SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Visit to Loyola College of Social Sciences (affiliated to University of Kerala), Thiruvananthapuram, Friday, November 9, 2007

Web page: http://www.keralauniversity.edu/LoyolaCollegeofSocialScience.htm

On the morning of November 9 we again left the CDS campus for Thiruvananthapuram, where we visited the Loyola College of Social Science, affiliated to Kerala University. Anna Lindberg had been there in the 1990s, while she was doing research in Kerala, and recalls it as a serious, well-organised institution. The campus has been extensively modernized since that time. Swedish students from Österlen Folk High School have been doing fieldwork and participating in seminars and other activities at Loyola.

Dr. M.U. George, the director of Loyola College, had arranged a meeting for us with several faculty members: Drs. Anney Philip (Research Coordinator), Usha John (Head of the Department of Social Work), Pious Vachaparambil (Director of Loyola Extension), and S.P. Thomas.

Loyola College was founded in 1963. It includes a graduate school that presently has approximately 120 M.S. and 30 Ph.D. students. The college offers courses in Sociology, Social Work, and Personnel Management. Their main divisions are the Research Centre, the Extension Service for Applied Research, Women’s Study Centre, the Family Council Centre, and the Adoption Centre. Dr. George was proud to tell us that in 2001 the College was accredited at the five star level by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council of the University Grants Commission (UCG). Loyola College is run by Jesuits, but we were informed that more than many of the faculty members and over half of the students are non-Christian.

When we asked if religious values were reflected at the College, Dr. George told us that their admissions policy includes a large quota for underprivileged and disabled students. He told us that humanitarian principles were their main Christian value. He also pointed noted that those who wished could participate in Muslim prayers on Fridays.

Students in the well-equipped library.

Loyola College has several projects that belong to what they call Loyola Extension Service. This is a resource centre that aims to go beyond the “ivory tower” and integrate theory and practice.

The research projects currently underway include Disability in India, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, Health and Care, and Women’s Empowerment. Loyola College often collaborates with CDS in these projects.

The group with whom we met were very interested in learning more about SASNET. Their experience in collaborating with other countries ranged from a project on “Women, Waste, and Sanitation” with the Netherlands to a research project with Louisiana State University on Scientific Communication. Every year Loyola College receives approximately 20 Masters students from Cleveland University for one month. At present the College is involved in an International Conference on “Life Long Learning” with The University of Nijmegen, the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education, and the American Association of Community Colleges. There was great interest in increased collaboration with other countries, both with regard to research and student exchanges.

Strolling around the beautiful campus, we were quite impressed by how modern and well-planned it is. Students at the college all live in single rooms. Loyola College has wireless internet connection, a computerized library, a computer lab for students, and a modern guest house. The atmosphere was lively, as male and female students circulated about the campus and lots of activities seemed to be going on. We left feeling that Loyola College would be a good place for Swedish students of social work to collaborate with or visit.