Collaborative learning includes peer learning, academic interactions with seniors, and out-of-the-classroom discussions with professors. It is an integral part of the IIT education system and plays a significant role in developing one’s academic calibre. Moreover, it also helps in building better relationships among the community. However, the lack of collaborative learning in the online mode in comparison with the offline mode has affected academic interactions, thereby hampering the learning process.
How can student leaders ensure that collaborative learning is extended to an online semester? What steps can the student leaders take to make online collaborative learning more effective and fruitful?

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Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, our education system has been compelled to function virtually. The student leaders agreed that collaborative learning is severely lacking in the online mode. They also realised the need for bringing about innovative ideas in the online teaching environment. The discussion, therefore, focused on attempting to address some of the most common issues such as lack of interaction, increased screen time, and helping freshers adjust to their college life.
These are the main points that were put forward in the discussions -
• Students can introduce domain-specific student mentorship. Individual mentors can be allotted within different domains in academics, cultural, sports, etc.
• Student leaders agreed that there is a need for an effective way to manage all the mentorship initiatives wherein students can appoint a convener who will oversee the execution of the same.
• Student leaders suggested conducting online academic activities such as tutorials, course projects, etc. in groups. This will encourage the students to connect with each other and have productive discussions.
• Student leaders suggested the need for an informal interactive session at the end of every lecture. This interactive session will facilitate students to have relevant discussions with faculties and promote online collaborative learning.
• Students can form reading groups spanning a variety of genres like art, literature, science, and technology for freshers. This will increase peer-to-peer interaction and acquaint them with a variety of domains.

Innovation involves critical thinking, interpreting and implementing creative ideas. It can range from enhancing the value of an existing solution to creating a novel technology. An innovative mindset supplements a student’s overall growth and is highly valued in a workplace. Inclination towards scoring high grades may sideline exploring unconventional paths. Innovation is often hard to teach in a traditional classroom setting because it is unpredictable, requires learning by doing, and stems from practice.
What steps can student leaders take to foster conceptual learning? How can student leaders promote critical and creative thinking, and encourage the habit of coming up with out of the box solutions among students? How can student leaders create a culture of innovation among students?

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The student leaders acknowledged the need to inculcate an innovative mindset among the students. The discussions were focused on promoting innovation both on an Intracollege and Inter-IIT level.
Intra - College initiatives put forward in the discussions are:
• Students can organise an intra-college technical championship where students will get a chance to work on industrial problem statements and come up with innovative solutions. Alumni can be resourceful for organising such an event by bringing in problem statements and evaluating the proposed solutions.
• Students can organise an annual Tech Day where students can showcase their projects and other innovations. This will acquaint the student community with ongoing research activities and projects in their institution.
• Students can introduce ‘Innovation Rooms’ in every hostel to encourage students to come and exchange ideas and solutions on a daily basis. These rooms can be creatively designed with prototyping facilities, toolkits, vending machines, bean bags, etc. to create a comfortable environment facilitating innovative solutions for everyday problems.
• Students can conduct sessions with alumni who can share their experience on how an innovative mindset has helped them in their career paths.
• Students can set up ‘Opinion Boards’ in hostels or on social media platforms to promote the exchange of ideas and discussions on a larger scale rather than limiting it to one’s social group.
Inter - IIT initiatives put forward in the discussions are:
• Students can introduce competitions and awards at the Inter-IIT level (in events such as Inter-IIT Tech Meet) to incentivise and publicise innovative projects. Innovation activities can be posted weekly on social media pages to invoke a culture of identifying and appreciating innovation.
• Students can create a portal that can serve as a formalised interface where professors can offer academic projects and students can then apply for the same. Furthermore, this interface can be scaled up to a PAN-IIT level to promote academic collaborations
• Students can introduce ‘Innovation Rooms’ in every hostel to encourage students to come and exchange ideas and solutions on a daily basis. These rooms can be creatively designed with prototyping facilities, toolkits, vending machines, bean bags, etc. to create a comfortable environment facilitating innovative solutions for everyday problems.
• Student leaders can collaborate to set up a PAN-IIT question-and-answer platform (such as Stack Exchange or Quora) related to daily problems that one might encounter. Student leaders can formulate policies for the platform, initiate discussions and regulate the conversations.
Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
• Innovation Challenge - Students collaborate with professors to solve various campus-related or abstract problems and the best solution is given an award - IIT Bhubaneswar
• Nirmaan - A pre-incubation center that trains ten startups for one semester and provides funding for innovation - IIT Madras
• Innovation driven Entrepreneurship (iDE) - An annual event that initiates researchbased ideation such that the future entrepreneurs can excel in the process of idea formation and promote innovative ideas on the campus - IIT Gandhinagar
• Fora lab - A student-driven lab equipped with industrial-grade machines for students to work on different projects - IIT Guwahati
• Course/Workshop on reverse engineering - The students explore a product under the guidance of a faculty mentor to understand its design and working of the product - IIT Mandi
• Course on human geography and society - Groups of students visit nearby villages to find problems and come up with technological solutions to these problems - IIT Ropar

