Maria Pilar Lorenzo - Doctoral Researcher at Ghent University

CV in brief

Education: Master of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines, Advanced Master of Science in Cultures and Development Studies at KU Leuven, Master of Science in International Politics at KU Leuven, PhD Candidate at Ghent University’s Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent

Previous work: Graduate Study Program Fellow at UN Geneva, Fellow at the Regional Academy on the United Nations, Research Assistant to a past Asian Association for Public Administration President, Research Associate at Philippine Society for Public Administration (affiliated with the University of the Philippines), Project Officer at Government Financial Management Innovators Circle, Inc.

Current work: Doctoral Researcher at Ghent University

Languages spoken: English, Filipino, Spanish

Additional languages (not in practice): Latin, Hebrew, Greek

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To start, could you talk about your initiation into foreign policy, and what you would say are some formative moments in your journey? 

I find interstate interactions and how states navigate the anarchic or, viewed differently, the hierarchic world order interesting. That particular dynamic piqued my interest. International politics may tend to focus on international changes, problems, and power structures. However, its ramifications are tangible not only at the international, but also at the regional, state, and sub-state level, and I find this complex web of relations very intriguing. There was also a time in my life when I considered the foreign service track because I am fascinated by the different areas of foreign policy. A family friend of ours saw my potential as a diplomat, but my love for scholarly research and desire towards more intellectual contributions prevailed. Particularly in my current doctoral research, I try to locate international politics and foreign policy within the ambit of regions. 

Can you tell us a little bit more about your doctoral research, the program itself, and where you're currently completing it? 

I am a doctoral researcher at the Centre for Higher Education Governance Ghent at Ghent University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jeroen Huisman. I am trying to examine the phenomenon of higher education regionalism/regionalisation and to problematise it within a specific historical world order backdrop. With the ‘unbundling’ of the state amid a globalised context and world order flux, it seems useful to scrutinise the role of regional organisations in the field of higher education. Specifically within the context of Southeast Asia, there is a paucity of studies about this particular topic, so I hope to bring in my interdisciplinary approach to interrogate the external and internal factors affecting regional cooperation mechanisms.

You have quite a few degrees, including an MPA, a Master of Science in Cultures and Development, and a Master of International Politics. What are the distinct, different skills that you picked up in each of those degrees, and how do you apply them to your doctoral research? 

That is quite an interesting discussion for me because I would receive some questions from people about my three degrees, which perhaps is not normal. Firstly, I worked for a few years in a sector termed “development” work, specifically managing and teaching in technical-vocational schools. It was hard for me to transition from full-time development practice to scholarly and research work. 

I started out with an MPA because I learned through my development experience the need for institutionalising smart policies. As the NGO I was affiliated with has a philosophy of prioritising quality engagement with our stakeholders, we tended to keep it small in terms of scale. It was good that at least we were trying to achieve a holistic long-term impact, which was already difficult to achieve as it was. However, after a few years of being immersed in development work, I realised it would be good to scale up the impact that is generated. One appealing solution I saw was the institutionalisation of evidence-based policies and programs. Getting an MPA was a good way to train myself scientifically about how public institutions are organised to carry out their public mandate. 

Being a development practitioner, it came out naturally for me to narrow down to Development Studies. But regardless of a person's field, I think a training in Development Studies is inevitable. Even in disciplines that are considered more exact or quantitative, there are no completely neutral issues. All the systems we operate in are embedded in power structures, which can introduce biases and blind spots in the way we conduct our research. After studying communities, I zoomed out because the phenomena happening on the ground are not insulated from the larger socio-political and economic ambit. After gaining perspective in different locations, the tensions across levels and actors are more evident to me. I now try to use my interdisciplinary training in the field I want to specialise in, education, which is back to my main area of professional experience. So in terms of interest, I have come full circle.

I totally agree about the need for interdisciplinary collaboration. In my own degree of History, I definitely felt that there was a need for all historians to study gender studies, because you can’t examine history without gender. 

