Two new Master Student Research Assistants for DIGI-GOV - Desmond Bast and Karinne Madron

April 1st 2021 marked the official launch of DGEO's new FNR funded project, entitled, Digital urban development - How large digital corporations shape the field of urban governance (DIGI-GOV).  And to help kick it off, we are pleased to welcome two new master student researchers to the project.

Joining us as a student researcher in his final semester at the Master of Architecture, European Urbanisation and Globalisation [MArch] here at the University of Luxembourg is Desmond Bast, who is also VP of the Architecture Student Association. He carries forth a considerable catalogue of work, primarily comprised of experience in an architecture office, working on three mixed-use CLT mid-rise structures for social housing purposes in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. There, he implemented an array of building information modelling skills with in-depth technical liaising he had acquired during his bachelor studies in Architectural Engineering and Technology at Thompson Rivers, University in Kamloops.

Desmond brings a developed interest in spatial politics and socio-ecologic discourse, leading him to his current master studies, where he is actively honing new methods of expressing multi-scalar ideas through a combination of written prose, cartographic, and graphic projection. Desmond’s interests lie at the intersection of urban governance, technology, and the harmonious welfare of individuals and planet-earth alike.

Desmond also tells us that as someone originally from Victoria, British Columbia, he is an O.K. flatland skim-boarder, a mediocre vegan cook, and a veteran of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Desmond also loves art, photography, string-instruments, and sampling the occasional craft-beer with friends.

Also joining us is Karinne Madron who is currently completing her Master in Architecture, European Urbanisation and Globalisation here at the University of Luxembourg. Prior to coming to Luxembourg in 2019, she worked in architecture for nearly 11 years in Mauritius where she is from. She holds a BA in Architectural Studies from Newcastle University and an MSc in Development Studies from the University of Mauritius. Her research interests include spatial justice, planetary urbanization, urban innovation, urban governance and participatory development among other subjects.

Having obtained a scholarship from the Government of Mauritius in 2004, Karinne moved to the UK to study architecture in Newcastle upon Tyne. She developed an early interest in the relationship between the built environment and social change and chose ‘the rise and fall of high-rise mass housing in the UK’ as the subject of her dissertation. Pursuing her interest in housing, she worked as a trainee architect for a housing association in Newcastle for about a year after completing her degree.

She returned to Mauritius in 2008 and had the opportunity to work with communities living in informal settlements on slum upgrading and social housing projects. Over the years, she also worked on a variety of other projects ranging from the renovation of the Bank of Mauritius to luxury gated communities. Her work experience in both social and luxury projects allowed her to develop her insight into the socio-political underpinnings of land use and inequality in the small island of Mauritius. Seeking to deepen her understanding of these issues she decided to do a Master in Development Studies in 2012. Her dissertation titled ‘an analysis of the relationship between inadequate housing and the intergenerational transmission of poverty in Mauritius’ gave her the opportunity to discuss with local authorities, civil society groups as well as inhabitants of informal settlements. Having again an opportunity to pursue her academic interests in 2019, she chose the University of Luxembourg for her Master in Architecture because of the interdisciplinary nature of the programme.

Karinne has otherwise had the opportunity to be a volunteer teacher most of her life. As a teenager she used to teach the children in her neighbourhood. She was also an assistant teacher in English classes given to refugees and asylum seekers in Newcastle. Back in Mauritius she helped with academic support to children from underprivileged families with non-governmental organisations. 

We are glad to welcome Karinne and Desmond and are really looking forward to their creative and critical contributions to DIGI-GOV!