OpenTakshashila Courses

OpenTakshashila (www.opentakshashila.net), a global and open online platform for public policy discourse and learning. Takshashila is not responsible for the content of the courses. These are conducted independently by the course creators.

A certificate will be given to those who successfully complete the evaluation criteria. Explore our courses below!

Effecting Change: Transforming Women's Sport in India

3 week online course
April 12- April 26, 2025

An interactive online course that focuses on the evolution of Women's sport in India. It provides a look at how women's sports in India is emerging as a game changer, transforming the social-economic landscape of the country's sports ecosystem.

This course is for anyone who is interested in sports and wants to understand the nuts and bolts of India's sports ecosystem, especially the role of women's sports in it. From a look at India's sports policy journey to listening from experts and former players on how we can improve the governance, involve the markets and transform society from being mere onlookers to enablers of change. This course is an attempt for us to rethink the importance of sports at all levels: cultural, economics and well-being.

Programme Schedule

  • Duration: 3 weeks (12 April- 26 April 2025)

  • Deadline for Applications & Payment: 10th April 2025

  • Format: Online

  • Schedule: 

    • Two webinars (9pm-10:15pm and 10:30pm-11:45pm) and guest talks every Saturday (12pm to 1pm)

    • One guest talk on Wednesday (7pm to 8pm)

Entry Requirements

Open to anyone, above 16 years, who wants to change the status-quo of sports in India.

Admissions Process

It's simple! The Academic Committee will review the application and understand the reason you would like to take up this course. You will then receive an acceptance email with the payment link. On paying, you will be onboarded to the program and get access to the course material.

Fee Structure

Standard: The full course is ₹4500 + GST.

Fees, once paid, are non-refundable.

Curriculum

Week 1:

Module 1: Course overview and Evolution of Women’s Sport in India

Module 2: Shaping the Game: Policy, Economics, and Market Forces

Week 2:

Module 3: Sports @ the grassroots: Challenges and Opportunities

Module 4: Socio-Cultural Barriers to Women’s Sports Participation

Week 3:

Module 5: The Information Ecosystem

Module 6: The Way Forward

Faculty

ADITI MUTATKAR

Aditi is a former international Badminton player and has represented India in all major events, including Asian Games, Commonwealth Games,  and World Championships. She is a Commonwealth Games silver medalist and was ranked 27 in the world in the year 2008 in women's singles. Aditi is currently heading the 'Athlete and Women in Sports' initiative at the Simply Sport Foundation and is also part of the founding team. Within the 3 years of the organization's journey, it has impacted more than 5000 athletes and coaches through its programs.

Under her leadership, Simply Sport released a pilot study in sports that focuses on understanding the barriers that women face to enter the sports ecosystem, titled the 'Breaking Barriers for Women in Sports'. Additionally, Aditi also won the 'Tarun Tejankit Award' conferred by the Indian Express Group for her work in raising awareness on menstruation in sports through SSF's pioneering initiative- Simply Periods.

MALATHI RENATI

Malathi heads the policy school at the Takshashila Institution and is a project management professional with diverse experience across the IT corporate and development sector. She is a software engineer with a couple of Masters degrees, MCA from Mysore University and M.Eng from Concordia University, Montreal. 

She is a former Karnataka player (hockey & baseball), and extensively participated & led multiple sports teams (softball, table tennis, cricket, throwball, short and long-distance running) in school, club, college & at the university level. She’s also passionate about animal welfare, sustainable practices, and photography. She co-taught a capsule course titled "Building a Sporting Nation" with Nandan Kamath in 2024. When she’s not coaching sports at the local school and in the community, she teaches Project Management and mentors youth in this life skill. She occasionally writes (Project Management Simplified newsletter, MyChronicles) and podcasts.

Meet the Speakers

  • Chaitanya Sridhar

    Sports and Depth Psychologist

  • Deepthi Bopaiah

    CEO of the GoSports Foundation

  • Gaurav Chaudhary

    General Manager at IOS Sports & Entertainment

  • Mana Mandlekar

    CEO of Tinka Samajik Sansth

  • Nandan Kamath

    Co-founder of GoSports and Sports and Society Accelerator

  • Neha Aggarwal

    CPO at Olympic Gold Quest

  • G Rajaraman

    Journalist • Sports communication professional

  • Rajesh Rajagopalan

    CEO of Dani Sports Foundation

  • Sharda Ugra

    Author • Columnist

  • Snehal Pradhan

    Manager- Women's Cricket with ICC • Youtuber

  • Tanvi Lad

    Head of Marketing at World Tennis League

  • Vaidehi Vaidya

    Founder & Managing Director- Women in Sport India

  • Vijay Krishnamurthy

    Author • Sports Researcher • Executive Coach

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Not at all, it's open to all genders and encourages intellectual and healthy discussions on how we can together bring in change to Women's sport in India.

  • The course combines synchronous and asynchronous learning through live online lectures, case studies and guest speaker sessions. During the rest of the week, the hosting platform facilitates offline discussions with follow cohort-mates and faculty.

  • No, the course is designed for anyone interested in understanding and contributing to the development of women's sports in India. Whether you're a sports professional, educator, policy maker, or passionate about sports and gender equality, you're welcome to join.

  • The course runs over 3 weeks with two 90-minute sessions and a guest speaker talk every Saturday (9:00 AM - 1:00 PM), plus one weekday guest session every Wednesday (7:00 - 8:00 PM). Total contact hours are approximately 18 hours.

  • While we encourage live attendance for maximum interaction, recordings will be made available for participants who miss a session due to unavoidable circumstances. However, we recommend attending at least 75% of the live sessions for the best learning experience.

  • No there will be none. However, those who want to be intellectually stimulated can opt for optional exercises and case study discussions that will be offered on the OpenTakshashila platform

  • While the course is co-curated by Aditi Mutatkar and Malathi Renati, both former athletes and who have experience in their respective fields. It is also complimented by an extensive list of guest speakers. You can browse the list above

  • The inaugural course has a nominal introductory fee of INR 4500 + 18% GST

  • None

  • The applications close by 10th April and the course will commence on 12th April, 2025.

  • Yes, it will be kept open for a limited time. However, it is always recommended to save material as the course progresses.