position?
From the beginning of the master programme I choice to specialize and study in depth vocational education and training. I believe that this focus from the very beginning has been helpful for me in building my competence in a specific field within comparative and international education. The CIE programme is excellent in this way, as it allows you to combine general topics and theories, with a topic you find particularly interesting.
6) Why did you choose the CIE programme?
With my bachelor degree in political science and various experience working with vocational education and training, starting the CIE programme seemed as a natural next step for me. The CIE programme unified my interest in politics and vocational education. Further, the international orientation of the programme appealed to me, both in terms of content and the international mix of students.
Now I have a good education combined with friends from all over the world.
7) Where do you see yourself career wise in the future?
I am not sure. I am very happy with the position I have right now.
However it would be interesting sometime to work with vocational education and training in Norway and/or in the UN-system somewhere, sometime.
8) Any additional comments you may have for future applicants to the CIE programme are welcome.
There is no doubt that you will learn relevant skills and knowledge if you choose the CIE programme!
If you specialize and focus on an area you are interested in and have experience in, the CIE master can be a good starting point for an interesting career.