A. The IITs house some of the most brilliant minds of our country. However, according to the feedback from some hiring firms, they lack professional skills. These skills include students to be well-groomed, write clearly and have a proper business meeting etiquette. This is crucial for them to thrive in various workspaces, be it industry or academia at both national and international levels. What can student leaders do beyond organizing workshops and seminars to address these specific problems? How can a student leader make the student body realize the importance of such professional skills?

• These are the main points that were put forward in the discussions -
• The supreme challenge for the student leaders is to make the students recognize the domains in which they lack professional skills.
• Several student leaders recommended basic English tests, mock interviews for placements and other similar activities related to professional development for students (this may involve help from external agencies - eg. Hotel Management, Indian Armed Forces, etc.).
• Student leaders may explore effective initiatives taken up by various colleges/universities such as Monash University, Australia that help students improve their oratory and debating skills. They can also motivate students to participate in club activities to learn and practice these skills.
• Student leaders may promote a culture of basic meeting etiquettes such as punctuality, dressing and preparing minutes of the meeting. This will also help students develop professional skills.
• Student leaders may invite immediate graduates to help students with mock tests and interviews.
• An idea of having a “Formal Day” was proposed - all students will be required to follow professional etiquettes and self-assess at the end of the day.
• Student Leaders may themselves attend workshops and seminars on professional skills and then propagate these skills into the student community.
• Freshmen may be divided into groups led by independent consultants. These consultants may help identify something unique in every student and encourage them to pursue those skills. This will focus on large scale involvement.
• The E-cell of different institutes may help the freshers and sophomores connect with startups. This will help students in performing better in interviews and group discussions.
• Individual presentations may be included in the Induction Program. Presenting in front of batchmates and professors could help them overcome stage fright.
• A few initiatives and existing practices that came up in the meeting are
       - IIT Delhi’s Enactus club follows a culture of punctuality, professionalism and other basic meeting etiquettes in student meetings.
       - IIT Bombay and IIT Madras conduct English Buddy Program to help students improve their basic English.
       - IIT Roorkee organizes a personality development program in which junior and senior undergraduate students (around 50-100) mentor 10 to 15 freshmen each.
       - IIT Gandhinagar conducted a session ‘Interact & Learn’ this year, where seniors and alumni highlight the importance of soft skills in professional life.

B. IIT students live in a shared living space. There are several skills and etiquettes that they must inculcate to ensure a respectful coexistence. Some of these include keeping the toilets clean, not wasting food, respecting others’ personal space, being aware of first aid knowledge etc. How can student leaders help in inculcating these skills and etiquette among students without being “preachy”?

• These are the main points that were put forward in the discussions -
• Student leaders may initiate inter-hostel competitions in order to promote cleanliness in the campus. (For example: General Championships like ‘My hostel, my home’)
• Students leaders can take following actions to minimise food wastage in the mess
       o Data visuals highlighting the waste produced every day may be displayed in the mess. A system can be set up to distribute the unserved food among those who are in need
      o It has been observed that updating the mess menu on a regular basis and keeping a check on the quality of food being served can reduce food wastage. Increasing the number of food counters can reduce long queues. This can encourage the students to avoid serving excessive quantities of food at a time.
       o Consider restricting in order to limit the amount of food taken in a single-serve.
       o Provide incentives to the mess and mess committee to increase hygiene and quality of food provided in the mess.
• Student Leaders may organize regular workshops and drills for students and hostel guards to increase awareness of proper first aid, fire safety and emergencies.
• Student Leaders may spread awareness regarding drug abuse and gender sensitization. A few initiatives and existing practices that came up in the meeting are
• IIT Delhi’s Enactus club follows a culture of punctuality, professionalism and other basic meeting etiquettes in student meetings.
• IIT Bombay and IIT Madras conduct English Buddy Program to help students improve their basic English.
• IIT Roorkee organizes a personality development program in which junior and senior undergraduate students (around 50-100) mentor 10 to 15 freshmen each.
• IIT Gandhinagar conducted a session ‘Interact & Learn’ this year, where seniors and alumni highlight the importance of soft skills in professional life.

Our experience says that there is scope beyond the existing platforms of providing students with a better understanding of work culture, student life, etc. of peers from different IITs. This would help them to explore, engage, and learn on both academic and non-academic fronts. We intend to brainstorm ideas wherein students from different IITs would collaborate either physically or digitally. What can student leaders do to promote more significant collaborations/ better relationships among students with similar interests on a student-level? How can we ensure that the potential benefits for students from these collaborations are maximized?

