Policy Brief

Competencies to help shape a changing world: tracer study and future focus of the IDOS Postgraduate Programme for Sustainability Cooperation

Christ, Simone / Sven Grimm / Tülin Engin-Stock / Isabella Schulz
Policy Brief (7/2026)

Bonn: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23661/ipb7.2026

Dt. Ausg. u.d.T.:
Kompetenzen für die Mitgestaltung einer Welt im Umbruch: Verbleibstudie und Zukunftsorientierung der IDOS Postgraduierten-Ausbildung
(IDOS Policy Brief 6/2026)

 

The Postgraduate Programme for Sustainability Cooperation (PGP) at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS, formerly DIE) has been training young professionals for German and European international cooperation since 1965. How successful is the programme in supporting its graduates in starting their career and in developing their competencies? And what direction should Germany take in future in its training for professionals in the field of international cooperation? To mark its 60th anniversary, IDOS conducted a tracer study to systematically analyse how the programme has benefited its some 1,000 graduates and to find some pointers on how it could be developed further.
The study very clearly demonstrates the relevance of the postgraduate programme and identification with the programme over the past 60 years. The feedback confirms that the PGP considerably benefits participants’ professional and personal development and that they would definitely recommend it for future generations.
At the same time, the world is undergoing a period of radical upheaval. Fundamental changes can be seen above all in the general conditions for partnerships, the demands made of staff working in this sector and training for future experts and managers. Training programmes such as the PGP must adapt to address these drastic changes. The quality of a training programme is ultimately reflected in how well it promotes basic competencies that will still be 
useful under different conditions and that can help shape these changes. 
IDOS graduates were also asked about their views on changes in working in the international cooperation sector. The survey thus allows conclusions to be drawn on how training can be developed further:
1. Training should promote various competencies that can shape cooperation for sustainable development. Taking a partner-oriented approach to initiating and implementing changes in an increasingly complex world requires both specialist and systemic knowledge along with personal, social, networking and cooperation skills.
2. Training institutions should promote the capacity for cooperation through joint learning with international partners. This will foster understanding for other perspectives and will support the ongoing development of partnerships.
3. Post-colonial perspectives and a critical examination of power should already be taken into account during training and should be put into practice in concrete cooperation between organisations. IDOS graduates also believe that these aspects are becoming more important in international cooperation.