This year the course activities besides the writing assignments, included workshop and roundtable assignments, group discussions, field visit, creative sessions, review discussions, and face-to-face sessions with resource persons experienced in related areas and with refugees living in camps. The course also included a one-and-half day media workshop and public lectures with participants from other sectors of social life, film and documentary sessions.  

Duration and Activities 

The course was of three (3) months duration with two and half months duration of distance education, communication on related issues of displacement studies, course assignments by participants and fifteen days of direct course work in the form of a winter workshop. Upon the participants being selected, course material was sent to them in a phased manner. Short introductory note on each module was sent to the participants; along with these notes, lists, bibliographies, and other announcements were also sent. The reading materials were sent to the participants in three phases.  For review assignments and term papers, lead questions and discussion points were sent at regular intervals. Each module had a tutor and a number of faculty members. On the basis of the modules chosen by them the participants were encouraged to contact the faculty persons for necessary advice and inputs. Chat sessions were organised so that participants could discuss their assignments with module tutors.

Participants were required to prepare an assignment paper each and bring the papers with them for the workshops where the papers were discussed. These papers were first read and commented upon by the module tutors and then made available for wider circulation and discussion in the CRG website. The participants were also given assignments termed as creative assignment so that the period of three months could also be used for training in communication aspects of humanitarian and human rights work, and other practical aspects such as providing the participants with information and documentation skills, preparing local data base, campaign for fund-raising for human rights and humanitarian efforts, and report writing. Creative assignments were made a mandatory part of the course since 2006 and their results were varied and rich. Participation in the field visit to Malda was also compulsory. 

The preparation of course material was of great significance. The course material included mandatory, optional and supplementary materials. The mandatory materials included a number of books, essays and web-based materials. Supplementary materials including one CRG publication on erosion-affected people of Malda for fieldwork were handed to them when they arrived in Kolkata. Three weeks before the participants arrived in Kolkata they were given workshop themes. Each of them was required to participate in one of the workshops. Participants were graded on all these assignments and on the valedictory day these grades were handed to them.