Objective 1: Introducing interdisciplinary, integrative and innovative scientific approaches, concepts and methods on environmental relations, natural resources and conflict
The quality-based selection process started by the end of 2017 and it focused on several topics: granting scholarships for doctoral students; financing post-doctoral visiting scholarships; organizing meetings and training for the development of curricula with interdisciplinary modules; establishing a research agenda; building a stakeholder network; selecting and training staff (coordinators, assistants and professors); discussing an internationalization strategy; and starting up the first training activities (English courses, e-learning concepts and data management tools).
Both the ZEF and the IDEA agreed on applying contextualized selection criteria to grant six doctoral scholarships per year for the first phase (2018, 2019, and 2020) to Colombian candidates from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL). Additionally, the DSSP granted two six-month research scholarships per year for post-doctoral students from the IDEA (including its regional seats in the country) for the development of projects aiming at the study of the interactions between humans and the rest of nature in Colombia. Two writing fellowships are also foreseen for the development of joint projects and publications; these will be awarded to researchers from UNAL and other universities in the Latin American region. These short-term scholarships allow high-quality scientific interaction and the joint production of knowledge of South-South and South-North allies. The selection criteria follow the guidelines of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD).
The development of the DSSP is supported by several learning methods (blended learning) and online education components through the digital platform Learning Management System (LMS) by Moodle, which is an open-access system for academic and non-academic education widely used worldwide.
In phase II of DSSP (2021 – 2025), we expanded our teaching program in interdisciplinary development studies to contribute to SDG 4, integrated more students, actors and communities from outside the Colombian capital Bogotá and used innovative ICT-based and contextualized teaching modules. To further strengthen the inclusion of campuses of UNAL into DSSP activities, the partners decided, in this phase, to support with stipends for master’s degree students linked to remote IDEA and UNAL campuses. Master’s degree students in Colombia enjoy high-quality education and require less time (than doctoral students) for the completion of their research activities. Their inclusion would allow DSSP to include more students from the border campuses that have fewer doctoral programs in comparison to master’s programs. This has allowed us to increase research outcomes and add research results into our research data management system (RDMS) for storing and exchanging research data with other data systems.
To increase the sustainability of DSSP’s teaching activities and to respond to the partner universities’ needs, it was decided for this phase to shift part of the organization of the Summer Schools from Germany (ZEF) to Colombia (the IDEA coordination team) and to let them be hosted at least in part by UNAL’s different campuses. In this way, we have created more equal opportunities for students from remote areas and set up research and capacity-building projects in those areas. The integration of the campus by such “travelling” Summer Schools had enhanced co- and cross-teaching among partners and the invitation and inclusion of civil society organizations into the teaching activities.
Objective 2: Developing a research agenda addressing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The DSSP aims at building a joint research agenda with balanced participation of academics from both universities, representatives of communities and other stakeholders interested in the peacebuilding processes in Colombia. The development of this research agenda started by jointly identifying the main topics emerging from the main thematic core of the program (environment, development, territory, national peace) based on the experiences of academics and local communities. Other visions, such as those from NGOs, civil servants and private actors are also included. This variety of perspectives allows the formulation of specific projects that cover several aspects of these complex themes.
In phase II of DSSP, we have deepened our contribution to the selected SDGs 4, 11, 15 and 16 by following up on our research agenda and respective research questions. The research agenda addresses the following themes:
1. Relationship between conflict and environment and its manifestations,
2. Rural development models and their actors,
3. Access to land and land rights,
4. Local population, knowledge and education.
The specification of research themes and their sub-themes contributes to the clarity of the program’s priorities and the facilitation of communication between the program and external actors. Research work usually combines two or more sub-themes and incorporates cross-cutting issues for example, when considering the gender dimension in research or including technological changes in the analysis of territorial reconfigurations.
Objective 3: Internationalizing science and fostering comparative analysis of research sites/regions with transnational and regional partners.
The main objective of the internationalization strategy is to highlight the academic and research projects of the DSSP within the international scientific community. A particular action is the exchange of professors to develop and implement the interdisciplinary curricula, the research agenda, the publications and the joint research proposals. A subsequent step is connecting researchers from different disciplines and regions to discuss related subjects (such as extractivism and land grabbing) in order to make a comparative analysis between South-South partners. The core of the internationalization strategy is the African and Asian schools affiliated with the DAAD’s Bilateral SDG Graduate Schools Program, particularly those whose node in Germany is the ZEF (University of Bonn). Between phase I and II and during the second phase DSSP has been able to collaborate with the DAAD-funded German-Ghanaian Center for Development Studies (GGCDS) and the West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation (WAC-SRT), both of which are coordinated by ZEF and advance in South South North collaboration with West Africa.
Objective 4: Exploring and critically reflecting on the role of higher education for the SDGs.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its key messages towards people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnership needs science and higher education to increase the chances of success. Any development initiative is based on the scientific knowledge produced by international partners and constantly spread in the political, societal and economic spheres. German universities and their different internationalization strategies are targeting towards the co-production of knowledge, joint perspectives and engagement in transformative action in order to improve the contribution of higher education to reaching the SDGs. The partners of the DSSP not only will establish new alliances to increase the rate of post-graduate students in the partner universities; they also will re-think higher education by addressing the terms, conditions and processes of knowledge production to foster the integration of the universities and appreciate diverse educational systems and environments around the world.
Phase II has addressed this objective by facilitating reflection with local actors in two areas of work: Observatory for Environmental Conflicts (OCA) and a more vigorous focus on transdisciplinary knowledge. This has been done, firstly by enhancing the capacity of local communities to co-create environmental conflict records that, together with remote sensing data, will feed OCA’s conflict maps and be of use to their control and monitoring activities. Secondly, various thematic research projects have focused more strongly on the recovery and systematic use of local knowledge and practices regarding the environment and conflict management/the construction of peace.
Objective 5: Consolidation and extension of information and data management systems
In the course of phase I of DSSP a data and information management system was developed and implemented in order to archive and publish scientific data generated by DSSP students. This process has triggered new ideas on how to integrate the Environmental Data Information and Management System SIAM (the former DSSP Data and Maps Portal) with already established and used web-based information and learning systems, such as the Observatory for Environmental Conflicts (OCA) at IDEA, the web-based capacity building system (e-learning platform moodle) or the library on conflicts at the National University of Colombia. The implementation of these ideas, as outlined below, will create a significant stock of spatial and non-spatial data and data products. By offering additional guiding materials on how to use the systems within a Learning Management System (LMS) and a forum to discuss the procedures on how to best organize research and data creation activities, academic as well as civil society actors will be supported to face the challenges arising since the peace agreement and related to addressing the SDGs. Even though funding is uncertain, attempts to sustainably implement this concept in the second phase have been made by the partner institution in cooperation with ZEF.