Partnerships through education and exchange
06-03-25
For these three Master’s students, there is no doubt. Not only does studying in an international setting broaden and challenge their perspectives, but it also makes them more knowledgeable and capable.
By Vibeke Quaade
It is eight o’clock on a cold but sunny February morning. We meet up with Hussein Rago, Laura Kudsk and Ole Lund in front of Building 25 at Roskilde University. They are Master’s students in the Global and Development Studies programme and on their way to the first lecture of one of this semester’s courses, namely Power, Conflict and Justice.
Each of them has their own focus for this semester’s project. Hussein Rago, a Bachelor in Economics and Finance from Kenyatta University in Kenya, is seeking to understand the political, economic and social dimensions of Kenya’s current Gen Z uprisings. Laura Kudsk, a Dane with a bachelor’s in Middle Eastern Language and Society from the University of Copenhagen, is exploring the protests against Prime Minister Fico in Slovakia. Ole Jacob Lund, who previously studied economics at the University of Bergen in Norway, is focusing on Greenland and its colonial ties with Denmark.
What unites them is their belief that global conflicts cannot be solved in isolation but require collaboration across disciplines, regions and perspectives.
“Many perspectives make us wiser,” says Laura.
They speak from experience. Since they started the programme in September, they have worked in interdisciplinary groups, drawing on their diverse backgrounds—and achieving top results.
In the first semester, Laura and Rago were in a group that had three other members, from Denmark, Germany and Slovakia. They investigated how the Kariba Dam, built when Zimbabwe was still a colony, had influenced the climate resilience of the Tonga communities. They uncovered how such projects had shaped communities for decades and how today’s climate challenges could be addressed through more inclusive approaches.
“Had the indigenous knowledge of the Tonga communities been included from the start, things would have looked very different today, where they continue to struggle,” says Rago.
Throughout their work on their Kariba Dam project, they not only drew on their own diverse academic and national backgrounds but also intentionally included theoretical insights from both the Global North and South from the very beginning. This enriched their analyses and broadened their perspectives. Furthermore, online interviews with both researchers and community representatives connected the group with experts from around the world, ensuring that their research was up-to-date and informed by a wide range of viewpoints.
Their work has demonstrated the importance of a willingness to understand things from a broader perspective, of maintaining an open approach to their work, and of amplifying voices that often go unheard. As Rago puts it, “The collaboration helped me combine different fields—economics, environmental studies and social justice—in one project.” Laura agrees, adding, “Our group’s diversity made us come up with new ideas and ways of thinking.”
Ole had worked in a different group last semester but he had had similar positive experiences with incorporating diverse viewpoints and disciplines. He, too, is convinced that the experience highlighted the importance of understanding multiple perspectives when addressing global challenges.
They all agree that working in international academic teams is a huge advantage when it comes to tackling today’s complex problems.
As Laura puts it, “Working in multidisciplinary partnerships forces us to move beyond our own perspective—it’s about learning from each other, no matter where we’re from, and becoming wiser and more knowledgeable to solve the challenges we face.”
Hussein Rago is one of the 28 Master’s students from Africa currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Denmark under the Danish government’s Africa’s Century strategy that is committed to strengthening partnerships with African nations and fostering sustainable development. Laura Kudsk and Ole Jacob Lund are students at Roskilde University in addition to working as junior staff at Danida Fellowship Centre.
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