Graduate Student Profile: Obaid Said

Originally from Afghanistan, conflict has always played a role in Obaid’s life, MPACS has given him the opportunity to explore this further.

Originally from Afghanistan, conflict has always played a role in Obaid’s life, MPACS has given him the opportunity to explore this further.

By Susan Baker, Manager, Conflict Management Certificate Program
PACS 620 Thinking and Working Politically, a graduate-level, special topics course, offered in the upcoming Winter 2020 term, will have students take on the Map the System challenge. Taught by Paul Heidebrecht, director of the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement (CPA), the course teaches the practice of peace-related advocacy in Canadian and multi-lateral contexts.
MPACS current student, Heidi Lamb, spoke about water justice in Canada at the Peace and Justice Studies Association's annual conference, which was held in Winnipeg, October 4-6, 2019.
Eric Lepp, a familiar face at Conrad Grebel University College, will be returning to the University of Waterloo for a two-year appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) at Grebel. Lepp recently completed a PhD at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester.
The Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) program has extended the deadline for Fall 2019 Canadian and Permanent Resident applications to May 1, 2019. If you are interested in pursuing a career in the field of peace and conflict by learning with a small cohort and field-experienced faculty, apply now!
Kristina Bartold is an alumnus of both the Peace a
Constable Eric Boynton, recipient of the Rotary Peace Scholarship and alumni of both the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) and Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) programs here at Conrad Grebel, is extremely thankful for the funding the scholarship provided him. During his time in the MPACS program, Eric worked full-time. His partner was also in school, and they had a newborn at home. The Rotary scholarship funding alleviated the financial pressure of continued education, giving him the financial security he needed to focus on and complete his schooling – without which he may have been an entirely different person now.
The Conflict Management Certificate Program at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies believes that each person can learn how to deal with conflict in a healthy, effective manner. Stress, anger and broken relationships need not result. Instead, conflict can provide an opportunity to explore new ideas and work more competently and productively with others.
Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) students and Master of Peace and Conflict Studies (MPACS) students have the opportunity to explore and apply the theories that they learn in the classroom through a variety of programs that take them out of the classroom.