What Christiaan says about the Master's in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation

Christiaan from Australia

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and your educational background?

"G'day! My name is Christiaan. I grew up in Hobart, Australia and am obsessed with time outdoors. On the weekends you can often find me hiking, camping, running or playing any other number of sports. I've worked for five and a half years for the Australian Public Service and more than two of those years in national Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy. I studied a Bachelor of Social Science and a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration."

About the programme and the teaching style

Why did you choose Lund University and why did this programme appeal to you?

"After working in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policy for more than two years, I knew this was a field I wanted to work in long term. Wanting to try and figure out exactly how I can make the best impact and to pretend COVID is no longer a thing, I began looking at Master's. While there are many related Master’s (e.g. environmental management) I found few in the world as targeted as the Master of Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation at Lund University. Lund University is in the top 100 universities globally and based in a country I’d only ever heard great things about. I was sure this was the right programme for me."

Why should prospective students choose this programme? Do you have a favourite course?

"The Master's gives you a depth of knowledge of the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation fields, which are deeply interlinked and provide a resilience framework to integrate them. The Capacity Development course was fundamental in my thinking about the DRR field and how to approach different projects. It gives you a detailed understanding of how to use Theory of Change (ToC) and Logical Framework Approach (LFA) tools in project design and implementation. The course teaches you how to integrate ToC and LFA to strategically think (e.g. out to 2050), develop a vision and a strategy, and ensure that specific projects are aligned at every level. This includes learning how to get to the root causes of problems and develop appropriate solutions."

What do you think of the teaching style and the way of studying here? What are the lecturers and professors like?

"The teaching staff in the Risk Division are incredibly passionate, intelligent and experienced. Learning from teachers who have been in the field and can provide practical examples helps to ground the programme’s theory. The teachers go out of their way to provide feedback as the course progresses, ensuring you understand the course content (rather than leaving it until the final assignment and you have no idea what’s going on)."

What is the academic/learning environment like? (lecturers/guest lecturers/workshops/fairs)

"The academic environment is very supportive. Compared to Australia, you get a lot of face-to-face time with your lecturers. The environment is very collaborative, emphasising sharing information and students helping each other out. Lecturers want to see their students pass and ensure they are as engaged as possible with course content.

Have you been able to gain any practical experience during your studies so far? (lab work?)

The scenario exercises in the Preparedness and Planning Course gave me a good insight into the different types of exercises emergency management organisations use to test plans and ensure stakeholders are on the same page. The practical experience of designing and then carrying out an exercise was very insightful and a lot of fun.

Being an international student in Lund

What it is like to be an international student at Lund University and how international is your programme?

"I’d say my programme was relatively Euro-centric; however the Master’s did give me the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of people, making friends with people from the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and Canada. I’ve also learnt a lot about Germans and their love of dark bread."

How do you like living in Sweden? Did you feel welcome here? What surprised you most about Sweden?

"Sweden has beautiful nature, easily accessible by bus or train. Every region has its own multi-day hike (e.g. Skåneleden) which is a great way to explore the country. For example, I’ve never seen so many lakes as when I did Bohusleden outside Gothenburg!

Sweden is well connected to its neighbouring countries so if you want to go for a bigger adventure, it’s pretty accessible. For example, I managed to only use public transport travelling to Abisko (in the Arctic Circle!) and while travelling through Norway.

I was surprised to learn that Lund University actually came up with the method to make oat milk. Once you get here, you realise how common oat milk is. If you order a coffee at a café, often the default is oat milk. There are also a lot of other oat and plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy in Sweden, often at the same price point making it easy to be vegetarian or vegan."

What are the highlights of your time here so far?

"The opportunity to challenge myself and grow. I always wanted to live overseas and doing the Master's really stretched me, particularly after the world became much smaller with COVID. I’ve also taken a particular liking to some of the smaller things in Sweden like saunas and salty liquorice (both things I was sure as a kid I didn’t like)."

If you would recommend Lund to someone, what would you say?

"Lund is a beautiful city, laced with cobblestone streets and architecture going back to the Middle Ages. It has some of the best falafel rolls outside of Germany or Turkey. It’s also easy to get around the city, or further afield, on a bike with bike lanes commonplace."

Future plans and advice for prospective students

What are you planning to do after your studies?

"In the long term, I’d be interested to look at how I can put into practice the principles from the Capacity Development course, working with foreign partners to drive resilience and sustainable outcomes. In the short term, I’m still figuring out the stepping stones to get to my long-term job.

Do you have any advice for other students who are considering coming to Lund?

"As soon as you get your acceptance letter, start looking for accommodation. Most international students outside of the EU should have accommodation guaranteed. However, if you are coming from within the EU, it can be very difficult, with fifteen to twenty thousand students all descending on the city at the end of August looking for accommodation."