The Postgraduate Diploma in Development Leadership (PGDDL) programme at Azim Premji University was launched in 2022. This webinar features alumni from graduating batches of the programme, who are now senior development leaders in the sector. The participants reflect on their journeys in the development sector and, in doing so, contemplate the meaning of ​“development leadership.”

The webinar focuses on their learning experiences during the PGDDL programme and their key takeaways, particularly in the areas of development thinking, strategy, project implementation, and operations.

About the speakers

Manjeet Kaur Bal is currently serving as the General Manager with the
Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) in Chhattisgarh. She has worked with the Panchayat and Rural Development Department of Chhattisgarh and several other institutions and organisations in the areas of livelihood promotion, natural resource management, inclusive education, and capacity building.

Digangana Medhi is a development professional working closely with grassroots communities in Northeast India. As a member of Ayang Trust and COO of Lekope Majuli Women Farmer Producer Company, she works towards strengthening women-led enterprises, sustainable livelihoods, and collective entrepreneurship. Her work focuses on enabling rural women, farmers, and artisans to build stronger, more independent, and sustainable businesses through skills, market access, and institutional support. She is particularly passionate about creating community-led models that combine social impact with long-term economic sustainability.

Moderator

V Manikandan is associated with the School of Development at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru. He also anchors admissions, outreach, placements, and alumni functions at the University. He is a development practitioner with extensive experience in action research, NGO governance, grant management, fundraising, planning, monitoring and evaluation (PME), and operations, including finance and human resource management.

Why attend? Who should attend?

• Undergraduate degree in any discipline
• Eight or more years of work in any domain of the development sector (like livelihood, sustainability, education, health, sanitation and hygiene, ecology, etc.) preferably with marginalised groups in urban or rural locations
• Currently in leadership roles in their respective organisations, or likely to move into such roles within the next three years
• Consent and recommendation from the applicant’s current employer
• Fluency in English (reading, written, spoken)

Have questions?

You can share your questions when you register or ask them live during the session. For further queries, please write to admissions@​apu.​edu.​in.