Hyderabad, 30th May 2018: Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad plans to conduct every year the training program to encourage meritorious girl students in Class XI to take up a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The Institute hosted ‘Vigyan Jyoti,’ a two-week Residential Training Program designed to give an exposure for girl students to various careers in STEM, from 12th to 29th May 2018.
Among the outcomes of this program was to provide the girl students an opportunity to get continuous mentorship and guidance from Scholars and Mentors they met during this residential training program, which was funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India.
Addressing the valedictory function held on Tuesday (29th May 2018), the chief guest Ms. Chandana Deepthi IPS, Superintendent of Police, Medak District, said, “Rural girls have more potential to bring out a change as they directly face several issues. Women should study sciences as it affects way of life irrespective of what path finally one chooses.”
Further, Ms. Chandana Deepthi added that analytical reasoning and critical thinking were important in addition to hard work to achieve success. She made a special appeal to the parents to encourage their ward and be with them in their journey.
Around 35 meritorious girl students of class XI, mostly from Government schools, took part in this program, which also dealt with mental and physical fitness, emotional resilience, personal health and hygiene.
Speaking about the outcomes of this program, Dr. Mudrika Khandelwal, Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad, and Nodal Officer said the girl students gained several things including:
Ø Exposure to career options in Science technology engineering and mathematics
Ø Path to achieve these careers
Ø Overall development of mental physical and emotional health
Ø Life skills like leadership team building and group work
Ø Identification of strengths
Further, Prof. Mudrika said, “We have created a family through this program. I hope this family will work hard together to create an identity and make sure they are not lost in the crowd. At the same time, they will keep the interest of society and the country above self. It was a very satisfying experience and we hope to keep doing this for encouraging more and more women.”
All the girl students who participated promised to propagate the learnings to others. They were grateful for this opportunity. This workshop helped to consider various options and show a path to get there. They also loved the laboratory exposure provided during the program. One of the girls – Ms. Pravalika from a school in Sangareddy – said after attending this program she has accepted that women can everything.
Awards were given to girls who showed improvement in communication, yoga and other activities. Parents were present on the occasion. They were glad that their kids got this opportunity. One of the parent said – after this program he has changed his mind and will make sure he supports his daughter to study further.
The program coordinator Mr. P. Gautham Reddy, who worked closely with the participants, said, “I have seen a transformation in the level of confidence in these girls. They are more determined and we are there to assist them in future.”
The students were taken to various laboratories such as 3D printing, robotics, tinkerer’s, materials science, physics, chemistry and others. The students were also taken on a heritage tour to Qutab Shahi, Golconda and museums besides to the Birla Planetarium and the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD).
