IIM- B Launches Course for Budding Women Politicians

Bangalore: Aspiring women politicians now have a place where they can showcase their talent. The Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at IIM Bangalore in collaboration with Delhi-based NGO, Centre for Social Research (CSR), has launched a leadership programme - India-Women in Leadership - for budding women politicians.

The 10-week course will commence from July 16 at IIM-B. Course developers are keeping the criterion for eligibility quite flexible saying that applicants should be about 25 and ideally graduates. The first session will be in English though the team is considering translating course material into Hindi and other vernaculars later. However, what they must have, as CPP chairperson, M V Rajeev Gowda says, is "a demonstrable commitment to politics." By commitment they mean participation in youth politics, college elections and similar activities.

The certificate course is rather dear at 4.75 lakh and will cover everything from legislative processes and theory of politics to media-management, creation of campaign material and harnessing of the power of social media. The course will include project work in the candidate's own constituency, a trip to Delhi during the monsoon session and a seven-day programme to Singapore to see how a developed country works. Workshops involving practicing politicians, lectures by academicians and discussions with political analysts and psephologists (those who study election trends) will also be included in the course.

Dr Ranjana Kumari, Director, CSR said, "IIMB and CSR have launched this course jointly to build creative, knowledgeable and innovative women leadership. Investing in women through formal training will help in creating a pipeline of confident and successful women leaders," as reported CoolAvenues.com.