Mount Carmel College, Bangalore, in collaboration with the Takshashila Institution, is launching a Master of Arts in Public Policy course. The introductory batch of this two-year course is due to commence from June 2016.
Public policy is a sunrise industry in India, with a growing demand for trained public policy professionals in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors, as well as in government and politics. This course has a specially designed curriculum suited to India’s needs. The course will create talented professionals who are well-equipped to engage in the complex arena of public affairs in India.
The Takshashila Institution has been pioneering public policy education in India since 2012, with over 800 students and working professionals enrolled in various certificate programmes to date . Takshashila’s Graduate Certificate in Public Policy – its flagship 1-semester course – has trained public affairs professionals, corporate analysts, think tank researchers, nonprofit leaders, IAS aspirants and more over the last 4 years. The GCPP has also enabled many professionals from tech and other sectors to explore how they can contribute to public policy.
“We realised that 2016 is the best year to launch a full MA course. We are delighted to collaborate with Mt Carmel College, which has some of the best humanities programmes in Bangalore and India,” said Nitin Pai, Director of the Takshashila Institution. “Public policy works on a strong core of economic reasoning, and the Economics Department at MCC will be anchoring this course.”
“We at MCC have always believed in education which is transformational in nature and act as a catalyst for change in society and specifically in our nation,” said Sister Albina, the Provincial Head of Carmelite Sisters of St. Theresa, which owns and manages Mt Carmel College. “It is this urgent need that motivates us to launch an MA-Public Policy programme through which we hope to train and equip the young students to actively participate and influence the Government and policy makers in formulating and implementing the right policies for India.”
“The MA programme is highly interdisciplinary in nature. It involves political scientists, socially conscious activists, persons with economic rationale and an understanding of the historical backdrop. All this is melded into an applied programme. If engineering is the application of the sciences, public policy is the application of the social sciences to solve public challenges,” said Sister Aparna, Principal of Mount Carmel College (Autonomous).
A unique curriculum developed by a distinguished board of studies
The public policy curriculum was developed under the aegis of a distinguished board of studies. This includes M Govinda Rao, Member of 14th Finance Commission, and former member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Dr. Govinda Rao said, “Calibrating public policy requires deft analysis and an understanding of subtle nuances. Careful calibration can have profound public consequences, and students here will be trained to do this well.”
The board also includes Ravichandar of Bangalore City Connect and a member of the former BBMP Restructuring Committee, who has played a catalytic role behind many innovations in the city. He said, “Any public policy course needs to be a good blend of theory and practice. This MA programme has unique simulation exercises where students can work on real-world problems with real constraints.”
The Master of Arts in Public Policy programme’s unique curriculum and pedagogy has courses like economic reasoning for public policy, public finance, the Constitution and the political system in India, sustainable development and more. Further, the course will aim at inculcating skills essential to public policy such as data analytics and visualisation, writing and media strategy. Students will participate in electoral campaign simulations, policy analysis exercises, preparing legislative briefs and more.
Interested candidates can apply on the Mount Carmel College website, or write to Takshashila Institution to receive further details about the course including course fees, student brochure and more.
Applications are currently open. The course is a two-year, full-time programme designed for fresh graduates and professionals with 1-2 years of work experience – from any background – including humanities, sciences, engineering, journalism, law, finance and others. Currently, the course is open to women only.
For more information, please write to mcc@takshashila.org.in“
The content has been shared by Pavan Srinath of Takshashila Institute and published on Citizen Matters under Message Forward section, a section meant for public interest messages from individuals and nonprofits.