• Gender and development
• Decentralised governance
• Social justice and inclusion
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)
• Capacity building and adult learning
• Rural development
• Community institution strengthening
• Participatory research
• Institutional development.

Syeda Noor Fathima is a faculty Member at the School of Continuing Education — University Resource Centre (SCE-URC), Azim Premji University. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Mysore and is a Gold Medallist in Master of Social Work (MSW). A recipient of the Best Student, Best NSS Volunteer and many more awards during her academic career, she has consistently demonstrated academic excellence and a strong commitment to scholarship, teaching, and community engagement. With over 26 years of professional experience, she brings together academic inquiry, policy engagement, and field-based practice to strengthen institutions and promote inclusive development.

Her work focuses on training, teaching, research, curriculum design, professional education, and capacity building in the areas of the decentralised governance, gender and development, social justice, rural development, livelihoods, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning. She has developed academic curricula, training modules, policy frameworks, research studies, and knowledge resources, and has contributed to books, research publications, government handbooks, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). She has also served on the Board of Studies of the University of Mysore and has been actively involved in curriculum development and academic capacity building.

Before joining Azim Premji University, she held academic and leadership positions with organisations such as UN Women, the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority (KMEA), the Administrative Training Institute (ATI), the British Council, and the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Commissionerate (KPRC). She has designed and facilitated learning programmes for government functionaries, elected representatives, Civil Society Organisation (CSOs), and community institutions across India, with a focus on bridging theory, policy, and practice.

Noor Fathima has served on several statutory and professional bodies, including as a Member of the Board of Studies, University of Mysore; Member of the Karnataka State Child Labour Eradication Project Society (KSCLEPS); Member of the Prison Boards of Mysuru Central Prison (presently as well), Nanjangud Sub-Jail, and K.R. Nagar Sub-Jail; and Member of the Editorial Committee for the Trainer’s Manual on Holistic and Humane Management of Women Victims of Violence. She is also a former member of the National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM). These engagements reflect her continued contribution to academic governance, public institutions, and policy processes.