Testimonials

The atmosphere welcomed self-reflection, discussion, and mutual support

This Master's degree has allowed me to read, discuss, and reflect on the economic and political systems from a very accessible approach. The small size of the group and the closeness to local grassroots organisations has made it easy for us to bring together theory and practice when looking at the collective attempts to bring about social justice. We have explored the role of public administrations, economic alternatives already in place, as well as historical and contemporary mobilisations. In addition we strengthened some of our creative skills. The teachers have encouraged us to thoroughly reflect on our positionality as organisers and ethnographic researchers. The atmosphere welcomed self-reflection, discussion, and mutual support. If you are politically engaged in a community, want to get introduced to critical frameworks, and qualitative research is of your interest, this Master’s programme might be a great choice for you.

Amaia Yoller Masedo (Basque Country, Spain)
MSc Organising Social Impact


We went on multiple field trips to grassroots companies and local initiatives

The thing I liked most about this Master’s is the critical stance. Instead of just looking and investigating the status quo, it looks at alternative ways of organising and is critical of our current way. During the programme we discussed political, economic and social topics from a theoretical position and at the same time we went on multiple field trips to grassroots companies and local initiatives. This way theory and practice are combined, making it easier to understand how social impact can be made.
In the second half of the master you do an internship, where you research and learn how complex and interesting making a social change is. This internship for me was very educational and gave me a lot of insights into how the world outside of academia works. The things we learned in practice were used in the lessons, and the things we learned in the lessons could be used in practice which made this master very valuable for me. The small group, the discussions and the teachers encourage you to reflect on your own positionality as an organiser, student and human. In the end, this programme thought me that we as humans oftentimes think change starts with institutions or governments whilst in reality most change starts bottom-up. Small changes lead to big results, giving us the power to change the course of history.

Thomas van Montfoort (The Netherlands)
MSc Organising Social Impact