Introduction

We would like to invite you to be part of a new student initiative to develop a network of graduate students and faculty interested in or already conducting research and practice on development issues in South Asia. In this letter, we would like to give you some background about DISHA, and layout our plans.

Background

The group initiated a series of lectures on development issues under the Lectures in International Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. Some of the speakers invited as a part of lecture series include,

1. Bob Prouty Acting Head of the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative Secretariat
2. Sonalde Desai, Associate Professor, University of Maryland, College Park
3. Madhav Chavan, Founder-Pratham India Education Initiative
4. Saraswathi Menon, Director, UNDP Evaluation Office
5. Rukmini Banerji, Director Research Pratham India Education Initiative
6. Kathleen Letshabo and Samuel Bickel, Research and Evaluation unit in UNICEF, NY
7. Luis Crouch, RTI International, Washington DC
   

Given the overwhelming response to the lectures and repeated requests from interested students and faculty, a need to have a cohesive group working on development issues in South Asia was put forward. DISHA (which means “direction” in Hindi) was a natural step forward. DISHA is now a registered student organization at Teachers College, Columbia University. The group aims at learning about best practices in research and practice on issues related to development with a particular focus on education. DISHA does not want to be geographically bound to South Asia, the group strongly believes that developing countries can learn a lot from each others experiences.    

DISHA so far.

The group continues to invite leading practitioners and scholars to present practical and theoretical issues in education policy with a focus on the marginal population around the world.

We have also created a list-serve of around 120 people with different backgrounds and experiences that endorse this initiative. The group continues to expand its reach to other universities like University of Pennsylvania as well.

The group has conducted a number of capacity workshops in the past with partner organizations in India

1. Instrumentation Design and Validation workshop (5th-9th Jan 2009) at Bhopal was organized in collaboration with Pratham/ASER senior staff. This is an ongoing series of workshops.

2. Program evaluation approaches and practical guidelines:An evaluation capacity building workshop (June 2008, Delhi), catered to the needs of the ASER research associates.

DISHA also supports doctoral dissertations in South Asia.

DISHA in the future.

DISHA’s vision is to provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to collaborate on mutually beneficial projects that target development issues in the region. It envisions of becoming a base for exchanging ideas and working together with the NGO’s and governments’ to fill the existing gaps in research, policy and practice.


Planned activities broadly include,

• Capacity Building Projects with NGOs in the region along with collaborative conferences.
• Design study abroad programs and international development oriented courses for graduate students.
• Create a clearinghouse for student internships in South Asia.

Contact Information

List serve: http://groups.google.com/group/grad-students-initiative-