You have different degrees from different countries, how did you navigate the differences in educational systems and how did you choose these particular countries? 

This question reflects a real concern for students who are navigating different educational systems. I think I am able to navigate through these various contexts because of my huge desire to learn from different concepts and theories. Reading books about the historical, cultural, and political contexts of countries and regions also helps. It also has to do with trial and error. I was discussing with another doctoral researcher recently about this same situation of navigating different contexts. There are cultural clashes, and it is not always easy to crisscross boundaries. We learn along the way. 

More than choosing the countries, I also look at the learning objectives, proposed outcomes, and academic staff of the program, and I assess if these would fit with my long-term professional goals. Then lastly, other crucial factors come into play like limited funding, opportunities arising from work, and personal context. All these abovementioned factors come into play. 

For some students, it might not be financially viable to get several degrees. What are some of the best places and ways to look for fellowships, scholarships, etc.? 

That is definitely a huge concern for a lot of students. I have been a recipient of scholarships and a student of highly subsidised programs for most of my student life from kindergarten until graduate school. In the instances when I was unable to get scholarships, I relied on the excesses from my previous scholarships and other research projects and on the help from personal contacts. My advice is to exhaust whatever opportunities there are. These scholarships, grants, and fellowships are very competitive. If possible, do something every day that helps align their CV more closely with the requirements and selection criteria. I relied on websites such as Opportunity Desk, Youth Opportunities, and OYA opportunities to find my scholarships. 

But even if they are not accepted, my advice is to not be too hard on themselves. Many limitations should not be seen as a failure on the part of the applicants. We dream of a world where there is equity in educational opportunities, but at the moment, the birthplace of a student alone can already be a significant determinant of the opportunities available to them. Although the agency of a person is not to be discounted, structural and intergenerational problems are a big factor.

You said that your fellowship at the UN office in Geneva could be a really informative experience for young women who are interested in foreign policy, but are not sure if they would like to pursue it as a career. Can you tell us a bit more about your time there and why exactly it was an informative experience? 

Being the largest intergovernmental organisation in the world, the United Nations is central to the foreign policy of its 193 member states and to wider intergovernmental relations. Exposure to the work of the United Nations is a concrete way for students to explore their foreign policy interests. The United Nations Graduate Study Programme is the longest-running educational program by the United Nations. The program consists of lectures, institutional visits, research group work, and first-hand observation. Through these learning modes, fellows are exposed to the granular policy and professional aspects, which can help to inform interests and decisions if they want to work within the UN, outside the UN, or together with the UN. I enjoyed the informal interactions that I had with the other fellows and with the UN staff. With more informal and spontaneous interactions, they can ask for more elaboration. 

You wrote a wonderful article for DevPolicyBlog about the fourth development pillar, and the need for structural reforms to accompany bayanihan initiatives. Can you explain the premise of the article, what you mean by the fourth development pillar, and what its pros and limits are? 

In my Master’s degree in International Politics, one of my professors was Prof. Dr. Patrick Develtere who coined the term ‘fourth development pillar’. He argued that development actors can be divided into four types, with the three conventional pillars being official bilateral development agencies, multilateral development organisations, and NGOs. In recent years, scholars have been researching the proliferation of development actors that are doing communitarian work on an ad hoc, informal and spontaneous basis. These actors include, for instance, students, young professionals, migrant or diaspora organisations, and philanthropists. This is what Develtere and his co-author, Dr. Tom De Bruyn, refer to. 

