In the mornings, the Course members grouped in what is called as Integrated Analysis Group (IAG) in their respective rooms to discuss/take stock of the progress of analysis work that is assigned to the IAGs. The IAG Chairpersons and Coordinating Chairpersons also carry out co-ordination of various activities scheduled for the day.
The guest speaker arrives 25 minutes prior to the scheduled time and is received by the Commandant/ SDS i/c study, who discuss together the main issues likely to come up during the presentation/lecture.
The College has an exhaustive list of visiting Faculty of Domain experts and eminent persons from all spheres related to National and International Security issues. Lectures/Presentations/Panel discussions by the visiting Faculty, foam the most important part of training at the College.
Lectures Lectures by the visiting Faculties are organised on topics related to National Security and Strategic Studies and are focused on issues identified for discussions during the ongoing study. The lectures are of one-hour duration followed by a detailed Question & Answer session, with a short tea/coffee break in between. The Course Members also have free interaction with the visitor at the working lunch and coffee break.
Panel Discussions On issues involving many viewpoints, the College invites Faculty for a panel discussion by two/three experts. One of the panellist's moderates the discussion followed by Question & Answer.
Opportunity Talks Opportunity talks by visiting dignitaries/ distinguished personalities from within the country or from abroad are often organised at the College to expose the Course Members to their views. Visiting heads of States, senior military officials and ministers from foreign countries usually come in this category of talks. Question & Answer session and free interaction are also encouraged during opportunity tasks.
The Course Members, Faculty and Staff along with the guest speaker all proceed for lunch in the College Mess.
In case of a talk scheduled in the Post lunch session, the talk commences at 1430h followed by the Q&A session. If no talks are scheduled in the afternoon session, the Course Members after lunch have time to visit the library or Adm office.
Individual Work In addition to work undertaken, as part of IAGs, each Course Member is required to carry out the following individual work:-
(a) Thesis Writing Each Course Member is required to write a thesis, of length not exceeding 10,000 words, on any topic related to National Security. The topics suggested by the College are based on the inputs received from various government departments/ministries and service HQs to whom the relevant thesis are forwarded at the end of the Course.
(b) Country Presentation(Only for foreign course members). The focus of the presentation is on history, geography, political set up, industries, economy, defence and relations with India.
On some of the days, IAGs have their meetings that are either open discussions or with a guest speaker/subject matter expert invited for interaction. Alternatively, the IAGs may visit the Ministry or department concerned or any of the local think tanks for interaction.
A day at NDC is so planned to ensure maximum utilization of the time and resources available in regard to achieving academic excellence and take care of administrative requirements and social commitments, to enrich the overall experience of the course members at NDC.
