Teaching reviews and awards

Columbia University (School of International and Public Affairs) student reviews

• Great class! I learned a lot about the nuances of the subject matter and how to think through digital development from different lenses. One “even better if” I would love to see are more case studies where the digital application had relative success, even if monitoring and evaluation piece is ongoing. I think students would be interested in not only seeing where digital innovation can overlook certain aspects of development, but also what best practices are out there.
• My favorite course so far! Excellent coverage of all topics relevant in the field of digital development. Each class the professor presents relevant employer organizations in the respective digital development field. Very interesting critical discussions in each session, especially around what happens “after access” (to new technologies) while consistently applying a gender lens. This course is relevant to any development professional and I can only recommend it!
• Course was organized well and flowed well. Also very practical thinking given real life examples.
• Really enjoyed having guest speakers with different scopes and appreciated Savita’s proactive approach towards finding engaging and relevant speakers.
• Professor Savita Bailur is the best professor at SIPA– Columbia University is incredibly lucky to have her! Professor Bailur is a digital development practitioner. She is very well-respected in the field too, proven by the amount of great speakers she brought into our weekly class. A discussion-heavy class, I enjoyed that our class was able to critique and debate about a different topic in digital development every week. Most importantly, Professor Bailur asked us to think critically about those who get excluded from digital development in each of our discussions.

London School of Economics student reviews

Below is feedback from students who nominated me for Teaching Awards in previous years:

“Savita uses new media and real life examples to illustrate technology’s influence on society.”

“She actively seeks out student feedback and changes course content and design through the year to make it suit the learning needs of the students she teaches.”

“She is friendly and relaxed with students, so people do not hesitate asking for help when needed. We feel respect for her because that is how she always treats us.”

“She knows how to involve everyone in the class – she actively makes sure that everyone gets an opportunity to speak, and no-one is left behind.”