NEEV-IIT Gandhinagar trained nearly 150 rural youth, women through skill development courses

Gandhinagar: NEEV, a community outreach programme of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), successfully trained nearly 150 rural youth and women in six skill development courses during April to June 2022.

The Institute organised a valedictory event for the participants on June 10, 2022, to award certificates for successful completion of the courses. Sharad Gupta, In-charge Dean, R&D, was present on the occasion.

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“A total of 145 participants were trained at NEEV-IITGN in this edition of Summer Skills Courses, including 26 in Stitching Skills course, 30 in Beautician Skills course, 34 in Basic Computer Skills course, 26 in Spoken-English Skills course, 16 in Tally Skills course, and 13 in Vocational Skill course of wiring and CNC machining. Many of them have already started earning after gaining these skills,” the IITGN said in a statement.

These courses are offered entirely free of cost with philanthropic support from the Desai Foundation Trust. NEEV charges only a refundable security deposit of Rs 500 per participant, which is refunded to the participant after they complete the course.

Moreover, the courses such as stitching skills and beautician skills, which are exclusively organised for women, are conducted in their village itself, it said.

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The institute said that the popularity of NEEV’s courses has grown beyond Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, and this time they hosted five outstation participants, mainly from the South Gujarat region. NEEV also provided them with lodging and boarding in the IITGN hostels for the duration of their courses, and did not charge anything from them.

NEEV Coordinator, Soumya Harish said, “Through these projects, NEEV aims to empower women and youth from underserved communities to gain skills that can make them confident about moving forward in their life. At IIT Gandhinagar, we extend our institute’s resources as much as possible for the benefit of our neighborhood communities.”

Since its inception in 2014, the programme has conducted more than 90 entrepreneurship and skill development projects and activities for over 3,000 youth and adults from Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar areas, including 15 plus villages near IITGN.