Location
  • India
    • Delhi
Term
Summer
Subject Areas
Agriculture Ecology Journalism Sustainable Development

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Degree Level
High School Diploma
Language
English

Pricing

Starting Price
500
Price Details
Course fee includes training fees, month long stay, local and outstation field excursions, select reading materials, together with lunch and refreshments during all training days. There are no scholarships.
Oct 13, 2018
Apr 22, 2015
0 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Challenge of the Balance (July 13 to August 14, 2015) offered by Centre for Science and Environment, a premier environmental think tank based in New Delhi, is for youth with an interest in the environment and who want first-hand experience of Southern perspectives concerning the environment-development debate.

In 2014 for this inter disciplinary summer school participants came from Germany, Portugal, Spain, UK, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

Participants will see practical, technical and sustainable solutions that benefit the grassroot community (water management, decentralised solid; liquid waste management; meeting a community’s energy needs, etc.) through field excursions.

Faculty: working development professionals, eminent environmentalists, noted academicians from leading universities, grassroots activists and CSE's own senior researchers.

End of course assignment: Write, edit, shoot - hone your journalism skills with guidance from our journalists.

Program Reviews

4.58 Rating
based on 12 reviews
  • 5 rating 58.33%
  • 4 rating 41.67%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Academics 4
  • Support 4.6
  • Fun 4.5
  • Housing 4.6
  • Safety 4.35
Showing 1 - 8 of 12 reviews
Default avatar
Paras
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Igniting minds: connecting youth across the world

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.

What would you improve about this program?
I think if few case studies on environmental issues are included from different parts of the world, it will be a value add to the curriculum.

76 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ansh
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A wonderful course for anyone who wants to learn about the development and environmental challenges in developing world

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.

What would you improve about this program?
The programme has a lot of inputs which are specific to the government systems, policies etc. A general introduction to the policy framework and governance system in India (most of the examples are from India only in this course) could help the foreign counterparts to comprehend the issues and challenges in a better way.
70 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Rakesh
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Challenge of the Balance

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.

75 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Prayash
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Recommended

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... :)

What would you improve about this program?
The program was much focused on issues related to India. It would be great if more of global perspective was added into the course.
71 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Istiak
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

CSE Excelent way of learning environmental challenge in grassroot level

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.

What would you improve about this program?
Giving opportunity to the participants from diverse background by giving equal sponsorship.
72 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Lindsay
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Challenge of the Balance 2014

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.

70 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Penny
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Useful and enjoyable

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.

What would you improve about this program?
Shorter lectures and more Q&A time.
68 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Apoorva
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Highly Recommended!

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.

What would you improve about this program?
It will be great if through this course the participants can engage themselves in a live project and make a tangible contribution to the society. This effort could initiate purposeful behavior change and allow people to accept the reality of environmental issues beyond the realm of the classroom.
76 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers