To solve the myriad and complex problems of today, there is a need for leaders to possess an interdisciplinary knowledge base and utilise holistic management techniques. Public Policy graduates not only understand the principles of effective management, but also have knowledge of socio- economic realities and the know-how to utilise strategic communication to achieve desired outcomes. This unique blend of corporate skill-set and social sector knowledge base enables public policy graduates to connect the dots, and work efficiently in dynamic environments.
Being trained in various capacities such as strategic decision-making, political economy, psychology, design thinking, advocacy, organisational strategy, project evaluation, law, research, ethics and leadership skills, public policy graduates are enabled with the right mindset to successfully tackle challenges in multi-faceted organisations and offer the right kind of expertise to find positive impactful solutions.
At ISPP, we facilitate various initiatives through which our scholars get access to industry experts, learn from them and build their own network.
Some of the activities we undertake are:
These projects are designed to enable our scholars to work on live projects at various firms and organisations, providing them with an immersive learning experience. The scholars will work in groups over the period of a month to complete these projects. Organisations providing projects include National Skill Development Corporation, Samsung Electronics, Centre for Civil Society, WaterAid India, Boston Consulting Group, etc
Our flagship industry engagement series where we invite industry leaders and public policy executives to take lectures at our campus. Speakers delve into the nuances of being a public policy professional in India, and offer our students valuable insights into the industry. Past speakers include Manoj Kohli (Softbank), Gaurav Dalmia (Dalmia Group), Sukriti (Linkedin), Seema Bansal (BCG) etc.
An informal engagement series where we invite public policy professionals from a diverse range of industry backgrounds to a free flowing discussion with our students. These professionals explain the work that they do and share key learings over hot cups of tea. Policy Professionals who have engaged with our students include Aman Jain (Google), Priti Srivastava (Reliance Industries), Rajesh Chadha (Brookings), Anu Madgavkar (McKinsey), Nirat Bhatnagar (Dalberg), Ranen Banerjee (PwC) etc
We host workshops with industry leaders focusing on core policy issues faced by respective industries. Till November 2019, we have organised workshops with BCG, Whatsapp, IndiaTech.org etc
Through this initiative, we take the format of a hackathon and tweak it towards solving public policy problems. Policy organisations will present existing problem statements to the scholars, and the scholars will work towards drafting workable policy solutions over the next 24 hours.
At ISPP, we strive to make all our scholars ‘Industry Ready’. One of the necessary qualities of being Industry Ready, is being able to crack interviews successfully. As such, ISPP hosts a range of interview training programs to enable our scholars to sail through even the toughest of interviews with ease. Some of the programs we host are:
Resume Building Exercises:
Workshop by HR domain experts on creating an effective resume that leverages on each individual’s natural aptitude and skills.
Peer-to-Peer Mock Interviews:
Activity where scholars take mock interviews for each other using a preset list of common interview questions.
Policy Blitz:
Crash course on solving cases, guesstimates and other common interview elements.
Case Study Club:
Space for scholars to discuss and solve cases, learn from each other and work on their case interview skills.
Career Talk:
One to one career counselling sessions with the Career Development Manager at ISPP.
Policy Mixers:
Networking event with policy professionals, hosted by ISPP scholars.
Industry Interviews:
Industry professionals from different sectors take interviews of scholars interested in pursuing jobs within that sector.
At ISPP, we have a network of placement partners and we continuously work on adding potential partners to the list. Some of our current partners who have started with the placement process at ISPP include Economist Intelligence Unit, Samagra, NSDC, Nishith Desai Associates, Technoserve, Centre Square Foundation, IDInsight, Omidyar Network etc.
Right from its inception, ISPP has focused on building collaborations with organisations from across sectors and has initiated various engagement activities that provide our scholars with potential networking opportunities. This not only helps them learn more about the real-time policy challenges but also gives them a chance to explore the many approaches taken across various domains to achieve sustainable solutions.
The activities are as follows:
Right from its inception, ISPP has focused on building collaborations with organisations from across sectors and has initiated various engagement activities that provide our scholars with potential networking opportunities. This not only helps them learn more about the real-time policy challenges but also gives them a chance to explore the many approaches taken across various domains to achieve sustainable solutions.
The activities are as follows:
(i) Tea and Policy sessions:
‘Tea and Policy’ sessions are hour-long informal meetups where we connect experienced professionals from diverse fields within the policy sector with an intimate group of 15 to 20 ISPP scholars who are passionate about the field. The aim is to enrich our scholars with a deeper understanding of the field they’ve expressed interest in and enable a space where they can discuss and debate diverse perspectives on policy issues.
A few policy professionals who have engaged with our scholars include:
Manager Public Policy – Google; Co-Founder – Chase India; Senior Partner – Deloitte; CEO – ID Insights; Senior Partner – PwC India Director – CDP; Director Public Policy – NASSCOM and many more.
(ii) Immersive Learning Project (ILP):
Immersive Learning Projects (ILPs) are high impact and unique learning experiences for scholars at ISPP to collaborate on real time projects guided by project leads from client organisations. It is an eight week engagement where our scholars work remotely in teams on diverse thematic areas like skill development, WASH, public health, education, migration and more. ILP is a great way to provide the scholars a platform to completely immerse in live projects related to public policy that enables learning by doing.
Organisations where our scholars did their Immersive Learning Projects:
Development Monitoring and Evaluating Office (DMEO); NITI Aayog; Boston Consulting Group (BCG); National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Ernst & Young (E&Y), Safe Water Network and more.
(iii) Policy Hackathon:
Policy Hackathon is one of the most enriching and fun experiences at ISPP! We usually invite organisations to give scholars a real policy challenge, and the scholars get 24 hours to work and present their solutions. The campus stays open all night, and of course there’s an endless supply of chai/snacks.
(iv) Policy Competitions:
ISPP nominates its scholars to participate in policy competitions that are organised by other public policy institutions or organisations. This is an exciting experience for our scholars to not only showcase their work but also engage with other policy and young professionals.
(v) Placements:
ISPP has a dedicated careers team working with each scholar to explore prospective career pathways and towards enabling career opportunities of the scholar’s choice. The careers and placements team at ISPP assists and prepares its scholars to apply for a range of jobs relevant to their skill sets and training that they acquire over the course of their one-year at ISPP.
A few of our recruiters are as follows:
Avaada Group; The Education Alliance; The Economist Intelligence Unit; Ministry of Health, Government of India; Andhra Pradesh Government; Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS); Chief Ministers Good Governance Associates (CMGGA); Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI); Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy; India Development Foundation (IDF); KPMG; English Bolo; SBI Foundation and many more.
