The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IIT-GN) has collaborated with Dakshana, a not-for-profit organisation, and Ruyintan Mehta who is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, to launch “IITGN–Dakshana Leadership Programme”.
The initiative is undertaken to prepare 100 academically distinguished students who fall in the economically underprivileged category, especially from rural India, in vital skills of leadership, critical thinking, and communication.
The training programme is scheduled to take place from September 1 to 30, 2022.
The 100 Dakshana scholars will be hosted by the first edition of the IITGN Dakshana Leadership Programme, who will be carefully selected from their Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad branches respectively. Furthermore, these students are expected to receive training from renowned mentors based in India and abroad. Additionally, the students will also visit Sabarmati Ashram, Adalaj stepwell, and other heritage sites of Ahmedabad.
The students hail from the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and other government schools throughout India. The selection criteria for this programme featured intensive coaching based on their academic record and result in classes 10 and 12 along with Dakshana’s proprietary testing. However, the annual income of their parents/guardians is estimated to be below Rs 2 lakh.
Dakshana helps bright and impoverished students coming from rural India to prepare for IIT and medical entrance exams through rigorous coaching for up to 2 years. Additionally, the IITGN Dakshana Leadership Programme strives to prepare students with these skills and knowledge, especially in the IIT environment so that they can reach their full potential.