IIT Gandhinagar to train 100 economically weak IIT, medical students

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has partnered with Dakshana, a non-profit organisation, and entrepreneur Ruyintan Mehta to provide leadership, critical thinking, and communication training to 100 IIT and medical students who are academically gifted but financially impoverished. Most of the students selected will be from rural India. The training will be from September 1 to 30.

Dakshana has been supporting students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) in their preparation for the Joint Entrance Exams – JEE Main and JEE Advanced – for admission to the IITs. The JNVs are union government-run residential schools for gifted, rural students.

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“The IITGN Dakshana Leadership Programme is a way to provide …disadvantaged students with an opportunity to have an equal footing before they start their journey at an IIT and help them reach their potential through essential skill development. It is my way of giving back,” Mehta said in a statement issued by IIT Gandhinagar.

The inaugural IITGN Dakshana Leadership Programme will witness 100 Dakshana scholars from their Pune, Bangalore, and Hyderabad branches. "They have been performing exceptionally well in their IIT-JEE preparation at Dakshana. These students come here from the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and other government schools across India after getting selected for intensive coaching based on their academic record and results in Classes 10 and 12 and Dakshana’s proprietary testing. The annual income of these student's parents or guardians is generally less than Rs 2 lakh," the statement said.

The selected students will receive mentoring in the basics of communication, leadership skills and critical thinking.