Collaborative Programmes

Intra-Department collaborative programmes include regular Faculty Seminars in which individual and collective research and writings of the faculty members are presented in the School. A series of such seminars have been held in the past. A recent example of such a collaborative endeavour was a one-day Faculty Seminar on International Terrorism and the Afghan War, in which all faculty members of the School presented papers. The School enjoys a great degree of faculty-to-faculty cooperation that enabled it to organize a number of national and international conferences in a collaborative way. Intra-Department activities also include regular cycles of presentations by the faculty and researchers on the recent works and developments in the field of International Relations. This programme is called Update, in which a number of presentations have been on Globalisation. Further, the School conducts regular research scholars’ meetings in which all faculty members participate to discuss the work of researchers working with different faculty members. The full cooperation of all faculty members in the academic activities of the School is a notable aspect of the School’s functioning and it forms the basis of collaborative efforts. The International Relations Association is a collaborative forum of the students, research scholars and members of the faculty that organises discussions and debates on matters of contemporary relevance. Inter-Department collaboration is in both teaching and extension activities. The School collaborated on a number of occasions with the Department of Student Services (DSS) of the University for organising workshops for college and university students. The workshop on Human Rights, observance of United Nations Day, organizing of Model Parliament etc. are part of the extension work undertaken in collaboration with the DSS. There exists close cooperation between the School of Social Sciences, School of Letters and the School of Gandhian Studies and our School in teaching and in the organisation of refresher and research methodology courses. Faculty members of the School have been serving as resource persons for such courses and seminars organised by the above Schools of the Mahatma Gandhi University. Such collaboration will now be strengthened with the introduction of the Credit and Semester System in the whole university from 2002 onwards. In teaching and research, collaborative efforts have been made with the Department of Political Science, University of Kerala; Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram; and Cochin University of Science and Technology. In extension activities the School has collaborated with the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Kerala; the Kerala State Planning Board, etc. Faculty exchange collaboration with Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, USA has been established. Prof. Tom Travis, Professor of Political Science and Director, International Relations Program of Bucknell University taught for one semester during 1994. Prof. Travis was also Visiting Professor in the School during 2005. Dr. A.K.Ramakrishnan of the School served as the Distinguished International Scholar at the Department of Political Science and the International Relations Program, Bucknell University. The School has also offered courses in collaboration with the Cochin University of Science and Technology for students of the Brethren Colleges Abroad, United States. It has collaborated with bi-national agencies like the United States Educational Foundation in India in the exchange of scholars and organisation of seminars. Members of the faculty have served as resource persons for the programmes of the following organisations: Indian National Social Action Forum, Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad, Thomas Mar Athanasius Memorial Orientation Centre, World Vision India, Juhanon Mar Thoma Memorial Centre, Samanvaya, womens’ NGOs like Sahaja and Sakhi. Office bearers of some of these organisations served as resource programmes for our programmes also. Student exchange programmes have been facilitated through the World Council of Churches, Geneva and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.