Meet MSM's Faculty Members: Introducing Gigi Limpens
MSM’s faculty members are passionate about what they do and tenacious in finding solutions to the toughest business challenges. Each month MSM will highlight one of its faculty members and this month the spotlight is on Gigi Limpens.
Let me introduce myself…
My name is Gigi Limpens (Dutch) and I am a junior project consultant and research fellow for the International Projects and Consultancies Department (IPD) at MSM. Furthermore, I am also the monitoring and evaluation coordinator for the IPD department. I hold a master’s degree from the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, with a specialty in both Marketing-Finance and Strategic-Marketing.
Before joining MSM, I have worked at the Service Science Factory in Maastricht (NL) as a project coordinator and researcher for service design projects in organizations in need of value-added services.
The research area’s I am focusing on…
My research focuses on various topics such as food security and University-Industry linkages in developing countries. My ambition is to contribute more to gender studies and eventually to specialize in this topic. However, I enjoy exploring a wide variety of subjects as it allows me to contribute to various sustainable development topics.
Also worthwhile to mention; soon my first article “Inclusive Productive Value Chains. An overview of Indonesia’s cocoa industry” will be published in JADEE (Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies). In case you are interested… contact me via limpens@msm.nl and I will share the link of the publication with you as soon as it is published.
The importance of my job…
As a junior project consultant, I contribute to projects in terms of project management assistance. This role gives me the opportunity to learn and work together with senior project managers on how to prepare, lead and implement the different development aid projects. Currently I am working on three different projects:
- A three-year project in Indonesia “Improving demand driven vocational training & Education in poultry and dairy”. The aim of this project is to innovate the Indonesian poultry and vocational programs to ensure that it aligns with the market needs.
- An project in Egypt where Dutch and Egyptian experts work together to enhance water efficiency and food security in Egypt by means of capacity building at TVETs/HE’s.
- An project in Uganda “End Impunity of SGBV” set up to strengthens institutional and training capacity of police and judiciary to end impunity of perpetrators and support survivors of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in Uganda.
Furthermore, I am responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the different projects of our department in general. With these projects we focus on 4 different expertise areas: Water Management, Agribusiness Development, Mental Sexual and reproductive Health and Security and rule of Law. Through bundling the knowledge, which we have gained from the projects, we can report on the true impact we have on the people and the different regions. This is especially important in regards to the sustainable development goals. In order to do so we need to be able to assess our own contribution and those of our partners via more structured systems.
Working at MSM allows me to learn about and contribute to the world and its needs….
As you see, my work at MSM is quite diverse. Working in an international oriented environment like MSM allows me to learn about, and contribute to, the world and its needs. It is really rewarding to do this together with a team that is also passionate about helping others to achieve more sustainable futures. In short…having a positive impact on society!
As a research fellow at MSM, I am responsible for the whole process of data collection, processing and publication. This fits in with the need to showcase the progress of a project - in all the different project reports - as well as sharing the interesting lessons learned (in papers).
Jameela Jamil is one of the persons that I really admire…
Another person who is also passionate about helping others is Jameela Jamil. Besides being a British actress and radio presenter, she creates awareness for equal treatment and women rights. Through her advocacy and her #Iweigh movement, she has given people a platform to oppress harmful body images, promote inclusiveness and open up ab about mental health issues.
Related news
MSM’s annual report 2018
MSM provides a successful training on Research Methods Skills to Ugandan Senior Police and Judiciary staff
Meet MSM’s faculty members Rita van Deuren
Meet MSM’s faculty members Huub Mudde
