Independent BHU Study Finds Students Rate FLY Among Their Most Valued Leadership Workshops

A recent peer-reviewed study from Banaras Hindu University offers an independent look at what leadership training actually lands with students — and FLY (Finding the Leader in You) came up as one of the workshops students chose to talk about, unprompted.

Published in the Indian Journal of Extension Education (Vol. 62, No. 4, 2026), the study interviewed 48 female students at Mahila Mahavidyalaya, BHU, about their experience with the university's Leadership and Life Skills Development Initiative. Researchers used in-depth interviews and thematic analysis — not a CMI-designed survey — to understand how students made sense of these programs in their own words.

Among the workshop types students described, several spoke specifically about FLY:

"I preferred FLY, because it was very practical… we had one-to-one interaction with professors and included interesting games, which made it more engaging and effective."

"I chose the FLY workshop because it improves personality and skills. I lacked confidence, and FLY helped me build it."

Students also connected the program to specific outcomes the study's authors coded separately — initiative-taking, confidence, and decision-making among them. One participant referenced the program's "five pillars" directly when describing what she took away from it.

The study's broader theme — that structured, interactive life-skills initiatives measurably shape students' confidence and readiness — echoes what we hear from FLY cohorts across our other partner institutions as well. It's a useful outside data point: when researchers with no connection to CMI go looking for what stayed with students, FLY is part of the answer.

Read the full study → Vatta, L., Bano, S., Rai, P., Jaiswal, J., & Panwar, S. (2026). Exploring Transformative Dimensions of Leadership and Life Skills Initiatives among Female Students in Higher Education Institution: A Qualitative Inquiry. Indian Journal of Extension Education, 62(4), 24–31. https://doi.org/10.48165/IJEE.2026.62404