The Centre of West Asian Studies of Aligarh Muslim University has launched a new post graduate diploma in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies.
The programme has been funded by the University Grants Commission under the scheme of Innovative Programmes of Teaching and Research in Interdisciplinary and Emerging Areas and would offer state of the art training to students and practitioners for gaining the skills needed to analyse and manage conflicts in the international arena as well as in the context of communities.
Spelling out the objectives of the scheme, programme coordinator Mohammad Gulrez said in a statement: “With conflict situations on the increase at every level of global society, the ability to gain the skills needed to analyse and manage conflicts is widely felt in the international arena and community settings, in business organisations as well as other work places. Universities all over the world are exploring innovative ways to educate and train young people so that they could take up conflict resolution and peace building as a worthy engagement”.
The new programme was thus a timely response to create a new generation of scholars, activists and leaders who could analyse, prevent and transform direct and structural sources of violence in society, he added.
The duration of the course would be one year and it would have a total intake of 20 seats. While 15 seats would be open, two seats have been demarcated for the foreign students’ quota and three for sponsored candidates from the government, public bodies and institutions, industrial concerns, members of staff of any recognised university, deemed universities, autonomous institutions and colleges and registered non-government organisations.
The last date for the submission of application form for the current session is April 26. The entrance test would be conducted by the Centre of West Asian Studies on June 29 and would consist of objective type questions.
