Natalia Galat

Having completed three university degrees, including two masters, Natalia put herself on the road to sustainable development. Oxford University was a critical turning point from seeing the environment as a natural capital for eternal economic growth—something we took for granted and “utilized”—to something we have irreversibly damaged and risk losing. She is deeply committed to issues related to climate change and how we can preserve the planet for the future.

Now working at the United Nations, Natalia appreciates being part of a global agenda on sustainable development. Natalia started at the United Nations by working for UN Women, empowering women and promoting gender equality. Now, as a sustainable development educator, Natalia helped design the Master in International Development, incorporating the five Ps of sustainable development: people, planet, prosperity, partnership and peace.

She teaches the results-based management course in the Master in International Development. Although she designed the original program, she has not stopped learning since, and has adapted the program as she’s discovered the best way to teach each group of students. This was particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic when she had to adapt her classroom techniques to ensure that she provided the same experience online as she did in person. Now having returned to face-to-face teaching, Natalia finds joy in witnessing class engagement. She uses interactive group discussions and real-life examples to create a dynamic learning environment for the participants of the Master in International Development.

Natalia describes her results-based management course as, in essence, an introduction to development. Natalia teaches students to think like development practitioners to address various problems from gender inequality to food insecurity and climate change. She guides students to analyze the causes of development challenges and helps them generate solutions, harnessing knowledge from multiple disciplines that are taught across the Master in International Development program.

Natalia also describes the course as a useful thinking and planning approach for students to imagine what success looks like for them personally and how to get there: to focus on the goal and then think backwards.

IE University’s work with the United Nations System Staff College offers students a UN perspective, and gives them an opportunity to gain insight into the different areas of development. In Natalia’s courses, students have developed their own analyses, theories of change and projects to address sustainable development challenges that countries around the world are facing. She believes this valuable learning will prepare them for their future careers.