Postgraduate Diploma in Development Leadership

About the Programme

Postgraduate Diploma in Development Leadership is an 11-month, part-time programme for experienced development professionals moving into senior leadership roles. It asks whether leading in the development sector takes more than managing programmes and teams, and whether ideas borrowed from the corporate world actually fit the social sector. The programme places participants' own experience within a wider understanding of civil society and how it has changed over time, so they can lead with both practical skill and a clearer sense of context. It blends on-campus residential sessions with online learning, so participants can keep working while they study.

Eligibility

• Undergraduate degree in any discipline.
• At least 8 years of work experience in a development domain, such as livelihoods, sustainability, education, health, or sanitation, preferably with marginalised communities in urban or rural areas.
• Currently in a leadership role, or likely to move into one within three years.
• Consent and recommendation from the current employer.
• Fluent in English (reading, writing, speaking).

Curriculum Overview

• Development Perspectives: India's experience of development, today's development realities, development theories and critiques, a reflective project on development practice, and a seminar on emerging themes.
• Organisational Aspects: approaches to development action, shaping organisational culture, and a project on leading organisational change.
• Specific Competencies: data analysis for social action, communication practices for organisational leaders, principles of financial management, and leadership practices for development organisations.

Programme Highlights

• Learning built on participants' own grassroots experience, through peer group learning, practice-based readings, guest lectures, discussions, films, and simulations.
• Three terms, each with a three-week on-campus stay and a three-month online component, so participants can continue working.
• Online classes held on weekends, combining live lectures, discussions, assignments, and guided project work.