Ramjas to open ‘other course’ centres

In its effort to go beyond the regular curriculum, Ramjas College will open four new centres of excellence from July this year — South Asia Centre, Centre for Public Policy and Governance, Centre for Media Convergence and Centre for Multicultural Studies — which will have college principal Rajendra Prasad as chairperson.

In its effort to go beyond the regular curriculum, Ramjas College will open four new centres of excellence from July this year — South Asia Centre, Centre for Public Policy and Governance, Centre for Media Convergence and Centre for Multicultural Studies — which will have college principal Rajendra Prasad as chairperson.

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Admission to these centres, which will have three-month courses, will be open to students and professionals alike.

"These centres are highly critical and relevant in today's world. Each of them will deal with an issue that directly affects our daily lives. Be it media ethics, the politics of South-Asian countries or the various scams in the government we hear of every day, it is important to have a closer look at all these issues. While these courses will broaden the perspective of a student, it will help enhance the careers of the professionals," said Prasad.

The South Asia Centre aims to coordinate and promote the study of South Asian cultures, languages, religions, history, politics, economy and contemporary developmental challenges of the subcontinent. Apart from interaction with scholars through seminars, lectures and cultural activities related to the region, the centre will also encourage student exchange programmes between the south Asian countries.

Areas of research entrepreneurship, policy formulation, knowledge dissemination, capacity building and grass root initiatives will be dealt at Centre for Public Policy and Governance, in collaboration with several national and international agencies.

The Media Convergence centre will facilitate the study of media in its diverse forms. It will give the students a platform to discuss the relationship between media, journalism and the socio-political governance issues. At the Centre for Multicultural Studies students will be encouraged to undertake projects on issues related to multiculturalism so that it helps serve awareness about an alternative vision of society.

Modalities such as strength of classrooms and fee structure are still in planning stage. The college is looking at various sources of funding. “We have approached the university, various government agencies such as UGC, ICCR, ICHR, ICPR, ICSSR and also corporate houses for funding. If we get a substantial amount we may even consider running the courses for free," added Prasad.