Careers in Social Sector

The session organised by the Department of Sociology and Social Work Student Association began with a welcome speech for Mr Ravi Sreedharan. He has worked in the corporate sector for 24 years before quitting to join the social and developmental industry in 2011. The speech began with a small story on the unfortunate situation of the Indian education system, mainly related to the government where the majority of the population is getting educated and how one can bring in a systemic change to reform the education sector as a whole.
He emphasised the need to enter the social sector and how the time is never better than during the Covid 19 pandemic. He reiterated the fact that it was neither capitalism nor was it the market that helped everyone. Instead, the civil society, i.e., the social sector, was helping everyone in their hour of need.

Sovereignty, socialism, democracy, justice – India failed as the pandemic hit us, where the fractures in India came to light with the plight of migrant workers during the pandemic. The social sector and civil society are the country's essential pillars, and working with them will lead to a meaningful and impactful life. He highlighted how important it is for youngsters to enter the social and developmental sector for the better growth of India. Such a feat requires a big heart and cognitive and technical skills to solve complex problems. The proper knowledge, attitude, and skills will go a long way in the future.

Being the founder of the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), Mr Ravi explained the importance of developmental studies, sectoral expertise, and opportunities offered through social work. He also highlighted the curriculum at ISDM, which has been meticulously tailored to meet the needs of the emerging social and developmental sector ecosystem.

He talked of the importance of sustained impact – where there is persistent problem solving and not creating more problems to solve just one. One should give critical importance to social issues at scale and, when not shown, can develop into much more severe problems.

The session concluded with the Alumni of CHRIST, Ms Ann, who studied at ISDM sharing their experiences and their transition into the developmental sector. Mr Aseem Purohit, a part of the leadership team at ISDM, who also moved to the social industry after being in the corporate sector for over 32 years, shared his experiences.