social-scientific insights relevant to the development chal-
lenge. Students learn from each other’s experiences and
from their exposure to living and working in a developed
country. We use various teaching methods to stimulate
student-centred learning, including traditional lectures,
individual and group assignments, discussions, literature
reviews, case study analyses and simulation games.
In line with our emphasis on student-centred learning, we
also place an emphasis on the individual research project
and Master dissertation. This process begins from Module
II onwards, where students write papers at the end of the
module under the guidance of a supervisor. Dissertations
are presented and discussed in a three-day conference
organised at the beginning of September. In 2016, three
dissertations were selected for valorisation, either as IOB
Discussion Papers or as contributions to scientific journals.
During the graduation ceremony at Antwerp’s Provincial
House, three students received the Prize for Development
Cooperation from the Province of Antwerp for their excel-
lent dissertations (see box page 25).
IOB also offers a two-week intensive English language
course prior to the start of the Master programme to bring
the students’ level of English to the admission standards
of IOB.
Inspired by the importance of internationalisation at
home, a new series of sessions on intercultural communi-
cation by Professor Dieter Vermandere (University of Ant-
werp) started in 2014. The sessions were organised again
in 2016, offering students the opportunity to attend these
sessions that allows them to capitalise on the wealth of
intercultural and international diversity available in the
IOB classroom. The sessions are optional for students,
although they do receive a certificate of attendance if they
attend all three sessions.
IOB invests heavily in quality assurance throughout the
entire Master programme cycle. Daily management is in
the hands of the programme director, ensuring consistency
and standardisation across the three Master programmes.
Internal quality assurance is guaranteed by a set of eva-
luation instruments, including standardised written eva-
luations, focus group discussions and student workload
monitoring. Overall, students are very appreciative of the
programmes, although there is a general concern about
the high workload during the first semester. From the
second semester onward, however, students’ appreciation
of the programmes increases substantially, because the
content becomes more specialised. Finally, students highly
appreciate the intensity of the programmes, the content of
the courses and the diverse teaching methods.
rious initiatives and activities were organised to facilitate
such relationships.
Several types of communication channels facilitate our
keeping in touch with and stimulating networks among
alumni. An online alumni platform is available, where
alumni can log in and update their personal information,
as well as find other alumni’s contact details. In addition,
IOB alumni can also keep in touch through the IOB Face-
book page, several alumni FB groups and/or LinkedIn, and
can keep up to date on what is going on at IOB through a
bi-monthly newsletter and IOB’s tri-annual alumni maga-
zine, Exchange to Change.
In 2016, face-to-face networking was also organised
through informal meet and greet sessions. One meet and
greet session was hosted by Prof. Johan Bastiaensen in
Managua, Nicaragua (26/02/2016), and another by Prof.
Nathalie Holvoet in Hanoi, Vietnam (05/08/2016). On 17
March 2016, IOB also organised an ‘alumni in action’ semi-
nar, in which a former IOB student presents his/her work,
the impact it has generated and how studying at IOB has
helped to prepare for the challenges he/she has faced. IOB
alumna, Rose Mutumba, presented her work with regard
to children with special needs in Uganda.
To learn more about the interesting work IOB alumni are
engaging in, IOB also organises alumni seminars, alterna-
ting between Antwerp and countries in the South. When
an Antwerp-based seminar is organised, a call for presen-
tations is launched among all alumni, with one selected
and invited to come to Antwerp to present his/her work at
IOB. In the South seminars, we do the inverse by inviting
all alumni in the country (or within travelling distance) to
IOB’s alumni policy
Networking among graduates from various professional
settings in their countries of origin and beyond can con-
tribute to brokering much needed relationships between
different sectors of the development arena (government,
donors, civil society, academia, etc.). Starting in 2014, va-
24 • Annual report 2015
Alumni representing IOB at the EHEF
fair in Manilla, Philippines