Publish Date: 2022-10-31 16:08:08
Course number: SPL810
Course title: Role of ICT for Societal Development & Policy Support
Instructor: Prof Rathin Biswas
Course Description:
The course will provide an understanding on how technology can help in addressing socially-critical policy-relevant complex real-world developmental challenges.
It will provide an exposure to the various developmental challenges at the global, national, and city level, across different domains – water, sanitation, health, transportation, education, waste management, urban environment, governance, etc.
It will demonstrate and discuss the benefits and use of ICT & IoT to address such challenges across various domain, and how it can eventually help in policy support.
It will impart the knowledge of accessibility audit and the concept of universal design towards inclusive society.
It will discuss the need of data privacy & protection as the major problem for IoT solution and traverse through the policy intervention
It will help students to ideate potential ICT solution for an area specific problem, contributing towards Sustainable Development Goal(s) and policy support.
Course Content:
Introduction to ICT & IoT, ICT Policy Review Framework, Smart City, Urban Sensing, ICT use in Transportation, Smart Signalling, ICT in Education, NMEICT, Swayam, e-Yantra, Happiness Index and the role of ICT in Health, Global Water Crisis, Sanitation Challenges and consequences – Mumbai & Delhi, Sanitation Policy, Smart Toilet & Sanitation Application, Urban Environment & Side Effect, Heat Island, Carbon Footprint & Assessment, Smart Housing, ICT in Renewable Energy Management, Inclusive Society, Universal Design, Accessibility Audit, Assistive Technologies, Municipal Waste Management through the lens of Marginalized worker, e-Governance, Digital Divide, Data Privacy, GDPR, Personal Data Protection Bill, Ideation of area-specific potential ICT solution contributing towards Sustainable Development Goal(s) and policy support.
Course number: SPL810A
Course title: Case studies in Public Policy
Instructor: Prof Sanjay Mitra
Course description:
The course, an expanded version of 2001 SPV 799, will seek to use India-specific case studies to familiarize students with the imperatives and the process of policy formulation, implementation, and assessment in areas with substantial STI content. Will help develop an analytical understanding – through identification of common factors, drivers, implementation modalities and stakeholder involvement behind success or failure - of the intricacies of various aspects of policy process. We will look at the public welfare imperatives and other factors that called for a specific set of S&T policy interventions, measures required to create an enabling environment to ensure the success of the interventions, responses of the science and technology base to the enabling environment and policy requirements, and extent to which the public purpose(s) were met and concerns regarding the future, if any. Case studies will include, global leadership in pharmaceuticals, our defence indigenization, domestic manufacture of solar PV/wind, indigenization of supercritical thermal power plant equipment, reduction of Infant and maternal mortality, public health initiatives – Kala-azar, Polio and Guinea-worm, Aadhar, farmers’ welfare and DBT. There are no pre-requisites. The course is open for all students with an interest in public policy. Grades will be based on class participation and 3 written submissions of 1000 words each.
Course number: SPL810B
Course title: Urban Policy Challenges
Instructor: Prof Surajit Chakravarty
Course description:
After successful completion of this course it is expected that students will be able to: explain concepts related to urban planning and urban policy, discuss the evolution of human settlements, interpret the roles of various actors in urban development, explain the interconnectedness of urban functions, analyse urban issues, consider the spatial implications of social issues, critique existing policies and policy outcomes, and argue positions on urban issues with appropriate cases and theoretical arguments.
Course Content: Spatial thinking, the location of urban policy amongst allied fields, functions of a city, the evolution of human settlements (medieval, industrialization, colonialism, post-colonial, global village), “eyes on the street”, “production of space”, “idiom of informality”, “network society”, location and rent, landuse and zoning, public transport, housing, informality, small towns, inclusion (gender, ability, difference), smart cities.
Course number: SPL810C
Course title: Issues in the electricity sector- Theory and Experience
Instructor: Prof Kaveri Iychettira and Prof Sanjay Mitra
Course description:
In this course, the students will be able to describe the structure and governance of electricity systems across the world. They will be able to elucidate the theoretical underpinnings of power sector reforms, and discuss global experience with reforms. The students will understand the basics of power system economics, wholesale electricity market design, regulation of the power sector, retail competition, and electricity tariff design. The students will also apply theoretical concepts to investigate contemporary outcomes in the Indian electricity sector.
The students will also be able to analyse the transition to renewables in the power sector, related market design challenges and opportunities, with particular emphasis on the challenges specific to the Indian power sector, such as access, affordability and regional equity. The students will develop hands on expertise on the electricity sector using actual utility data, and be able to locate electricity sector issues within the wider public policy framework. electricity sector issues within the wider public policy framework
Course number: SPV 799 (1-0-0)
Course title: Qualitative Methods for Public Policy
Instructor: Prof Surajit Chakravarty and Prof Debananda Misra
Course description:
After completing this course students will be able to:
Use qualitative research methods
Design qualitative inquiry to response to policy concerns
Use qualitative methods to study policy issues including spatial and place-based matters, science, technology and innovation, and public participation or engagement
Conduct research inquiry in disciplinary policy areas (policy development, public administration, and public institutions) and sectoral policy areas (i.e., energy, education, sustainable habitat and agriculture) while addressing ethical concerns in the best possible manner
Analyse qualitative data with a focus on those needed for policy studies
Course Content: Theory (phenomenology, knowing, grounded theory etc.), ethical issues, positionality, qualitative data collection methods relevant for policy studies (including ethnography, participant observation, interviews, focus groups, walk-along interviews, photo elicitation, community workshops, structured observation, place documentation etc.) and their applications to policy studies, tools for analysing qualitative data (coding methods, Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Nvivo, AtlasTi), case study methodology, critical discourse analysis etc.), writing up qualitative research for policy studies