IITGN to hone communication skills of students from humble backgrounds

About 70 IIT and engineering aspirants from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and other government schools from across the country have come to IITGN for the month-long residential programme.

The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) kickstarted the second edition of the ‘IITGN-Dakshana Leadership Programme’ for about 70 students from the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and other government schools from 16 Indian states. 

These students have been selected from Pune, Bundi, Kottayam, and Lucknow centres of the Dakshana Foundation based on their performance in IIT-JEE preparation at Dakshana. The annual income of these students’ parents/guardians is less than INR 2 lakh. This year’s cohort also includes 10 students who are already studying at various institutes of national importance with the Foundation for Excellence (FFE)’s scholarships. 

Over the next one month, these students from across India, who have showcased outstanding academic abilities despite the weak financial condition of their families, will be trained in an IIT environment to help them reach their full potential. 

The communication skills module will hone their English language and communication skills to build their confidence while speaking. The leadership module, integrated with “Finding a Leader in You” (FLY) programme, aims to make students aware of their strengths and work on their weaknesses to become confident leaders.  

The course will introduce students to concepts of ethics, perseverance, teamwork, and time management. The critical thinking module will encourage students to ask critical questions about existing theories, principles, and possibilities and engage with thought experiments. All these sessions will be conducted by some of the best mentors from the Competitive Mindset Institute (CMI) and IIT Gandhinagar. 

Apart from the core modules, the programme will also immerse students in various extracurricular activities such as arts, dance, sports, swimming, yoga, learning science and mathematics concepts through DIY toys with the Centre for Creative Learning at IITGN, and visit to the Sabarmati Ashram. 

Dakshana, a not-for-profit organisation, helps bright and economically disadvantaged students, predominantly from rural India, to prepare for IIT and medical entrance exams through intensive coaching for 1-2 years. However, there was also a need to build their soft skills, such as leadership, critical thinking, and communication, to add more value to their talent. 

To fill this gap, IITGN joined hands with Dakshana and Ruyintan Mehta, a serial entrepreneur and philanthropist, to start a month-long “IITGN-Dakshana Leadership Programme” last year to train academically outstanding but economically underprivileged students. The IITGN-Dakshana leadership programme aims to equip students with these skills and knowledge in an IIT environment to help them reach their full potential.  

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