• These are the main points that were put forward in the discussions -
• All the participants recognized a need to create a PAN IIT digital platform where students, professors, and alumni can interact, discuss and collaborate. Success stories of students can be shared on this platform. Moreover, various opportunities can be floated on this platform . Student leaders from IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Gandhinagar, and IIT Tirupati agreed to take the lead to create such a platform.
• General Secretaries from different IITs can explore the avenues for collaboration and competitions between their IITs.
• Department/Discipline representatives can collaborate to organize competitions, workshops and field visits.
• Students can organize competitions, projects, and conferences in zonal clusters among various IITs to reduce logistical issues. Elements of online competitions can also be included.
• A few IITs are contemplating the idea of having joint career fairs. This will reduce problems faced during placements by IITs having a smaller batch strength.
• A google group of General Secretaries of all IITs can be created to ease communication.
• Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
       o Roopkund Treks - IITR
       o Invent@IITGN - IITGN
       o Summer Internship Program for students from all IITs - SPARK (IITR), SURGE (IITK), SRIP (IITGn), etc.
       o Providing accommodation to students from different IITs pursuing internships in the same city - IITB, IITD, IITKGP

Hands-on learning helps students appreciate the utility of the concepts taught in the class. Moreover, it enhances the students’ ability to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. The courses, at present, have elements like labs and projects to provide the students with an opportunity for hands-on learning. However, it has been observed that sometimes the students do not completely realize the importance of these opportunities. What can student leaders do to make students appreciate the already existing elements for hands-on learning? What other initiatives can student leaders take to promote hands-on learning in courses? What can student leaders do to help create an environment so that students involve themselves in hands-on learning?

• In the experience of the student leaders, the major impediments associated with making hands-onlearning a part and parcel of the overall academic journey of the students are:
• Availability of limited projects with an active hands-on learning component for the students.
• Lack of perseverance among students while working leads to incomplete projects. Some of the ideas proposed addressing these issues were -
• A platform may be developed for interested students to collaborate and come up with student-run projects related to the core courses.
• Student leaders may help collaborate with the industry to get course-related practical projects.
• Student leaders may come up with projects that use equipment/facilities in labs within the institute.
• Incentives may be provided at the end of the semester on the successful completion of academic projects.
• Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
       o Rural Immersion Program for students of Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay.
       o Student-run courses (like stock trading), IIT Gandhinagar.
       o ‘1-2-3-4 Discover and Learn projects’, IIT Delhi.

The curriculum of an IIT incorporates courses from a wide range of domains. These include courses that are not directly linked to one's department/discipline. These courses are instrumental for the students in a variety of ways. They are crucial in improving their skills, exploring different subjects and bridging the gap between various fields. However, we have observed that some students fail to recognize the objective behind the inclusion of such courses in the curriculum and therefore portray a lack of interest in the same. What initiatives can the student leaders take to promote the importance of these courses among students?

• Student leaders agreed on the importance of including a variety of courses. The discussions proceeded with the consensus that an undergraduate degree is more about exploring various subjects rather than specialization.
• The main points that were put forward in the discussions were -
• Student leaders stated the issue of lack of awareness among students about the course content, outcome and its importance. This lack of awareness is the reason behind students taking up courses with lenient grading policy instead of choosing courses wisely.
• Student leaders suggested creating a portal that contains the details of the course contents and its relevance. This portal would better serve its purpose if seniors explain real-life applications of the courses.
• There is a need to create awareness about the compulsory courses, which are not domain-specific, among freshmen and sophomores. For this, avenues can be created in the induction program or during the initial weeks of the first year.
• To promote the relevance of these courses, faculty, alumni, and seniors can help in chalking out a discipline/department wise roadmap.
• The importance of courses can be conveyed to students by citing examples of alumni who are working in fields relevant to such courses.
• Students will appreciate the course if there are interdisciplinary projects through collaboration with tinkering facilities.
• Various clubs can organise sessions to make students realise the importance of specific courses (E.g. - Sessions on Economics by Finance club).
• Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
       o Finance and management courses (by alumni) - IIT-BHU
       o Gandhipedia - IIT KGP

Community service is all about stepping up, lending a hand and working together for the benefit of others. By volunteering in community service initiatives, students shoulder responsibility on a larger scale and they become socially aware. They are exposed to new challenges, gain necessary experience and this indeed, moulds them into better individuals.
How can more members from the student community be encouraged to volunteer in these activities? In what way can we merge social responsibility into being a part of the mainstream college life?

• These are the main points that were put forward in the discussions -
• Every club, be it technical or cultural, can engage in community service.
• IITs can adopt nearby villages to come up with solutions to various problems faced by them. Student participation can be ensured by providing various incentives.
• Every IIT can take up one domain of social problem (sanitation, cleanliness drives, etc.) as a theme for a semester. Students can collaborate with faculties to work on this problem throughout the semester. Incentives can be provided to students with effective and implementable solutions.Students can associate themselves with the schools in nearby villages and promote “learning by doing”. This can be achieved by conducting fun activities or getting students involved in DIY projects.
• Student leaders can conduct surveys in the nearby villages to know the problems faced by them which can be floated as student-driven projects, overnight hackathons, etc.
• Completion of a minimum number of social hours can be made an eligibility criteria for students who wish to contest for elections.
• Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
       o Abhyuday - IIT Bombay
       o AINA - IIT Delhi

Students that participated in the conclave