Why is TISS Mumbai a Giant?

Situated in the financial city of India, The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is regarded as Asia’s oldest institute for professional social work. The Institute was founded in 1936 by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and was named Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work. It was officially changed into Tata Institute of Social Science in the year 1944. The institute was declared as a deemed university under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) 1956 by the Government of India in 1964. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is a multi-campus public research university presently having its permanent residence at Deonar, Mumbai. The earlier campuses were at Nagpada and then Andheri from where it moved to Deonar in the year 1954. In the year 1986, celebrating the Golden Jubilee Year of the Institute a rural campus was established in Tuljapur in the Osmanabad district of Maharashtra with support from the Maharashtra government with a view to promoting sustainable development for rural communities. In the year 2001, the New Campus was formed with the incorporation of the Malti Jal and Jal A.D. Naoroji Campus Annexe into the Deonar campus. In the year 2011, an off-campus was established in Hyderabad upon an invitation from the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Government. In the same year, another off-campus was established in Guwahati with support from the Assam Government and the Ministry of the Department of North Eastern region. TISS offers good facilities for its students including a Wi-Fi connection in the hostel rooms as well as classrooms, spacious dining hall, best quality food, grand library with 1, 24,000 volumes of books, 1600 audio-visual materials, subscriptions over 10,298 scholarly print, e-journals, study hall that can accommodate about 507students, and other recreational facilities including yoga, gym, table tennis, carom, badminton, aerobics, etc. and health facilities. The natural beauty of the green campus with animals lurking around makes it a pleasant environment to study.

TISS has made a significant contribution to policy, planning, action strategies and

human resource development and notable interventions in the Indian Society

with respect to women, children, and the vulnerable groups of the society from

the time of its emergence. Initially, TISS was a small institute that offered the post-

graduate diploma in social work and presently it is providing Bachelors in social

science and social work with specialization to rural development; Masters of Arts

in Social work, women’s studies, development studies, public health, media and

cultural studies, water policy, and governance, entrepreneurship; Doctoral

program in social science, health service, disaster studies, public health,

education, women’s studies, psychology, management, and labor studies; short

term program in social entrepreneurship, career counseling, youth leadership,

gerontology, dance movement therapy, analytics, hospital administration, digital

library and information management; online programs in disaster management,

psychological work with adolescents and young people, reflective teaching with

information communication technology, social entrepreneurship; open and

distance learning (ODL) in elementary education and digital library and

information management. The institute has been continuously expanding since its

emergence in terms of educational programs and infrastructure. TISS has gained

notable recognition from the different Ministries of Government of India, State

Governments as well as the United Nations and National and International Non-

Government Sector for its contribution to education, health, communal harmony,

human rights and industrial relations. The Institute has been in limelight for it

response to the Bhopal Disaster and Uttarakhand floods. The Labour Laws in India

are a result of TISS initiatives.

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences has academic collaborations with both

National and International Institutes and Universities in the USA, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The International Relations Office (IRO) was established in 2006

with a view to facilitating beneficial academic exchange and collaboration between

TISS and foreign Universities. Some of the International Institutes include

The University of Chicago, London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of-

Technology. The Institute has a partnership with 12 European Universities under

Erasmus Mundus program and has collaborated with The International Federation

of Red Cross and Crescent Societies (IFRC). TISS was ranked 57th overall and 34th

among universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework

(NIRF) in 2020.

TISS has some notable faculty including Professor Shalini Bharat, the director of

TISS; Professor Surinder Jaiswal, Deputy Director; Professor Madhav Sadashiv

Gore who is responsible for the development of Social Science Research and

Consolidation of TISS; Professor T.K. Shajahan, Dean of Academics, Mumbai

Campus; Ashwani Kumar, political scientist; and other notable faculty. Alumni of

TISS include Medha Patkar, social activist; Anu Agra, former chairman of Thermax;

Jeroo Billimoria, social entrepreneur, and others.

The field action projects of TISS have demonstrated notable interventions with the marginalized sections of the society including women, children, and youth. The projects include AAPTI: An Avenue for Psychological and Therapeutic Interventions in Mumbai and Bivandi; Connected Learning Initiative (CLIx); Criminal Justice Fellowship Program; Food Security; etc. With a view to uphold and develop the tribal community or the Adivasi, Pragati- An Integrated Rural Health and Development Project was launched in 1986 in the village of Aghai,

Shahapur Taluk. Project Chunauti was initiated with a view to helping the children

who have been victims of physical and sexual abuse to recover from mental

trauma and abuse and give them a chance to live a better life. Those sections of

the society that is deprived of opportunity and access to legal aid is now able

to receive legal aid with the help of TISS legal service clinic being operational in

TISS Naoroji Campus Mumbai and Community Legal Clinic at Sai Shakti Chawl,

Mankhurd. The Resource Cell for Juvenile Justice (JJ) is currently working 6

districts of Maharashtra namely Amravati, Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Yavatmal and

Mumbai-Sub on issues relating to children with a special focus on a child in conflict

with the law (CCL). PRAYAS, which was started in 1990 offers legal and rehabilitation

services to persons who belong to the marginalized community and has been able

to reach out to 40,000 people.

Some other initiatives taken by TISS include Early Literacy Initiative, Leadership for Academicians and Program (LEAP), Higher Education Leadership Academy (HELA), National University Students’ Skill Development Program, Centre for Academic Leadership and Education Management, TISS CECSR Learning Training Development (LTD) Practice, Mahatma Gandhi Academy for Human Development (MGAHD), Engagement with Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Incubation Centre, Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship Program (PMRDFS) and others. The Initiating Concern for All provides professional and free counseling through telephone, email, and chat to anyone irrespective of age, gender, race, or sexual orientation.

Through the activities and initiatives, the Institute has secured a valuable position in terms of social work and development. The facilities, programs, and infrastructure provided by TISS make it a distinguished Institute from other Institutes. The Institution is marked for its excellent placement and collaborations. Students enrolled in this Institute are blessed with social and behavioral skills that are taught by the Institute. Overall this institute of one of the best institutes in the country that candidates can opt for. for more information about Tiss gaint visit this site https://www.percentilers.in/

Why is TISS Mumbai a Giant?

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