Vaishali Kotecha

Background

About Vaishali Kotecha

I hold Master's degree in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative English from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India. For two years during my under graduation studies, I volunteered with a national level NGO in India called Make A Difference, which works to ensure better outcomes for children in orphanages and street shelters. Post my graduation, I went on to work with the Indian chapter of the international network organization, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD), as a Programme Officer for just under two years. With the diverse perspectives and insights gained from my brief stint in LEAD India, I felt the need for learning about and gaining in-depth knowledge of the Development sector. I, therefore, went on to pursue a Master's degree in Development Studies the Graduate Institute, Geneva, with a focus on mobilities, spaces, and cities and minoring in environment, sustainability and natural resources. I finished my Master's dissertation titled -"India: Education and Skills Development", where the aim was to understand the vocational education and training (VET) subsector within the Indian education system and how it can be a useful tool to address the issues of poverty and unemployment in the country. My primary area of interest is alternative education, and how it can be mainstreamed. I am keen on working with community-based, on-ground initiatives that help understand the grassroots better, to be able to have a bottom-up approach to resolving issues. I also have a keen interest in learning about alternative livelihoods development in the rural and vulnerable areas in India.