Rainy Bogota: The EGAP Learning Days experience

In September I received the news that my application to the EGAP Learning Days was accepted. It was a huge surprise and also a great honor, since I knew that researchers with a broad academic background and experience in experimental evaluations had participated in previous versions of this workshop. Probably, the evaluation proposal with which I applied was very appealing to the jury and, in addition, the fact that the project -although on a small scale- is currently active, added an special value and a latent possibility of scaling up.

At the end of November, I headed to Bogota to receive classes in this intensive five-day workshop. This was my first international trip for academic reasons and that is what makes it so special. As the plane took off and reached the clouds, I started to think back to those moments when I was an undergraduate student, perhaps lost and expectant, thinking about the future that would await me and the challenges that would come with wanting to make an academic life. When I landed in Bogota, I knew it would be the beginning of my first big step.

During the five days of the workshop, we were able to witness presentations of research projects, be instructed in the use of R, and be guided in free sessions with the objective of improving our impact evaluation proposals. The sessions covered topics such as causal inference, randomization, hypothesis testing, estimation, power calculations, design threats, among others. The lectures and the professor’s advice they gave us in the free hours were really useful and valuable to improve the design of the project with which we initially applied. Particularly, expanding my knowledge about threats such as attrition, spillover effects, non-compliance, allowed me to modify -and improve- my design to make it more resistant to criticism (although logistically, the realization of the program became more complicated and ambitious).

I spent some great days in Colombia. I was able to meet researchers from Latin America with interests in diverse thematic areas and who share the academic and methodical rigor to make our research more credible. Despite the short time, I was able to tour the city and visit beautiful places such as the Botero Museum, the Gold Museum, Plaza Bolivar and Monserrate Hill. I definitely love Bogota and would visit it again.

Find the slides of my final presentation in the EGAP Learning Days here.

Deep gratitude to EGAP, Universidad del Rosario, and Universidad de los Andes.