School of Arts
Kathmandu University-Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies (KU-NCCS)
he KU-NCCS is a research institute under Kathmandu University School of Arts (KUSoA). It is an entity brought under the umbrella of Kathmandu University by 594th meeting of Executive Council (EC) held on February 16, 2020. Nepal Centre for Contemporary Studies (NCCS), a Kathmandu-based think tank established in 1995 was working on research and publication in contemporary socio-economic and political issues of South Asia. With an objective to initiate and strengthen research-based social science knowledge, the NCCS will now entirely be a part of KUSoA as per the understanding between its founders and the university.
NCCS, in a relatively short span of time had established itself not only as an institution contributing to human resource development in social science research but also as an influential think tank providing policy inputs to state’s organizations through a a wide network at local, national and regional (South Asia) levels. Its activities included residential workshops, networking, policy dialogues, publications, and training to young social scientists. It provided training to 196 scholars out of which approximately half of them were female representing different parts of the country. The trained youths were provided with opportunities in developing project management skills, upgrading their academic and enhancing professional careers including a number of them awarded with Ph.D. degrees from different universities. Residential workshop programme had its spill over impacts on building and expanding NCCS’s network at local, national and regional levels. Altogether 440 distinguished personalities, including 44 foreign scholars from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, participated in the last 11 workshops as resource persons. Those who contributed as resource persons from Nepal were not only academics and scholars but also Prime Ministers, political leaders, parliamentarians, torch-bearers of ethnic movements and members of civil society. Dialogue with members of the Constituent Assembly (2008-2015) was an example on how the NCCS proved inputs during the constitution drafting process of Nepal. Besides, there were programmes of local dialogues, national and international seminars through which the Centre engaged the people of different walks of life– on issues of national and geo-political importance. With a record of its publication of 15 books, 30 issues of its Nepali Journal of Contemporary Studies (biannual), and 44 Occasional Papers (quarterly), the Centre was proud of its role and contribution in setting the agendas of restructuring the Nepali state and in strengthening democracy. University is committed to uphold the legacy of the NCCS even after taken over by KUSoA.
KU-NCCS Team
EC of Kathmandu University by its 636th meeting held on September 10, 2021 formed a-three-member Management Committee to establish the centre at KUSoA and enacted a KU-NCCS guidelines to be followed by the centre for its smooth operation.
Contact
KU-Center for Contemporary Studies (KU-NCCS)
School of Arts, Kathmandu University
Hattiban, Lalitpur, P.B. No. 6250,
Phone: 0977-1-5251294, 0977-1-5251306,
Email: nccs@ku.edu.np