Dear NADEL friends and alumni,

Sitting down to write the editorial for the January 2020 NADEL newsletter makes us think about what lies ahead of us – the 50th anniversary of NADEL, the start of the 10th batch of the MAS Development and Cooperation, the third Impact Award together with SDC, the second year of ETH4D, and the first NADEL course on gender and economics in cooperation with SDC and UN Women.

But our thoughts mostly go back to the moment we had to take leave of Prof. Rolf Kappel after he lost his battle against cancer just before Christmas. Rolf led and shaped NADEL for over two decades and was an invaluable mentor and friend to all of us (read also our tribute to him here).

Among the many things we learned from him, two stand out: Rolf always carefully listened to others and always took the time to reflect. His character reminds us that in hectic times when everybody tries to be on top of things, we still need to make the time to get to the bottom of things and discuss with people of different backgrounds and opinions to figure out if we are actually doing the right thing.

This is demanding, may take us out of our comfort zone, and force us to question our assumptions. But there is no shortcut if we are true about our ambition to contribute to a more sustainable and just future.

We wish you a 2020 full of new learnings and inspiring discussions.

For the NADEL team,
Fritz Brugger and Isabel Günther