Participants at the career advancement workshop on Criminology in Udaipur. Photo Credit: Ala Syam Kumar

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Udaipur, (June 1, 2018): A national workshop organized by the Center for Criminology & Public Policy (CCPP) in Udaipur recently stressed the need for employability skills to meet the contemporary demands of the labour-market.

The two-day workshop titled as ‘Career Advancement in Criminology: Insights and Strategies’ was held as a part of Center’s new initiative called ‘Career Enrichment Clinic’. “This initiative is aimed at boosting the employability prospects of criminology graduates by imparting industry-relevant skills training and education”, said R Rochin Chandra, a policy entrepreneur and director of the Center for Criminology & Public Policy.

“While engaging employers in an interactive process with the students and academics lies at the heart of the program, the key factor that led to the start of this initiative is the Center’s commitment to accomplish Abdul Kalam’s 2020 Vision, which focused on transforming India by enabling youths to become job-generators – instead of job-seekers”, he pointed out.

Talking about the significance of the workshop, Rochin explained that: “unlike institutional settings, this workshop offered a stimulating environment for the participants to debate and discuss the career-related challenges facing criminology graduates, today. Alongside this, the participants were given some cutting-edge exercises to support their career and professional development”.

“To make their experience more enriching, the Center invited a delegation of experts from relevant sectors including policy and governance, innovation and enterprise, security and vigilance, investigative journalism, criminal justice social work, financial risk management and social activism. These experts familiarized the participants with changing needs of the market forces, and helped them refocus on skills, essential to fight job crisis in the field,” he added.

Reflecting on the observations from the workshop, Rochin said: “in this era of fierce competition, qualification alone will not get you jobs; the students of criminology will have to hone their USP – unique selling proposition. This means creating a niche factor which makes them more desirable and different from graduates of relevant disciplines”.

He further underlined that: “professional and research organizations of criminal justice are looking for certain specific skills set. This includes effective writing skills, competence in interpersonal communication, strong background in research methods, flair for data analytics and, critical and analytical thinking abilities”.

“Apart from these qualities, the participants were advised to deepen their subject-knowledge, engage more actively with community, inculcate the habit of interdisciplinary learning, develop an impressive network with relevant stakeholders, and learn to market their knowledge and expertise”, Rochin said, adding that these practices will dramatically increase the employbility rate of criminology graduates.

Among the guests of honor, Professor Manju Mandot, the Director of Center for Women Studies at Janardhan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidhyapeeth, encouraged the participants to take up research as a possible career option, while Ms. Archana Sharma, a senior political leader, explained the relationship between crime control and politics.

Dr. Amit Thakre, who is presently working as an assistant professor at the National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science, Delhi, facilitated the workshop proceedings along with Director. He was also one of the keynote speakers for the workshop.

The official record of the workshop was prepared by the Assistant Rapporteurs, Alla Syam Kumar and Sandhya Nair, while the draft report was read out by Jay Anand, a Special Rapporteur. The participants hailed from different parts of the country including Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

An executive summary of the workshop will be acknowledged to all heads of criminology departments in India, Rochin said in a press release here.

Source: Center for Criminology & Public Policy, June 7, 2018

News Report from: Udaipur Times. CCPP workshop stresses on employability skills under Criminology, June 7, 2018.