A new, prestigious programme of Global Environment and Development (MERGED) studies will be open for final-year students and graduates of Bachelor’s degree, active in the field of natural environment and sustainable development. The studies are carried out as part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters programme.

MERGED is a two-year Master programme conducted by three universities: University of Warsaw, University of Copenhagen and University of Milan. The study programme draws on the knowledge and experience of strong research groups from the universities of the 4EU+ Alliance, as well as associated partners, thus strengthening the European integration of higher education. It had been under development since 2020. In July 2022, the European Commission awarded funding of EUR 4,864,800 for its implementation over a six-year period. It is the first programme under the Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters programme to be run by the 4EU+ Alliance partners.

The courses during the first year of study will take place at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and will consist of standard lectures, field classes and workshops. In the second year, the students will choose one of two specialisations: Sustainable Environmental Development (carried out at the University of Warsaw) or Agricultural Development (University of Milan).

The unit responsible for the MERGED studies at the University of Warsaw will be the University Centre for Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development (UCBS).

Elite studies

The MERGED co-ordinator is Prof. Carsten Smith-Hall from the University of Copenhagen. Dr Mariola Zalewska from the University of Warsaw and Prof. Carlo Pozzi from the University of Milan are local co-ordinators.

“The aim of the MERGED programme is to educate globally competitive graduates, who can identify critical aspects of renewable natural resource management for economic, environmental, institutional, and societal development and develop appropriate and feasible solutions. MERGED graduates will be able to target interdisciplinary challenges concerning sustainable development and their employability as professionals will be on the rise,” underlines Dr Mariola Zalewska, the director of UCBS.

The UW Senate passed the study programme on 29th June, following positive feedback and intensive collaboration between the applicants and the Senate Committee on Students, Doctoral Students and Educational Quality and the University Learning Council. The UW Rector’s order on the establishment of the Global Environment and Development degree programme was issued on 4th July 2023.

“The Global Environment and Development joint degree programme is based on a new type of curriculum. It takes into account the experiences and perspectives of all the universities involved in the project. I am glad that it was possible to implement it. The program makes the study offer more attractive, increasing the internationalisation of the educational process in our didactic unit,” says Dr Aleksander Jakubowski, the director for education issues of the UCBS.