1. Why did you choose IBEI Master’s?

After graduating from Law School in Argentina, I chose the master’s degree in International Relations (IR) to enhance my profile as an international professional in the broader field of social sciences, politics and human rights.

2. What is your experience at IBEI? 

I spent almost 18 months at IBEI enjoying courses varying from Comparative Politics to International Relations of Latin-America and Peace and Security. It was a time that I cherish very dearly and a great platform to question reality and wonder how we want the future world to look like. Professors such as Andrea Bianculli and Fulya Apaydin really supported us students explore and develop ideas based on scientific evidence and questioning of concepts usually taught as fixed.

3. Describe your career path since graduating from the IBEI

After graduating from IBEI, I worked for a Human Rights monitor in Palestine, gathering evidence on the crimes against humanity committed in the context of the occupation. After that, I moved to Iraq to work in various humanitarian NGOs and UN agencies in the context of the post-ISIS liberation. Specifically, I have been working in legal assistance and gender related projects for the past three and a half years in areas affected by displacement and war in the country.

4. How did the master programme prepare you for the work you're doing now?

The Master programme gave me the opportunity to learn how to think and express ideas in a structured and scientific manner; a skill much useful when designing, implementing, and reporting on humanitarian projects. Moreover, the support and freedom provided to me while conducting the final dissertation helped me further dig into human rights frameworks, specifically how LGBTQI+ rights and colonialism intersect. These frameworks have shaped the way I understand humanitarian work, institutions, and development.

5. Is this more or less what you pictured yourself doing after the master programme?

Yes, it is. I always saw myself between Latin America and the Middle East working on the broader field of human rights.

6. What advice would you give to current students who want to follow this career path? / Some advice to future IBEI students?

As for lesson learnt in pursuing a career in the Humanitarian sector, all your experience in the field of human rights counts; what makes a difference in becoming competitive in selection processes is how you communicate and frame what you have done so far.

Two pieces of advice I can share are:

• If you have the privilege to be able to volunteer in organizations, choose the ones that best fit your values and go ahead.
• Learn languages. If you already know in which region you would like to work, make the effort to learn the language(s) you are more likely to need. Use languages to enjoy all what cultures have to offer, and if you work anywhere in the Global South, use that experience as an opportunity to question your ideas of power, institutions, justice and build networks for change.

7. What do you miss most about IBEI? 

Having the time to think and read about whatever topic we chose to research.