Graduation

It all came to celebrate the achievement of completing education requirements. I am very happy that I did it:)I am a Master of Science now. Loads of wine tasting, happy chats with friends – these activities became a daily routine for my graduation week. Out of all, two events were magnificent. A dinner with Soros and graduation ceremony.

A dinner was scheduled to thank for George Soros, a founder of CEU and all CEU graduates and alumni. Besides all formalities and speeches, I liked the old train ride! Unlike any other train, all my classmates from around the world were sitting together and doing endless fun in the train. During eating part of dinner, I enjoyed my conversation with CEU alumni. They are my friends. Because their degree was one year, they stepped in real life a year before me. Great did they come for this dinner too. We talked very interesting subjects: purchasing their first car, renting a home, commuting to work and complaining about boss. Such stories made me hurry to real life, yes I am ready for it.
More about this dinner, click here
Graduation ceremony was unforgettable indeed!. How great everyone looked with gowns! I wore it all day, in restaurants and on street, until I returned. I loved the feeling that I am inside gown and graduated master’s degree. At the ceremony, all speeches and congratulations follow each after. The utmost movement was every word of Kofi A Anne,7th Secretary General of UN, who spoke about peace and prosperity! I am lucky to feel his words in my ear at my happy day! Read all about my graduation ceremony here.

Now it means less nerve for exams and more chases for job hunting!

Exams

Happy and satisfied - yes it is how my exams went. I like my revision more than my lectures this time - strange.

Learning.
I have learned important concepts for life from my revision. The physics and chemistry behind environmental data, basic biological principles for all sorts of pollution, and economic models for environmental problems. I now know them for deeper than what I would do without my lectures at University of Manchester.

Exam handing.
Panic and reading for hours are not my strategy. I enjoyed my music and read when I am fresh and tried to revise again and again. Then, I jumped to a main points and core - likely- exam questions. I managed my time in exact probation so not late nor early.

A tricky moment
There was a time. I almost turned to fanatic religious, but interpersonal communication corrected my mind for reality:o) Thanks a million for a clearer in Stopford building for a right direction! I am glad for myself for being relaxed in mind!

I will miss my exams and papers.

Inspiration

It is great. Everything looks promising and I keep telling myself that it is possible! I am happy. I smile and I sing.

Singing out loud, I was cooking my vegi dish last night, Rohit, my flatemate, came and asked why I was very happy and if I met a girl to love. I assured the former and neglected the latter.

Since beginning of school year, I have been haunted by notion that I lag behind or fail to achieve better results at Manchester as the quality of education requirement and competition across wide range of students increase simultaneously. But, I prove that one never be 100% sure.

Inspiration makes me happy indeed. At the moment, it is inspiration induced of the fact that I got good mark on Environmental Impact Assessment class. I received 77 mark on my EIA assignment which was one of the top marks Carys Jones gave. Even my classmate Andy- hard core English nerd, whom I always thought he was the top on class, got much lower a mark than me. What it is telling me is that I produce something that people like it:) especially in harsh marking UK University!

And, my frustration of undervaluing myself eases closer to reality now. I am really inspired by her mark and happy to study [more].

La la la

Sir Nicholas Talk on Climate Change and My Reflection Over Coal and Mongolia

On 29^th of November, 2007, the Climate Change, Ethics and the Economics of the Global Deal by Sir Nicholas Stern was one of the many presented at Manchester campus, but truly distinguished from the rest.

In Withworth Hall at the University of Manchester, the audience consisted from many educational institutions in Manchester, UK. A highly remarkable introduction about Sir Stern brought me a great admire for him. I was thankful for my MESPOM friends John, Elad and, particularly Liming who gave me a chance not to miss this opportunity.

Sir Stern began his speech with genuine briefing on his work and slight a warm-up joke. He described Climate Change economics through stock and flow analysis focused on the risks humankind facing around the globe. His arguments were backed up with ICCP reports and economic modeling he used in his report.

Main message of this speech centered on the risk of climate change to humans and political economic instruments to mitigate those adverse effects. He valued great effort of human commitment and stressed more needs to strengthen and achieve those commitments trough cost effective mitigation tools. Knowledge foundation for all actions is based on economics as Sir Stern noted.

I was fortunate to enjoy fully comprehending his arguments and thankful for my educational background, which I am gaining from MESPOM. Meanwhile, I was tempted to relate climate change issue to my country Mongolia.

As Sir Stern highly warned increasing use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, for major developing countries, it opens a controversial discussion of coal between economic development and climate change. Besides skeptics view of no energy substitute to coal, natural resource management of extracting and exporting coal to global market is a priority in Mongolia today, such as Tavan Tolgoi project. In beginning period of losing its unexploited abundant natural resources, Mongolia seriously considers opening the coal bundled political game for coal ravenous neighbors and rapacious multinational corporations.

From side of saving the planet from ‘unequivocal’ heat-up, the coal favored policy seems to undermine entire human efforts to cut CO2 emissions. However, Mongolian economy, which has been suffered from systematic changes, does not act to be ‘anti-human’. Neither do the coal-lovers. What is missing is substitute policy options for coal that supports whole economic development and Energy in Mongolia. But, there always be alternatives to aid energy need and economic progress, the key is to find it!

Here emerges a missing gap in climate change policies for poor economies. Although the most of the adverse effects from global climate change threaten poor nations in coming days, there has been a huge lack of facilitation for climate change mitigation among leaders and societies in those societies. Promising is that more and more policy tools are emerging such as Clean Development Mechanism and Green Investment etc.

See more on Sir Nicholas Stern on the following site:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm