Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
For the past 12 years, Prasad Sundararajan has worked as a Program Management Consultant developing digital products and services for a range of financial and technology companies. Today, much of his work involves dealing with government regulations, compliance issues and other initiatives such as privacy and ethics. As a result, Prasad saw the need to expand his public policy knowledge, vocabulary and problem-solving capabilities. That’s when he discovered the Public Leadership Credential (PLC) program at Harvard.
“I was looking for a way to gain both theoretical and practical skills in public policy and leadership to solidify my grounding in areas that were becoming increasingly important for my work. That is what led me to the PLC.”
While originally planning to take just one or two courses, Prasad was motivated to complete all six courses, plus the capstone, to enhance his professional career as well as to better himself personally for public service in the community.
And did the curriculum deliver? “Absolutely! The course content very much brought the signature Harvard Kennedy School pedagogy to the online learning environment. The live interactive sessions with the PLC faculty were excellent, as were the interviews with other HKS faculty members who had an expertise in a particular subject area. Their knowledge and insight were very valuable takeaways for me. The different backgrounds and perspectives my fellow learners brought to the program were also highlights, giving me access to a network of change agents from around the world.”
Designed and directed by Harvard Kenney School faculty, the PLC was created to help mid-career professionals like Prasad gain the skills necessary to immediately become more effective leaders and tackle some of today’s biggest public challenges.
“Even as I was taking my courses, I was able to apply the tools and frameworks I was learning in real time to a project I was working on for a large global financial institution. And I know I will continue to apply them to the digital transformation initiatives I lead in the future, as well as to my aerospace research publications focused on space system design and management.”
What’s next on the horizon for Prasad? Earning a Harvard Extension School master’s degree in the field of government via the PLC pathway.
“My PLC experience was so positive, so enjoyable and transformative, it rekindled my love of learning and my desire to become a changemaker for good.”