Sexism is defined as prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination based on a person’s sex, be it male or female. Casual Sexism often arises and is given impetus due to our inability to manage our ‘unconscious biases’. We all have these biases based on our personal and social experiences. It prevails in IITs too as a consequence of actions done deliberately, thoughtlessly, or humorously. It affects mental health, decreases self-confidence, and negatively impacts one's performance in work.
One of the major reasons behind casual sexism is the lack of awareness regarding its ill-effects. Identifying them on a cue can help us manage them, and therefore improve our interpersonal relations at a micro-level and promote a safe environment at a macro level. What can student leaders do to make the community aware of the adverse effects of ‘casual sexism’ and overcome it?

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The student leaders identified some of the most common areas where casual sexism is prevalent at their institutes and the reasons behind why they may be originating in the first place. • Casual Sexism - An issue applicable to both genders
The student leaders addressed that casual sexism is an issue equally applicable to males as well as females. However, this issue is often addressed as something which is female-centric due to which males may often hold themselves back from opening up and speaking out.
• Lack of perspective
There was a consensus among the student leaders regarding the lack of perspective among the student community about what casual sexism is. Most of the issues may arise as a result of unintentional actions or comments.
• Stereotypical undermining of achievements
The student leaders spoke about instances where female students’ achievements and capabilities were overlooked by others. Their success was wrongly attributed to an easy path paved for them because of their gender. Some examples include securing internships or placements, winning institute elections, and performing well in sports or cultural activities.
• Addressal with gender-neutral terms
The student leaders also spoke about how important it is to address a group by using only gender-neutral terms without neglecting a part of the group knowingly or unknowingly.
• Lack of interaction between students of the opposite gender
The student leaders remarked that at certain institutes, the issues may be originating due to the lack of interaction between the opposite genders which may make them incapable of understanding others’ perspectives and thought processes.
• Low participation from female students
Some of the student leaders put forth the issue of low participation from female students to occupy important positions of responsibility or to contest in institute elections. Due to the massive majority of male students within the community, the female students may feel disconnected as there is no spontaneous communication with whom they ought to represent.
The student leaders advocated the need to solve issues related to casual sexism by addressing the root causes at their origin. Some of the suggested solutions are as follows:
• A majority of the issues can be solved by enhancing the interaction between the opposite genders right from the time they enter the institute. With greater interaction, both genders would be aware of a multitude of perspectives making their mental compass sensitive to simple issues along the lines of casual sexism. Various team/group activities with an equal mix of both genders can be conducted mandatorily for the same.
• Students can raise awareness about issues related to casual sexism by holding experience-sharing sessions where students talk about situations they face in the institute. Street plays or skits depicting such topics can also be effective tools to involve the student community and make them think about their own surroundings.
• Students can also attempt to solve the issue professionally by conducting talks by psychologists to make students understand the mental aspect behind casual sexism and the repercussions it may produce in the long run.
• The student leaders need to ensure that the administrative bodies or student bodies do not promote such behaviour unknowingly or knowingly. This is to recognize concerns raising by every person and not just a specific gender (males, females, others). One initiating step can be to rename the student bodies/ positions with a gender-neutral term, if not done already

Competitions are conventional ways of involving students in activities where they can develop their skills, showcase their talents, and challenge themselves to perform better. They certainly have learning outcomes, but occasionally end up creating malignity in the minds of several individuals. The existing ways of student involvement are largely competition driven, and seldom foster learning via mutual development. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that competitions should not compromise the moral values of the students, by inducing an ill feeling for other individuals.
What can student leaders do to promote the idea of collective growth along with individual growth within the student community? How can we create an environment of healthy competitions in all student activities including academics, internships or placements?

