Dr Una Murray has over thirty years of professional high-level experience working on international development topics with leading international development organisations globally (e.g. UN agencies, governments, bilateral donors, NGOs etc). In December 2024, Una was nominated and participated in the scoping of the IPCC 7th Assessment Report.

Dr Murray brings her international development experience to bear on her teaching and research to ensure that both are high quality and inherently connected to impact in the global arena of international development.

Since joining the University of Galway as a 0.5X FTE Lecturer, Una established the Programme Director of the MA in International Development Practice, which prepared a wide range of talented national and international students each year for impactful careers in international development.

Dr Murray is also deeply engaged in research activities with partners globally, and has a long track record of publishing of peer-reviewed papers and research reports with international development organisations. Dr Murray currently an Research Ireland COALESCE funded research project NaHuDi which aims to inform the goals of rebuilding livelihoods amidst the challenges posed by climate change, conflict, and internal displacement. She previously lead a IRC COALESCE on migration, climate change and social protection (MiCASP) focused on Ethiopia which provide information to debates and policy processes within the UNFCCC negotiations. She is also part of an ENLIGHT Thematic Network on migration.

Dr Murray works more broadly as an UN Evaluator and Consultant across a wide range of United Nations organisations, focusing on topics such as migration, labour and gender, and has worked for many years on the theme child labour in agriculture. Una evaluated the institutional response of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to climate change, was a senior evaluator for UN IFADs thematic evaluation on gender, and evaluates UNICEF projects and programmes e.g. She led a team conducting a formative evaluation of UNICEFs response to migrant children in the Horn of Africa and evaluated UNICEF’s Malaysia programme.

Apart from lecturing on the new MA in International Development, Dr Murray previously worked as a Lecturer in University College Cork (UCC) in international development, and has been lecturing on a number of University of Galway Masters programs e.g. the Masters in Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security; the MA in Gender, Rights and Globalisation; and the Masters in Environment and Society. Whilst at UCC, Dr Murray has also taught on a MA in Rural Development at two universities in Ethiopia, and has a wide range of highly impactful international development publications.

International Development; Sustainable Development Goals; Migration; Poverty Reduction; Social Protection

Climate Change: NAPs/NDCs; Adaptation; Resilience; Just Transition; IPCC

Policy Processes

Evaluations: Methodologies; Theories of Change

Labour issues: Child Labour; Green Jobs; Migrant labourers

Gender and Social Inclusion: Gender Analaysis; Gender and Institutions

International Development (a process of change involving nations, economies, political alliances, institutions, groups, NGOs and individuals).