Student Profile: Avantika Thakur MPA-DP ’21

MPA-DP student Avantika Thakur hails from the state of Himachal Pradesh in India and wants to work in education to empower both children and communities. "If you have clarity about the sector you want to work in or the skills that you want to develop, I think the [MPA-DP] program can be used as a great opportunity to steer your career and your learning. The world today needs people who can take ideas which look great on paper and actually bring them to life by implementing them. People who have that practitioner lens and who can understand the challenges you might face while trying to scale or implement something. And I think the DP program is a great opportunity to be able to equip yourself with those skills." www.sipa.columbia.edu/academics/programs/mpa-devel…