Inside India’s Two Most Prestigious Social Work Institutions: What TISS and Nirmala Niketan Taught Parul University Students About Fieldwork, Crisis Response, Special Cells for Women, and Why Social Work Is Not a Career but a Calling

TISS and Nirmala Niketan are not just colleges. They are the institutions that defined what social work education means in India. TISS, founded in 1936, is one of Asia’s oldest social work institutions. Nirmala Niketan, founded in 1955, has been the template for community-engaged social work education for seven decades. When MSW students search for the best social work institutions in India, these two names appear at the top. Parul University students visited both on the same day.

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences operates from a sprawling campus in Deonar, Mumbai. NAAC A++ accreditation. Global collaborations with 120+ countries. The School of Social Work, led by Dean Prof Bipin Jojo, is one of the most respected in the country.

Sohati Parmar’s review on Day 2, Mumbai Tour

TISS does not just teach social work. It operates Field Action Projects that directly serve vulnerable communities:

• Koshish: humanising custodial institutions and working with homeless populations. This is not a classroom case study. It is an ongoing operation serving people who have no other institutional support
• Prayas: rehabilitation and justice for vulnerable groups within the criminal justice system. Students and faculty work with people who are incarcerated, recently released, or at risk
• Tarasha: supporting women with mental health disorders in their reintegration into society. The project addresses the intersection of gender, mental health, and social exclusion
• Pragati: rural health and development among tribal communities. The project operates in areas where formal healthcare systems do not reach

Ankita Bhatt’s review on Day 1, Mumbai Tour

Providing legal aid, counselling, and emotional support to women facing violence, Dr Trupti Jhaveri Panchal, who has dedicated over 36 years to working with women and tribal communities, explained how the model works.

In 2007, the Resource Centre expanded the Special Cell model across states through region-specific interventions.

Dr Panchal shared her journey working with sex workers and their children in Madhya Pradesh, setting up counselling rooms in police stations across Gujarat, and building interventions for the Bedia community.

Her message was direct: keep working, one year, two years, four years. Stick to the work no matter what.

“Social work is not just a profession. It is a responsibility to stand by those who need a voice.”

Dean Jojo’s philosophy was concise: you have five fingers, use all of them. You are young, learn, explore, try everything. Social work education is not about choosing one path too early. It is about stretching yourself across many experiences. Growth as a social worker begins when you balance knowledge with lived experience.

Shilp Burman’s review on MSW tour

Founded in 1955 by the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, Nirmala Niketan holds NAAC A grade with Empowered Autonomous status. It runs BSW, MSW, PhD, and certificate and diploma programmes. Dr Lidwin Dias joined in 2001 and has since worked on rural development, disability, youth, and women’s rights.

Sejal Singh’s Review

Fieldwork here isn’t a semester requirement. That’s the whole point. Students go into slums, villages, tribal belts – they sit with people, figure out what’s going on, and try to help. Nothing prepares you for that fully. That’s the idea. Inspired already? Start by enrolling into Parul University’s BSW Program!

• Pravaas – elderly people in urban slums; loneliness, healthcare, dignity
• Spandan – malnutrition in tribal mothers and children
• Saksham SSR – HIV and TB work across Maharashtra
• Anubhav – youth engagement through street plays, songs, films, posters, dance
• Nirmiti – social entrepreneurship for students and rural communities

Bhopal. Latur. Mumbai 2008. Bihar floods.

Nirmala Niketan didn’t just study these events, its people were there. That history lives in the institution, not just in books.

Dr Dias quoted Gandhi and meant it: be the change. She said social work has to be a passion, not just a profession. Prof Albin Thomas reminded students, this work is never about one person. It’s always the community, always collective.

Ishan Kashiv asked whether social justice is even possible today, with the world turning more self-absorbed by the day. Dr Dias didn’t brush it off. She said: believe first that change is possible. It’s slow. It’s step by step. But it happens.

Rashi Verma’s experience on Mumbai Tour

• Social work is not service delivery. It is responding to human suffering with structure, empathy, and persistence. TISS has been doing this for 86 years. Nirmala Niketan for 70.
• MSW at Parul University is designed for the students who are passionate about creating a career in social work.
• Fieldwork is not an academic requirement. It is the soul of the profession. Both institutions build their entire pedagogy around community immersion
• Crisis response is part of the job. Social workers were present at Bhopal, Latur, Mumbai, and Bihar.
• The work is collective. Prof Thomas at Nirmala Niketan: the role of a social worker is never individualistic. Prof Jojo at TISS: learn, meet, experience. Both institutions emphasise that social work is built through relationships, not individual heroism

 The energy of students during the tour was truly inspiring. Read ahead the raw and real experiences of students, who shared it on LinkedIn.

Amaya Raj on how Teach For India inspired her!

Ishan Kashiv on meeting Shaheen Mistri, Mumbai Tour

Yash Ladva on her experience with Make-A-Wish-India, Mumbai Tour