Program Reviews

This course was an amazing opportunity for me to not just learn more about environmental issues, yet was an uncommon chance to break cultural impediments and act as a team with individuals from different backgrounds, different regions and alternate point of view to seriously contemplate on the question of how to strike a balance between environment and development. It helped me to grow my viewpoints and take interest in classroom discussions which involved intelligent and intuitive learning. I was delighted to meet with my group members and made some great friends from different corners of the world. I was extremely glad to gain from the expertise of my batch mates and critically examine the environmental issues, while we all figured out how to live and cooperate. This course is a decent open door for the students to find out about the major challenges of the world, particularly from a developing countries point of view like India.

This course has got a right mix of various issues and areas of study which need to be known by anyone who has an interest in understanding about the challenges of development and environment in developing countries.

The best part of the course is the possibility of an interaction with the local community (during 1 week tour) to understand what development means to them, how environment affects them, and how and why the governance system fails to meet these expectations of the people.

And about the people when come to talk, they are the best in their area of concern.

In today's context, where the challenges of population, environmental degradation, geopolitics and governance are affecting the whole globe, it is highly recommended to everyone - be one is from a developed country or a developing country.

This program will especially suite people to understand how developing countries are sacrificing nature for development. The course is aptly titled "Challenge of the Balance", you get exposure as to how development can be achieved sustainable without destroying our planet. A great course especially for students who are on the look out for on-field exposure.

I would recommend this programme to all the environmental enthusiasts. Five years back when I had attended the programme, had a great oppotunity to learn alot about the various perspectives including environmental governance, climate politics, policies and their implications in the Indian society and also the world in general.
I term the vivid memories of field visit to Rajasthan as a trip of 'experiencing the inexperienced'. Incredible learning with fun at CSE !
The challenge of traveling to and from the place of stay to the classroom was more short of oppotunity to explore Delhi for me. Its wasn't a posh workshop where we formally stay in a hotel and get served with various delicacies. Its an event to learn as well as explore a bit of India. A lovely programme as a whole ! Recommended... :)

CSE course Centre for Science & Environment: Challenge of the Balance is a course where different mind from across the world get together in a learning environment where a participant can really think about the value of their life meeting with the real world. This curse helps in many ways to decide one's pathway to work on sustainability and to become well trained to achieve the goals.

This course covered a variety of topics using different lenses - environmental, cultural and gender issues, legal issues, that all link to the theme of sustainable development. The implication of the small decisions on the larger picture and vice versa, becomes clear and understanable as this course combines practical in the trip with the lectures by a wonderfully diverse selection of professionals and peoples invovled in environmental issues accross India.

Although it was nearly 5 years ago that I went on this course, I still think about the things I learnt and the experiences I had very regularly. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in the environment and how the human race can mange thier impacts on it. The best thing about this course was the range of different learning styles we used and the people I met.

One of the most memorable experiences of my life, this I feel is a must attend course; for all. It provided me with the rare opportunity of meeting interesting grassroot level organisations that applied innovative techniques to address issues for the environmental landscape in their areas. The course also shared profound knowledge about the much heard but less understood concepts of global warming, climate change and its effects on our everyday life.
Overall, this programme provides a unique platform for individuals from various fields to come under the same roof and initiate a socially responsible dialogue to bring about a small but meaningful change in the way we live our lives. I sincerely recommend this course.

It's several years now since I did this course, but I have drawn on the learning and knowledge I gained from it and reflected on the experience many times since then. Only by fully appreciating the perspective of populations outside the Western hegemony will any progress be possible in addressing global concerns such as climate change in an equitable way. As well as providing an opportunity to appreciate such a perspective the course also highlights what adapting to the modern age means for a rapidly developing nation such as India with real transferable lessons for many other scenarios. As such this course is extremely valuable (if not vital) for anyone considering a career in any area concerned with international policy, development, disaster relief, environmental, social or economic issues. The course is suitable for anyone interested in these areas regardless of their existing first degree specialisation. All aspects of human endeavour can be improved by being mindful of the issues raised in this course.

It was the first time I travelled alone to a foreign country , experienced from planes to trains.The lectures are based on real world happenings and the lecturers themselves are experts in the topic. Field visits and assignments help to widen your horizon and add to your applied skills.

The food was awesome and on time. And you learn how to adjust in the international social situations and how things are perceived by people from different parts of the world. At least it was my first time. I am still connected to the friends I made there and we meet from time and again in different places and continents. It was really a life changing experience for me. Having this course on my bio data is one of the reasons I got accepted for the scholarship to study in Germany. I really recommend this course.