Immersion Work

Students are inducted in the programme with an orientation session which informs them about the Institute, the MBA-RD programme, its Mission and Objectives. It would also involve a week long stay in one of the Rural Stations of the Institute.

Course Work

Course work or classroom learning comprises of a total of 27 courses spread over 4 semesters. Taking into consideration the nature of the subject, classroom learning is so organized, that the students are able to relate to the larger domain of rural development. It is understood that training development professionals requires not just imparting theoretical knowledge but also acquainting them with the realities of rural India. The pedagogy of an interactive classroom adopted to provide participants to build a strong conceptual foundation. Each student is expected to contribute to class-room learning and participate in group/experiential exercises, field visits and practicals.

Village Work

Village Work, an integral part of the programme, is undertaken by students in their first and second semester. It provides opportunity for students not just to interact with villagers but also to live with them and understand in depth the rural reality. It aims at sensitizing students to the concerns of rural people, help them identify the constraints and potentials for development in the area.

The stay is arranged at the Rural Stations established by the Institute under its Project Outreach programme. Any other village of academic interest or where some intervention is being executed by any agency or the Institute or where a successful experiment has been done could also be visited.

Summer Placement Work: Training in a Development Organisation

Immediately after completing the second semester, each student undergoes on-the-job training in an NGO or an organization working for rural development. The training is of 8 weeks duration (15th June – 15th August). Students are encouraged to manage placement related activities on their own.
During the course of training, the organization (where s/he undergoes training) may assign a task/project to be undertaken by the student. The student, after completing the stipulated training period would submit a report to the organization and the institute which is evaluated in the viva-voce. Organizations willing to offer summer placements may kindly mail the response form.

Research Project Work

Undertaken by each student in the second year of the programme. Carrying out independent research is important skill earned by the students of this programme. Each student works for his/her project work under the supervision of a core faculty of the Institute. The Research Project is divided into three phases:

       Phase – I : Formulating Project Proposal
       Phase – II : Data Collection
       Phase – III : Report Writing and Presentation

Development Professionals Meet

The development professionals’ meet is organized annually. It focuses on deliberating upon how people initiative and participation can be organized and their capacities built. It aims to consider how a pool of competent rural development professionals can be created and the synergistic role which formal and informal sectors can play to achieve this objective. Leading development professionals from the Government, Corporate, Cooperative and NGO sector, organizations and academic institutions of rural management have been participating.