Future aid workers trained at multiple universities

At Blåsenhus in Uppsala, the students have gathered for a lecture by teacher Brian Palmer. He talks about moral courage and what makes some people willing to take great risks to save the lives of others.

The students in the room have different subject backgrounds and come from different countries, but all have the common denominator that they envisage a future in humanitarian aid.

“I like the networking, that we get to know so many people, both teachers and students. It’s good for the future,” says Julia Perez, who comes from Spain and previously studied international relations.

“I’ve worked in an office for the past few years, so I need practical experience. It’s easy to get it here,” adds Alberto Riaza, also from Spain. He is interested in sociology, social work and anthropology.

30th anniversary this year

The purpose of this Master’s programme, which turns 30 this year, is to train future aid workers. Uppsala University has been offering the programme since 1997 and has thus been involved almost from the very beginning.

“We have had the view from the start that we as a Master’s programme should be academic while being relevant. Our purpose is to promote humanitarian work and make it more professional,” notes Lars Löfquist, a teacher and the programme’s coordinator.

The course is offered in collaboration with nine different universities, meaning the students move from university to university during the course. Uppsala University’s profile is conflicts, peace-building and religion, and the programme is based at the Department of Theology.

Move from country to country

After their semester at Uppsala, the students can go on to a university in a country outside Europe, for example Thailand or Colombia, or do an internship. In the fourth semester, essay writing awaits.

“It’s tough, but also very enriching,” says Susanna Perez, who was born in the US but has most recently lived in Spain.

She studied in Poland last semester and will head to Australia after this semester. Moving between countries and universities is great experience in terms of her future career, she believes.

“I’ve studied psychology and my goal is to work in the aid sector as a psychologist, in emergency operations for example.”

Lilo Moder from Germany has most recently moved from Malta and is not yet sure what she will do next semester. Her vision for the future, however, is clear:

“I would like to lead disaster response teams, for example after tsunamis and earthquakes.”

Alumni across the globe

A major advantage of the Master’s programme is the cohesion that exists between former students. There are over 4,000 alumni who keep in touch via a Facebook page.

“The beauty is that these alumni have a NOHA identity and see themselves as NOHA alumni. Some are in Ukraine, others are in Ethiopia and many are working in Colombia with people fleeing Venezuela. They can be found all over the world,” notes Löfquist.

“If one of our new students is going to Morocco, they can check the Facebook page to see if there are any alumni in Morocco, and quite often there are.”

Professionalise aid

Humanitarian aid involves rapid intervention in the case of disasters caused by natural disasters or war, among other things. When the NOHA network was launched 30 years ago, it was born out of a desire to professionalise aid efforts.

“The most natural thing in the world is to help someone in a difficult situation – we don’t need a Master’s programme for that,” notes Löfquist. “But good intentions are not enough, you have to understand where you can do harm but also where you can do good. For example, humanitarian aid workers may mistakenly support one group instead of another, creating tension between those groups.”

Has the need for humanitarian aid increased over these 30 years?
“I’m not sure that there are more disasters, but maybe there are more people who feel personal responsibility because they get information about disasters all the time and feel they want to contribute. This programme can prepare those who want to help make the world a better place.”