Smriti Irani got a certificate from Yale with a six-day course. 10 interesting short courses that could get you a prestigious certificate from Yale and MIT too!

The controversies about Smriti Irani's educational qualifications don't seem to end. While we were still debating whether HRD Minister Smriti Irani is even a graduate, the news of her Yale certificate came as a surprise to many. The minister announced how the Yale University 'celebrated her leadership capacities' at an event. The HRD Ministry later clarified that she had participated in a six-day long leadership course that resulted in her getting a certificate for the programme.

Twitter has been abuzz with jokes about #CelebDegrees ever since news of Smriti Irani's Yale accomplishment broke out. But seriously, a number of top universities in the world really offer these special short courses that are 2 to 4 days or at times even a month long. Yes, you get recognition for these courses too! From Hollywood to political science, drama to arts, there is a course for everything at foreign universities. We found these 10 interesting contemporary courses from the prestigious MIT and Yale University that were up for grabs during the summer months.

Women in the Western World: Yale University
Introduction to the roles of women in ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Aegean society, as reflected in painting, sculpture, and decorative arts, as well as in the earliest known writings of women. 1 Credit. Tuition $3,450. Session A: June 2 - July 4

Money and Media: the Business of Hollywood: Yale University
An examination of the key events and ideas that shape the modern motion picture business from financial, institutional, and historical standpoints. Topics include ways that the business has evolved in response to changes in technology, distribution, and competition; how the business dictates what ends up on screen; and relationships among studios, actors, agents, independent filmmakers, distributors, and the viewing audience. Industry practitioners discuss special topics. 1 Credit. Tuition $3,450. Session B: July 7 - August 8.

The Blockbuster and the Bomb: Yale University
Exploration of the contemporary Hollywood film industry. Introduction to the close analysis of film sequences. Central components of a Hollywood production, such as script, director, star, and genre. Aspects of the industry, including production, distribution, and exhibition. Ingredients of blockbuster success; why some films fail catastrophically. Case studies pair current films with historical ones. Includes two screenings per week. 1 Credit. Tuition $3,450. Session A: June 2 - July 4.

Introduction to Human Rights Theory and Practice: Yale University
Introduction to the international human rights regime. Analysis of tools used by actors to promote human rights in the international system. Origins of the regime and contested notions of human rights. Issues include genocide, torture, and the rights of women, children, and sexual minorities. 1 Credit. Tuition $3,450. Session A: June 2 - July 4.

Leadership Skills for Engineering and Science Faculty: MIT
This course focuses on human-centered strategies for leading effective teams in technical academic environments. Through a series of interactive role-playing activities, self-assessment instruments, and group discussions, you will develop a repertoire of techniques for addressing issues that commonly arise within engineering research groups and teaching staff.
July 7-8, 2014 | $1,600 | 1.4 CEUs

Social TV: Content, Communication, and Communities: MIT
This course addresses the creation and delivery of next generation TV content and focuses on how television encourages communications and creates communities of people and devices. The course content includes novel display technology, the device ecosystem and its associated network infrastructure and, of course, content production and community creation around the content. We place particular emphasis on television in a social context and at the center of the convergence of technology, entertainment, and visual communications. Participants will explore the material via lectures, discussions, and a short group project.
July 14-18, 2014 | $3,500 | 3.0 CEUs

Sex and Gender in Society: Yale University
A sociological approach to the study of sex and gender, focusing on how these categories are socially constructed, and how and why they matter for individuals and societies. Topics include the relationship between sex and gender; sex/gender difference and competing explanations for sexual inequalities; gender and work; sex and sexuality in society; masculinity, gender, and sports; and the intersection of gender with other social categories such as race/ethnicity and class. The readings cover various stages of the life course and examine how sex and gender shape individual experiences and produce social inequalities. They address children's upbringing, educational experiences, experiences in various workplaces, parenting, and health and reproduction. 1 Credit. Tuition $3,450. Session A: June 2 - July 4.

Social Data and Networks: MIT
Networks are ubiquitous in the modern era, be they social media networks such as Facebook, transportation networks formed by aerial or ground routes, political networks observed through blogs and opinions, energy dispatch networks formed between end-users and generators, or meta-networks observed in ‘interdependent’ data such as World Wide Web or biological protein interaction. We know a great deal about these networks, as all things online are recorded, cheap sensors of all sorts are providing a wealth of information about operations, and experiments can be performed at a massive scale. Understanding and utilizing such networks can help tremendously in making better societal decisions regarding public policies, business operations, financial market regulations, and utility network operations. In this course, we provide an in-depth, state-of-the-art analytic view toward making use of these networks a reality. The course will be about concepts and fundamentals accompanied by appropriate case-studies.
July 7-8, 2014 | $1,800 | 1.4 CEUs

Crisis Management and Business Continuity: MIT
With an effective combination of lecture, case studies, and class interaction, this course provides attendees with the tools and knowledge to benchmark, assess, and improve their business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management programs. Also included are subject-matter-expert assessments of current issues including terrorism, pandemic, cyber security, and crisis communications.
August 4-8, 2014 | $3,200 | 3.2 CEUs

Architecting the Future Enterprise
The course is designed for visionary leaders responsible for creating a "blueprint" for the future enterprise. Students apply a holistic framework to conceive of alternative enterprise concepts, and perform "future-proofing" to evaluate fitness of architectures for alternative futures. Learning is reinforced by real-world case studies, exercises, and guided discussions.
TBD 2015 | $2,500 | 1.7 CEUs