The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG) Master of Public Administration Programme has partnered with Thuso – a strategic consultancy operating in humanitarian, development, investment, health and education sectors – to deliver a series of public lectures over the Spring 2022 semester.
 
The Public Administration and Governance Lecture Series consist of four sessions designed to examine cases from the UAE and international development work done by the THUSO team. The series aims to widen students’ perspectives in Public Administration and Public Policy programmes, academics, researchers, diplomats, local and federal government employees, and global governance consultants.
 
“The Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government is committed to creating new and ever more advanced platforms for government officials and aspiring leaders to expand their knowledge, hone their skills, and bring their capacities in line with global developments and requirements,” said MBRSG’s Executive President His Excellency Dr Ali bin Sebaa Al Marri. “This series of public lectures have been purposefully curated to add value to the ongoing dialogue about the changing face of public policy, international development, and foreign policy in the post-COVID-19 era and the new normal. Expert lecturers have been enlisted to look at the intersectionality of some of the thorny governance issues and the fundamental operating principles in public administration and public policy.”
 
“We are delighted by this opportunity to continue, and strengthen, our partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government,” responded Matthew Goldie-Scot, Managing Director of Thuso. “In particular, we are excited to engage with policy-makers, academics, and leaders in the region, to learn from their experience, while also sharing key findings from our education, health, security, and governance practices, with inputs from Founding Partners, Charles Schulze and Matej Damborsky, as well as learning from the work undertaken under the auspices of our growing environment and conservation practice, overseen by Nina Schoonman, particularly given UAE’s selection as the host for COP28”.  He ended: “Our sincere thanks to H.E. Dr Ali bin Sebaa Al Marri for his support for this initiative, and to Associate Professor Dr Warner for moderating the series.”
 
For her part, Dr Raquel Warner, Associate Professor in Education Policy at MBRSG, said: “The Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government has a mission to provide top-quality academic programmes, executive education and leadership training to both government officials and students – the leaders of tomorrow. Partnering with Thuso – a leading name in the humanitarian, development, investment, health, and education sectors around the world – allows us to bring the global consultancy’s wealth of knowledge and strategic expertise to the ‘classroom’, to broaden the insight of students in our flagship Public Administration and Public Policy programmes.”
 
The first lecture was on March 10^th via Zoom, entitled ‘Ethics, Public Value, and Accountability in Policy Development and Implementation’. Moderated by Dr Racquel Warner, Associate Professor and MPA Programme Coordinator at MBRSG, who believes that this lecture series will engage participants with some pressing issues in public administration and governance.  The session consists of two 30-minute lectures. (1) Accountability and ‘Skin in the Game’ – Lessons from International Policy and Development, with a Focus on Ethics in Policy, delivered by Matej Damborsky, a data, policy specialist and founding partner at Thuso, (2) Rule of Law: Transparency, Confidence, and Sustainability, featuring Matthew Goldie-Scot an international policy specialist, government advisor and Managing Director at Thuso, who will be using Dubai as a model of good practice.
 
Lecture two will take place on March 31^st as a face-to-face meeting at the MBRSG campus in the Convention Tower of the Dubai World Trade Centre. Speakers will explore the impact of COVID-19 on education, measure the extent to which the complexities of the 21^st century have impacted educational policy, and how respond practically to long-term challenges. Meanwhile, the third lecture is set to take place as a Zoom meeting on April 28, under the title ‘The Two Imposters: Lessons from Perceived Triumph and Disaster in Foreign Policy. The session features Charles Schulze, a policy monitoring and evaluation specialist at Thuso, who will be exploring case studies on social cohesion and how policymakers can learn from past successes and mistakes. Matthew Goldie-Scot will cover the challenges arising from a lack of understanding of the local context in his presentation titled ‘The Social Contract in International and Foreign Policy.
 
The fourth and final lecture – ‘Looking Forward to COP 28: Lessons for and from the Region’ – will take place on May 26 as a face-to-face meeting at the MBRSG headquarters and will explore policy priorities for climate and the environment in the run-up to COP 28 with environment and conservation specialist Nina Schoonman, followed by Matthew Goldie-Scot who will explore the Middle East’s prospects as an innovator on climate issues and sustainability.
 
The series concludes with an Alumni and Student Workshop, also on May 26, focusing on ‘The Reality of Consultancy and Intergovernmental Organisations’, offering guidance, questions, and answers for those considering a career in policy, international development, public administration consultancy, and work with United Nations agencies or other intergovernmental organisations.