MDP offered by the University of Peradeniya:

THE PERA' WAY TO preparedness

The Master of Development Practice (MDP) offered by the University of Peradeniya is a two year graduate-level global multi-disciplinary programme geared toward equipping development professionals with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to address today's complex development challenges.

The global MDP programme which began in 2009 at Columbia University in New York with 23 students now reaches out to over 1200 participants from 24 universities in 17 countries.

The University of Peradeniya is proud to be the only University in Sri Lanka-and one of only five in Asia-selected to offer the MDP programme. More details about the global MDP network can be found at www.globalmdp.org

The programme prepares students to design, monitor and evaluate projects, communicate effectively on technical details, to work across different fields to design and manage integrated development interventions and to design appropriate policies to support sustainable development.

Its practical focus has earned it the title of "an MBA for development practice".

Students currently enrolled in the programme come from a diverse range of disciplinary backgrounds, including agriculture, engineering, humanities, law, management, science and social science, and are employed in the government sector, NGOs, international development agencies, education and private sector. The programme begins in May 2013 with a 12-week pre-MDP programme which includes language skills courses in English, Sinhala and Tamil as well as introductory/refresher courses in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics and Natural Sciences.

The core programme features a four-semester long cross-disciplinary curriculum designed and taught by Ph.D. qualified lecturers from across the Faculties of Arts, Agriculture, Engineering, Science and Medicine of the University of Peradeniya and other Universities and Institutions in Sri Lanka and overseas. All lectures are held on weekends.

After completing a full academic year students follow a three month "field training"internship at a public, private or non-governmental organization to gain hands-on real-world experience in development practice.

For students already employed, this may be fulfilled at their own place of employment provided it fits the requirements of a development practice related institution or project.

Course delivery combines student-centred learning with traditional methods, to include lectures, assignments, projects, peer-group interaction, presentations and field visits.

The medium of instruction is English. In addition to learning from MDP Peradeniya's academic staff and from each other, students also get the opportunity to participate in a semester- long Global Classroom blended learning course.

Students participate in a weekly live video conference that is delivered synchronously and "attended" virtually in classrooms spanning more than a dozen time zones around the world and course materials including syllabus, readings and assignments for this course are available on a common course website.

The University of Peradeniya received a MacArthur Foundation grant to enhance the learning environment in the university including new computer and internet facilities for the use of the MDP programme.

In addition, the newly established World Bank sponsored Development Resource Centre which is geared to providing up-to-date development information, data and tools will also be available to MDP students.

All MDP students also have access to the Global MDP website which accommodates a growing library of faculty and student resources.

The location of the University of Peradeniya in the centre of the country makes it an attractive and convenient choice for students who travel to Peradeniya from many parts of the island for lectures on weekends.

The eligibility requirement is a basic degree or equivalent in Social Sciences / Natural Sciences / Health Sciences / Agriculture / Management/ Engineering or Law or a Diploma with 5 years' experience. International students with similar qualifications are also encouraged to apply.

Interested applicants should submit their applications to reach the Assistant Registrar, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20400 by February 28 2013.

Instructions for obtaining and completing application forms are available on the MDP website at www.pdn.ac.lk/arts/econ/mdp