Career Skill Series-Session I

The Department of International Studies, Political Science and History organised Career Skill Series. The Career Skills Series began with a wonderful and an enlightening start with a lecture on ‘Career Opportunities in NGOs and INGOs organized by the Skill Development Committee on Foreign Missions and NGO’s.

The speaker for the event Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan, Incoming Executive Director, Serve Afghanistan, was gracious enough to educate the students of MAIS (Master of Arts in International Studies) on the functional aspects of NGOs while enlisting in great detail the career opportunities available to them. His comprehensive and nuanced coverage of issues on NGOs and INGOs did not leave an iota of doubt amongst the students. The talks revolved around the framework of an NGO, their work portfolios and available job opportunities to the students.

The most notable aspect of the talk was the incorporation of entry points in NGOs which had often confounded the students as to the route taken to acquire a job within an NGO.

The talk proceeded to a Q/A session whereby the students expressed their queries regarding the many aspects on establishing a career in NGOs. The Q/A session elicited responses which revolved around highlighting the importance of advocacy, research, field-work experiences to garner appreciative inquiry and conflict resolution skills by a fresher, importance of internships (paid/unpaid), vibrant HR policies as well as scope of clinical psychology in NGOs and INGOs.

As the session drew to a close the formal vote of thanks was given by the Sub Committee Head of Skill Development Committee on Foreign Missions and NGO’s, Ms. Anushua Banerjee who accentuated the contributions of Rev. Kennedy Dhanabalan ending the session with a quote by John Wesley –“ Do all the good you can........... As long as ever you can.”