I connected this to a practice in the Philippines that is called bayanihan. The bayanihan practice is based on communitarian work that stems from solidarity. Gertrudes R. Ang described it as "a system of mutual help and concern" and Gregg Bankoff termed it as "community assistance." When there is a crisis, even a small one, Filipinos tend to help their fellow Filipinos. These initiatives are coming from the person. Recently within the pandemic context of the Philippines, bayanihan practice has manifested in the form of community pantries. It is a wonderful phenomenon showing the spirit of solidarity of the Filipinos. But, however good the intentions of the people behind these spontaneous initiatives, I argue these are not to be romanticised since they cannot substitute for the needed formal institutions. I think we have to seriously question the limits of the collective spirit apparent in the informal and non-institutionalised initiatives of non-development specialists. What the conventional three development pillars can do is to make good use of the momentum from these bayanihan initiatives and the fourth development pillar to institutionalise positive changes and to make meaningful long-lasting reforms, not to shy away from institutional duties. 

I think the article also relates to the conversation we have been having about the importance of effecting holistic long-term impacts for communities through education. Was there a specific moment or a particular situation that made you realise the need for holistic, long-term change? 

When I reflect on the trajectory of my academic training and professional life, I can say that my current research in higher education is rooted in my experience in the development world, particularly through my learning and teaching experiences, education-related projects, and community works. I witnessed the powerful role of educational opportunities in breaking the vicious cycle of what may be termed as underdevelopment or maldevelopment and in understanding that development is plural. It taught me the need for long-term and holistic impact. Many of our “interventions” can be quite fragmented, each program trying to address just one or a few of the needs of the participants. They may come out as piecemeal. 

I propose a more integrated approach that can bring together all these facets that are happening at the same time and can carve out spaces conducive for people to exercise more of their agency. When I was engaged in teaching, I witnessed that students or trainees may find it difficult to apply what they learned in class. For instance, we may try teaching professionalism, but when they go back to their communities and work environment, these lessons could be hard to put into practice. Perhaps we need to focus more on bringing about collective ownership for our students to blossom in the way they want. It is not solely the job of the students to develop, or the teachers to teach; the policy-makers, families, communities, and other stakeholders need to take responsibility as well. Enhancing educational outcomes and impact are contingent on many factors. We also need to introduce interventions as early as possible because it is difficult to apply policies and programs when problems have already spiralled at the latter stage of people’s lives. 

What does your career path look like after completing your DPhil at Ghent? 

I am drawn to scholarly work, and hopefully, I can spend the next stages of my professional life in research work at universities. I am attracted to the different functions of the university: teaching, research, and extension work. Hopefully, I can translate my research outputs to more applied contexts such as policy works and community initiatives. 

Careers in development and academia are both appealing options. Do you have any advice for our readers who are passionate about foreign policy, but are unsure which path they should take? How can you merge two fields? 

I would advise them to explore as much as they can through internships, research, fellowships, and professional work. I kindly encourage them to go out and immerse themselves in different contexts. See what suits them as a person, their talents, skills, principles, value sets, among others. Even if development work and academia are quite interconnected, the expectations and outcomes they generate are different. It can also be useful to ask for concrete tips from people who are already in their respective sectors. 

In the future, do you foresee more cross-field overlap with an increase in people being involved in multiple fields throughout their careers? 

For my fields, I definitely see some overlap. Higher education is a tool for students to thrive as human beings and for them to be able to contribute to their communities. There is that mutuality. In terms of advice about my fields, I would say to do development work from below and from the margins. I believe it is a good way to discover oneself and others in the grassroots. That is also a way to come up with projects and programs that can arrest the complexities and challenges, and eventually bring them up to public policy and foreign policy levels. From my experience, it is incredibly important to know well the perspectives and positions of the people we are trying to engage with; otherwise, we may misinterpret the context and may risk forgetting the reason why we are there in the first place.

Do you have any additional tips for our readers? 

I would recommend reading a lot, and I mean ‘a lot’ as in more than the average reading rate of the student. Foreign policy can be understood through a variety of disciplines such as international politics, public policy, public administration, history, sociology, anthropology, among others. 

It is also good to be exposed to the means and walks of life of the various stakeholders like those coming from government agencies, communities, civil societies, international organisations, and private companies. This understanding of different contexts will converge eventually in foreign policy.

Thank you so much, Maria, for your insights!