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Emmanuel Tyohom, alumnus, Development Studies

His bachelor’s degree in Politics and Diplomacy did nothing but reinforce his wishes to pursue a career in international organisation development...

In addition to his degree, Emmanuel was undergoing a one year National Youth Service Corps programme as a school teacher, as stipulated by the constitution of Nigeria. Emmanuel's studies at LSBU have come to end but he is hoping to undertake a PhD focusing on Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development.

A thirst for knowledge

With a craving for further knowledge and a better understanding in international development strategy, Emmanuel chose LSBU for his Msc as London as a location hugely appealed to him, but also after in-depth research and comparison of different courses, LSBU’s offering came out on top. “I wanted further insight into the challenges faced by third world countries on the path to development. Development Studies as a research area is popular within the UK so I could not think of a better place to further my education and learning.”

A multicultural experience

“The variety of cultures at LSBU and on the course offered a dynamic and interesting number of different viewpoints which made learning that much more engaging and thought provoking.” Emmanuel found the presentations and seminars very stimulating because of this variety of cultures and engagement, he comments “the presentations/debates we had in ‘Forced Migration’ were more interesting and educating given that student engagement was higher, discussing key issues during the course with different perspectives made our learning more robust and productively challenged ways of things.”

Just an email away

“Help is just a question, email, or call away, all thanks to the team of friendly and understanding academic and non-academic staff. The feedback system at the university is just superb, and enables students to consolidate areas of strength and to improve areas of weakness.”

Emmanuel’s advice to any student or prospective student looking to study at LSBU is to “never shy away from asking that question when you are in doubt or in need of further explanation. Academic staff such as Hitendra Solanki, Prof. Gaim Kibreab, and Dr Seun Kolade were all extremely helpful at helping me to develop my understanding in the subject area, often providing a breakdown of strengths and areas to work on in order to develop a better assignment or project related piece of work. This really helped me to develop over the duration of the course.”

Insights beyond the statistical approach to development

His studies at London South Bank University have revealed the human face of development, and provided insights into how improving the quality of education can ameliorate living standards of people in developing countries. Further to this, the theoretical aspects of the course have expose him to relevant development theories and models which now have equipped him to better analyse development related-issues.

A springboard to higher education

Emmanuel has developed his understanding of development related issues from undergraduate degree, and now through postgraduate study, he hopes to further his learning through a PhD focusing on Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development. He believes this area is not only topical in our world today, but is in need of further research to save our environment, placing greater emphasis on sustainable development. LSBU is certainly an option he is considering, as his time here has been extremely positive, rewarding, and a great learning experience.

He’ll remember his time at LSBU with sincere affection and admiration for the academic staff, as his studies on “forced migration, climate change, contemporary issues in development, poverty and human rights provided a much clearer pathway to knowledge acquisition and a much profound understanding of development.”