32 school girls complete IIT Delhi’s second batch of STEM mentorship programme

NEW DELHI: A total of 32 high school girls completed the second batch of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi’s STEM mentorship programme. The Office of Academic Outreach and New Initiatives at the institute held a felicitation ceremony for the student participants on November 30 to recognize their dedication.

The second batch of the programme was launched to mark the 8th International Day for Women and Girls in Science and was held in two phases. The first phase was held over the weekends in March and April wherein the selected students from schools in Delhi-NCR were given exposure to IIT Delhi research facilities.

In the second phase, a week-long STEM workshop was organised in May wherein the participants were provided knowledge by IIT Delhi faculty members and research scholars from various academic units on different emerging areas. In this phase, the students also got hands-on experience in various labs.

While speaking about the programme, professor Subodh V Sharma, associate dean, academic outreach and new initiatives, IIT Delhi, said, “The STEM Mentorship Program for high school girls underscores our commitment to empowering young female minds in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The program has made substantial progress, with around 20 impressive lectures delivered between the years 2021 and 2023”.

Describing her mentorship program experience, one of the student participants, Serena, Modern School, said, “The STEM Mentorship Program helped me gain knowledge about diverse science subjects. I learned about the workings of the drones and their composition. As a science student, I was able to explore the world of science, which has certainly motivated me to think of core science as a career option”.

Another student, Akanksha from Kendriya Vidyalaya, said, “During the mentorship program, I learned about how maths, physics, and chemistry can be more interesting than our imagination. I witnessed IIT Delhi students working to develop solutions to daily life problems. I wish more and more girls would join the science stream and contribute to the country's development”.