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The student leaders acknowledged that unhealthy competition exists in different spheres of campus life, such as academics, career opportunities, and extracurricular activities.
• Academics
Students that the likelihood of academic dishonesty has increased manifold in an online semester. This has led to an increase in unhealthy competition among students on account of relative grading.
Student leaders suggested a shift from conventional evaluation techniques and promoting assessment based on projects, vivas, and group discussions to ensure fair evaluation in the courses.
• Internships and Placements
Student leaders agreed that some managerial issues exist in the recruitment process which need to be addressed. They shared instances wherein the placement team members favour their acquaintances for recommendations and other aspects during the same.
Student leaders suggested involving more than one representative for coordinating with every company to reduce the chances of favouritism.
• Intra College Fests
Student leaders recognised that there is vigorous competition between different fests to get the qualified set of students who are interested to be a part of the organising team. The online mode has heightened this competition as everyone is competing on the same online space to get recognition for their events. Students can promote collaborative events between different fests and clubs to overcome this problem. This will also improve the reach and participation in the events.
• Elections
Student leaders mentioned various instances of unhealthy competition during the annual elections such as hostel, discipline, and regional politics. They acknowledged that there have been instances of few candidates and their allies crossing moral boundaries to outwit their opponents.
o Student leaders proposed the idea of conducting interviews and open house for candidates before the elections so that the student community can get a clear understanding of the vision of the candidate. o Student leaders also agreed that lack of accountability of elected positions of responsibilities (POR’s) might lead to misconceptions in the student body. Hence, they suggested increasing accountability and creating a sense of awareness about the roles and responsibilities in the community.
The student leaders acknowledged that similar problems also exist in the nonelected POR's. Thus, the afore-mentioned solutions can also be extended to the selection procedures for candidates of all the POR’s.
Various Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
• Students who have received an internship/placement offer can guide and mentor other students who are participating in the recruitment process - IIT Patna
• A common organising team for all fests was formed to reduce intra-fest competition and increase accountability. These teams were made answerable to the Gymkhana - IIT Indore
• Candidates that are contesting the election are interviewed to provide a clear understanding of the candidate’s vision - IIT Madras
• An Open House is organized for candidates contesting the election. It provides the candidates a platform to offer more clarity on their manifesto - IIT Gandhinagar

“An organisation’s alumni are the reflection of its past, representation of its present and a link to its future.” Building a strong student-alumni relationship is highly beneficial for the students. The alumni of an institute contribute by mentoring students in their areas of experience, be it higher education, entrepreneurship, placements, or any other professional domain. The pre-existing methods of interactions are usually limited to familiarising students with the institution and fostering relations with the alumni. Although some students reach out to the alumni individually, there is a need to introduce a more efficient approach to enhance the student-alumni relationship.
How can student leaders introduce a more effective way to develop a robust and deep-rooted student-alumni network? What steps can student leaders take to enhance the engagement of alumni in a student's future prospects?

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The main points that were put forward during the discussion were:
• Students can conduct career guidance sessions organized by alumni regularly throughout the year. Further, student leaders can invite industrial projects from their alumni to expose the students to real-life problems.
• Student leaders suggested introducing a student representative in the Alumni Interaction Cell of the Institution to streamline the process of contacting alumni and building better alumni relations.
• Students can develop a portal where the alumni can maintain their professional identity. Along with an institute-level portal, an inter-IIT alumni portal can also be developed for better networking.
• Students can invite alumni back to the campus regularly and engage them in campus activities to create a strong sense of attachment with the campus. Various student groups/ clubs/ fests in IITs can also maintain their own alumni database and organise events accordingly.
• Student leaders suggested giving special recognition to the alumni to celebrate their achievements. This recognition can be in the form of newsletters, or posts on social media.
Various Initiatives that have worked in different IITs:
       o Alumni Chapters - IIT Madras
       o Alumni Run Courses - IIT BHU
       o Student Alumni Interaction Linkage (SAIL) - IIT Guwahati
       o IndustReal, a discipline-oriented interactive session with alumni - IIT Gandhinagar

Students that participated in the conclave