120 government school girls take part in IIT Delhi's STEM mentorship programme

The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) organised the 5th edition of the “Manasvi: STEM Mentorship Programme for High School Girls” today. About 120 girl students from Classes 9 to 10 of government schools across Delhi-NCR took part in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programme.

The engineering institute hosted the Manasvi STEM programme to inspire young girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, according to an official press release.

Highlighting the objective of the 5th batch of the Manasvi: STEM Mentorship programme, Rangan Banerjee, director, IIT Delhi, said: “The program is designed to improve female representation in STEM careers. The way we have structured this program is to give you an idea of what it means to do engineering and science. That idea is structured in a way where you have some of our alumni, who have different career paths, talking to you; some lectures on different domains; and some hands-on activities in the labs so that you can decide for yourself what it is that you want to do.”

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The summer phase of the 5th batch involved academic leadership sessions by faculty members of IIT Delhi or a senior woman leader in STEM.

Students were also given experiential learning with activities by the makerspace team, where the girls learned to work with electric circuits and built their own solar lamps, the press release reads.

The final day of the STEM programme included a lab session at the department of biochemical engineering and biotechnology, IIT Delhi, where molecular biology experiments were conducted in a “fun, and engaging manner,” it added.

Government high school girls were also given academic sessions, designed to arouse curiosity for STEM among the young girls.

“The summer phase ended with a special session by Squadron Leader Neha Devi, a woman in uniform, who shared her story of grit, resilience, and perseverance,” it said.

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Mansi Panherka, a class 11 student at KV Sector-12, Delhi, said: “Learned about civil and mechanical engineering, their contribution to society, and the importance of female participation in STEM fields. The session also made STEM subjects feel more interesting and encouraged me to think beyond stereotypes with more confidence.”

Meenakshi Pandey, a class 9 student from KV Gole Market, Delhi, expressed: “We participated in hands-on activities there (in the lab), which I thoroughly enjoyed. First, we performed agarose gel electrophoresis, where manually loading the samples into the wells was a truly amazing experience. Next, we did another activity to extract DNA from a banana. Finally, we conducted an emulsion index assay, where we mixed biosurfactants into oil and observed the resulting emulsion layer.”

The academic sessions were given in a non-academic fashion and after the summer phase, students will be engaged throughout the year through various initiatives at IIT Delhi, through the monthly STS-Spins lecture, it said.

The winter phase for the 5th cohort of the Manasvi: STEM Mentorship Programme for High School Girls will be held in January 2027.