IIT Delhi holds leadership in STEMM workshop for PhD scholars from SC, ST communities

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi hosted the second ‘Transformative Leadership in STEMM (TLS) Workshop’ for PhD students from SC and ST communities. The TLS workshop was held aiming to encourage students to apply for faculty positions at institutions such as IITs, NITs, and other institutes.

The TLS workshop was hosted at IIT Delhi from January 28 to 30, 2025. The three-day workshop focused on STEMM-related fields. The workshop was attended by the selected participants from the previous batch of the TLS workshop.

The TLS workshop is jointly organized by an initiative for caste equity (ICE), the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (ODI), and the SC, ST Cell at IIT Delhi.

As per the IIT Delhi’s statement, due to the large number of applications, the competition was high this year. A scientific advisory committee chaired by Narayanan Kurur the dean of academics at IIT Delhi, with HoDs and faculty, selected a cohort of 50 students from various institutions across the country, including 10 select candidates from last year’s batch for continuous mentoring.

“The goal of this unique step by IIT Delhi is to address the underrepresentation of the SC, ST community in the scientific domain, particularly in the faculty positions.” the IIT Delhi statement adds.

IIT Delhi’s 2nd TLS workshop

The TLS workshop activities were focused on various aspects that distinguish faculty at premier institutions including high-quality research and teaching; scientific and professional skills; and interface with industry and society through incubation and commercialization initiatives.

The workshop participants presented their ongoing research, gave teaching demonstrations, and received feedback from the faculty members. Participants also engaged in an incubation-based group activity led by the I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC) over the three-days event.

The highlight of the event included a banquet dinner for the TLS participants and other members chaired by Ramdas Athawale, the union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, the government of India.

“Various skill-building sessions were conducted in the workshop to delve into specific aspects of the faculty application process. A key focus of the workshop was on the confidence building of the participants. Sonajharia Minz and DK Lobiyal from the computer science department at JNU, delivered a session on strategies for protecting one’s self-respect and enhancing one’s confidence in a challenging environment. In another session, Divya Dwivedi from IIT Delhi, highlighted nuanced aspects of social and cultural capital required to successfully engage in academic interaction and to overcome English language barriers.” the IIT Delhi statement added.