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Working Group “Research and Teaching”

Aims

The Working Group coordinates the academic activities of member groups on UN related research and teaching, the so-called “UN Studies”.
The working group will work as an interface between student engagement and scientific work on the United Nations. It has the particular goal to be a platform for all young Germans to share their expertise on “UN Studies”; furthermore, to promote the study of the United Nations and to enable joint projects. This project would not be useful or possible if organized by individual member groups.
From the 17th – 19th of June 2011 advanced students will present their own Research papers and projects at a research colloquium in Berlin.
It is important that there is enough room to exchange their differing opinion, especially interdisciplinary perspectives, on tasks, processes and institutions of the United Nations. We seek the possibility to have a joined document on the results of the conference.
If you want to participate in this event or you are dealing with “UN-Studies” and you would like to share those, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Contact

Your contact persons are the officers Julia Biermann and Gerrit Kurtz (DMUN e.V.).

Julia Biermann, 28, has studied Educational Sciences, Sociology and Law in Marburg and participated in various MUN Conferences in Germany and the US. She is currently working as research assistant in the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) and graduating with a work on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the area of education. Since 2011 she is a member of the working group “Research and Teaching” of UNYA Germany and was actively involved in the organisation and documentation of the first research colloquium. In November 2011, she was elected officer.

Gerrit Kurtz, 26, is officer of the working group “Research and Training” since February 2011. He studies the common master’s programme “International Relations” at the Humboldt University Berlin, the Freie Universität Berlin and the University Potsdam. During his studies, he spent some time abroad in Grenoble, Sri Lanka and New York, where he was working for the UN Department of Political Affairs for three months. He is member of Deutsche Model United Nations e.V., where he became infected with the “MUN virus” at MUN-SH in Kiel 2005. Since the beginning of 2007, he is also active within UNYA Germany.

“UNYA Germany offers a flexible platform for innovative projects, to get together with young people who are interested in the UN”, says Gerrit. From this resulted also the idea of the research colloquium that took place in 2011 for the first time, to assemble advanced students of the UN studies.

Past Projects:

In 2006 the Working Group conducted an extensive evaluation project to develop an inventory of university research and teaching on UN issues. The results of this evaluation project were presented at a conference of the Research Council of the German Society for the United Nations (DGVN) on UN Studies and published in the conference result document .
Since 2007 the working group dedicates its work on “UN-student research” projects. This will enable to continue our work as an interface between student engagement and scientific work on the United Nations.
Authors of theses to UN issues were interviewed within the framework of the purposes of qualitative social research. The study devotes itself to the research process in all its facets. The working group seeks to understand the motivation of the authors, learn more about the writing process and also consider the time after submission of the final paper, for example the potential consequences.
Beside the claim to fill a research gap with scientific studies the study also serves a practical purpose: Students at German universities should be encouraged to greater involvement with UN topics, useful information should be provided and specific instructions are given to the “student UN -Research “.