A workshop sponsored by the Trusts and Golden Jubilee Fund, University of Pune

Background:
University of Pune has in the last year taken a historic step in:

	Revising all curricula and designing new courses for our times
	Initiating employability workshops and fairs for undergraduates

In this context, Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women’s Studies Centre which is launching a masters programme in gender, culture and development studies in June 2009 seeks to develop employability for liberal arts and humanities at the PG level.

The special features of this masters course include:

	Bringing three interdisciplinary fields viz. gender studies, culture studies and development studies together.
	Combining training in critical thinking with skill building for employability.
	Building in skill development through modular workshops (at least 4 per semester)

Rationale for the workshop:

	The fields of gender studies, culture studies and development studies have played a significant role in critiquing dominant ideas in development and culture.
	The challenge now is to translate critiques into skills that may find employment in sectors of development, media and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
	This requires conscious partnerships with those in the field; an issue that best of programmes in liberal arts and humanities have ignored so far.
	At present therefore, while there is a critical body of research in liberal arts and humanities, questions are being raised about its ‘employability /applicability’ in/for market and society.
	The best of talent from diverse social groups needs to be brought into liberal arts and humanities and this is possible only if sustainable partnerships can be built with development, corporate and media houses.

How will the workshop address this issue?

An initial list of probable partners in the field has been drawn up. The initial list brings together the most respected names in:
	Research, Training and Documentation
	Funding Agencies
	Publication and Media Houses
	Organisations that research and train in Media
	Alternative Media Initiatives
	Filmmakers
	Development and ICT Initiatives
	Advocacy
	Dalit Issues
	Governance
	Law and Human Resources
	Rural Development
	Health
	Youth
	Water and Environment
	Gender, Caste, Livelihood
	Gender
	Government Programmes
	Education
	Sexuality
	Sex Work
	Child Rights
	Livelihood
	HIV/AIDS
	Corporate Social Responsibility

As preparatory ground for the workshop a questionnaire seeking more information about the potential partners would be circulated.

At the workshop, potential partners would be invited to make presentations on possibilities of collaboration.

The idea is to build partnerships that may be mutually beneficial to both the university and potential employers by training human power in gender, culture and development sector. This could be through:

	Internships
	Combined training programmes
	Campus placement programmes