Graduation ceremony for 20 humanitarian professionals

Twenty humanitarian professionals earned their Master of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Logistics and Management (MASHLM) degree from the Faculty of Economics at USI Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) at the graduation ceremony held online, in light of the current Covid-19 provisions. MASHLM awards the best thesis to three applied research papers.

The MASHLM Program trains humanitarian practitioners to help them improve their work in emergency response, providing practical education in the key areas of supply chain management, process and project management, strategic management, and humanitarian action. Participants build practical skills through real-world humanitarian challenges. Through MASHLM graduates, international aid organizations are equipped with the tools and methods that allow them to improve the quality of their operations.

USI Rector, Professor Boas Erez, with the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Professor Gianluca Colombo, and the MASHLM Academic Director, Professor Paulo Gonçalves, greeted the graduates and congratulated them on their achievement.

Best Thesis Awards

This year, three awards for the Best Master Thesis went to:

• Valeriya Brahilyeva, for her work “Optimization of selection and management of Implementing Partners in the remote settings of Syria Response in IOM Turkey, Gaziantep sub-office”. Valeriya studied the regulations adopted by the largest humanitarian organizations (e.g., UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNFPA, OSCE) to manage Implementing Partners (IPs) to inform and benchmark the International Organization for Migration’s (IOMs) IP regulation practices.
• Raquel Froese Buzogany, for her work “Mapping Interactions Between Food Security and Poverty”. In her master's, Raquel identified the causal mechanisms between SDGs 1 (food security) and 2 (poverty) using system dynamics.
• Diana El Homsi, for her work “Real Options Theory to decide Building Infrastructure Investment”. In her work, Diana studied what would be the most cost-effective approach in managing properties within the humanitarian industry.

November 2020 MAS graduates with their nationality, position, company, and country of work:

We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the candidates who have successfully completed the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Logistics and Management, shorter degree within the full Master:

November 2020 CAS/DAS graduates with their nationality, position, company, and country of work:

About USI and MASHLM

The Università della Svizzera italiana is part of the Swiss public university system. Founded in 1996, it is distinctive in the Swiss university landscape because of the originality of its degree curricula and the high percentage of international students. USI comprises five faculties: Economics, Communication Sciences, Informatics, and Biomedical Science (as of 2020) in Lugano, and the School of Architecture in Mendrisio. USI offers a range of executive programs, among them the Master of Advanced Studies in Humanitarian Logistics Management (MASHLM).

The MASHLM program is a premier educational program that supports the global humanitarian community to improve its understanding of the challenges and opportunities in humanitarian emergencies. Participants are active practitioners that improve their performance in humanitarian operations. Based in Lugano, the MASHLM is an intensive part-time program with six residential sessions over twelve months. The program combines theory and practice to generate real impact by using advanced tools and methods applied to practical humanitarian challenges, focusing on the implementation of relevant theory to improve practice, and teaching across projects, organizations and experienced participants.