MINT describes itself as educating "generalists of a specific kind." What does that mean in practice ? 

A MINT graduate is a generalist of a specific kind in that they are able to connect themes, issues and topics in international relations and development studies that are often researched and taught in silos.

This does not mean sacrificing depth for breadth. On the contrary, each student is encouraged to find the right balance between the two. Based on their academic background, sensitivities, passions and aspirations, they are able either to dive into the granular study of a specific theme (i.e. the specialisation they chose when they joined the programme) or to explore the connections between that theme and other topics across specialisations.

Also, interdisciplinarity is at the core of our programme. It is therefore not designed to turn students into economists, historians, international lawyers, anthropologists, sociologists or political scientists. The Institute offers disciplinary programmes for those who wish to follow that path.

After two years with us, graduates are generalists in international and development studies who are able to connect issues such as climate change, migration, human rights and conflict or sustainable trade, gender and health, or focus on one (or more) of these issues.
 

Has your vision for the programme evolved since it was launched? 

Our vision remains the same, although we constantly adapt to new circumstances. It is to use the seven specialisations as starting blocks, to expose students to broad transversal themes, to offer them an interdisciplinary reflection on methods and methodologies and to give them as much freedom as possible to choose their elective seminars. 

The most important change to be implemented from this academic year is the practice-oriented semester 4. 
Our students will attend classes that prepare them to enter the professional world of tomorrow. These classes are not sectoral. Designated instructors will teach on social entrepreneurship, fundraising, negotiation and diplomacy, advocacy, project management, data management, etc. Students will choose two of these distinctive courses.
They will attend a career forum that includes a reflective element on their trajectory at the Institute, and a seminar that reflects the Institute and the MINT DNA, focusing on three intertwined themes: eloquence, ethics and leadership/citizenship.
Why these three? In a world where AI seems increasingly relevant, eloquence remains an essential human quality that needs to be trained. Ethics is equally fundamental to answering the question of why we do what we do and how we do it. Leadership/citizenship are bound together to remind us that, in our view, good leaders work towards the common good of a community, a society, a nation, or humanity. Not all leaders operate in the same way: so why do we stand for democracy rather than tyranny? And in what ways will this be key to our students’ future professional environment? These are the questions this very special seminar answers. 

The MINT is and will remain an academic programme, far from vocational or business schools, but, I hope, it will adequately prepare our students to face a job market whose core and contours are volatile, where the ability to adapt, act, construct and imagine will be assets. 

Conflict, Peace and Security is one of the 7 specialisations in the MINT programme. Could you discuss what students can look forward to in this specialisation and how you have approached teaching it?

The passing of our colleague professor Mahmoud Mohamedou led to my interim appointment as head of this specialisation. Since September 2024, I have followed in Mahmoud’s footsteps and pursued his vision. Gender, race, health, migration were introduced as aspects of the specialisation, as well as geopolitics and the end of democracies. Mahmoud had paid considerable attention to conflicts and peace-making processes in the South, an emphasis I kept in the curriculum. These are aspects students can look forward to. 

I am also very pleased to announce that our colleague professor Stephanie Hofmann will start as head of this specialisation in September 2026. She will certainly bring changes and take ownership of the specialisation in her own way. That is a very good thing for the specialisation and for MINT, since Stephanie is a very competent and creative colleague. I had the privilege of co-teaching with her for several years, and I know that her contribution will shape the specialisation for a long time to come.
 

What are your book recommendations for current or upcoming students?

On Certainty, by Ludwig Wittgenstein. I am aware that the philosopher is not the easiest read. Yet, since we keep repeating that we live in uncertain times, as if this were something new, Wittgenstein is a very good antidote: he invites us to reflect on what we know, opening up questions on truth and post-truth that were not central in his reflection.

The political poems of Bertolt Brecht are a small but powerful light in moments of darkness; the same goes for Ece Temelkuran’s poems in The Book of the Edge. I love Temelkuran’s work in general; she is sophisticated and sharp, emphatic and sensitive.

I came across a fantastic book by Marcus du Sautoy, Blueprints. How mathematics shapes creativity. I warmly recommend it.

This summer I read Erik Larson’s The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War… since we were talking about war and peace.

And a fantastic novel by Paul Auster, 4 3 2 1, whose narrative framework is unique, standing in between Borges and Dickens.

Students might wonder: “why am I mentioning poems, novels, essays rather than monographs and articles?” Because all of them are my indispensable fuel, without which the latter look as dry as a desert. Just like music, pop culture, theatre, cinema and even TV series. 

What is one lesson you've learned from students that has changed your own perspective? 

Over the years, students surprised me in many ways, from their motivation letters explaining why they wanted to study with us to the topics of their research. What mattered to them, their appreciation of time and space, the way they projected themselves in their future were constant lessons in purpose, ambition and scope.

First-generation master’s students impressed me profoundly. Those students who come from families and social contexts where nobody before them entered a graduate programme. The determination in their gaze, their will to learn, and their desire to change things are powerful, beautiful lessons. Their pride during the graduation ceremony is a memorable gift and the best possible reward for me, as one of their educators.

Determination, perseverance, and engagement are unforgettable lessons that changed my perspective on the indispensable ingredients for achieving academic, personal and political objectives. 

What are you looking forward to in the upcoming academic year?

It is a special academic year, leading up to the celebration of the Institute’s centenary. We are organising many events, publications and conferences, special applied research projects and community activities. It is a moment of joy and one to sit down and ponder, think about our future, the future of the Institute, of our community of students and scholars, of our administrative staff and alumni.

I expect a year of consolidation for the MINT and its latest – semester 4 – partial reform, and I am looking forward to a year of academic imagination, of positive energy running through the veins of the Institute, provided by our new cohort of students.