Sandra Martín Villar is pursuing a Master’s in Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies with a focus on Transformation and Development. She researches the intersections of gender, agroindustry, and food security in Mexico, focusing on women’s roles in industrial and subsistence farming and alternative, sustainable practices.

Alongside her studies, Sandra works as a student research assistant to Deputy Coordinator Margitta Minah at the Seminar for Rural Development, contributing to the Joint International Research Projects.

As part of her research internship at the Berlin Institute for Cooperative Studies (BICS), under the supervision of Dr. Agustina Malvido, Sandra will investigate professional education and capacity-building initiatives within cooperatives. Her work aims to assess how cooperative members, managers, and board members are supported in their roles and engagement within their organisations. To this end, she will develop a structured database and systematically map and analyse key themes, trends, formats, and methodologies, as well as elaborate a conceptual framework to organise and assess the findings.

At BICS, we are delighted to welcome Sandra and look forward to the insights her research will generate on this highly relevant topic for cooperative development.