Hey friends! I am back with yet another interesting feature of my IIT Gandhinagar family. By now, you all would have got an idea of the ‘uniqueness’ of this place by means of my previous writings. In this piece you will come to know about another remarkable aspect of this small yet beautiful world established at the banks of river Sabarmati. Let me tell you, it is especially for those who dream and prepare hard to pursue B.Tech from IITs. Well…. if you are lucky enough to land in IIT Gandhinagar, in your very first five weeks you would come face to face with what is called the Foundation Programme!

Some of you would be clueless, like: ‘what is special about this foundation programme?’, while others would be like: ‘it is going to be some boring course covering the basics with just a different name!’ That’s what I thought too when I first was introduced to this ‘name’- my mind contemplated many such similar possibilities. But people… it’s completely different and exciting at the same time! Trust me when I say this, you will enjoy more than you could ever imagine. It’s fun beyond boundaries.

IIT Gandhinagar is based on the motto that focuses on not just only producing future successful professionals, but also on creating various opportunities for the overall personality-development of its students. The main aim is to ‘make’ respectful individuals who can easily adapt to the rapidly changing environments, contribute towards the society in every possible way, create ‘solutions’ to problems even at times when most people consider it impossible to do so and ultimately excel in all avenues of life. I think it is very simple to understand that all this cannot be achieved through studies only. Then what do we need? We need something that generates social-awareness and creativity, focuses on sports and other physical activities and fosters communication and team-work. Hence, with all this in mind, the Foundation Programme was designed by the IITGn Community!

This programme aspires to familiarize students, who have been dedicated to JEE preparations for a long time, to diversified issues, questions and activities. It includes: social awareness events like community service, heritage-walk, tree-planting, guests lectures on the same; sports and physical activities like athletics, outdoor sports, aerobics, yoga; ethical value meetings like academic integrity, debates on morality and system of ethics in India; creativity displays like theatre and sculpture workshops, sketching and painting, origami, music, magic session, lego; leadership, teamwork and communication sessions like journal writing, team games, verbal, non-verbal, and written communication sessions; and many more. So much of recreation and learning at the same time — isn’t it fascinating?! Indeed, it takes away all the tiredness associated with entrance-examinations.

A bit of quick history: on 18th July 2011, the 1st five-week Foundation Programme at IIT Gandhinagar began! It was inaugurated by the co-founder of Infosys, Mr. N R Narayana Murthy. Since then, every year this programme has seen many eminent people and IITGn alumni as its guests of honor. Throughout these years, this initiative has emphasized the significance of broadening our higher education goals and strategies to better serve our ‘rapidly remodeling’ country and world in every way possible. It has made students to understand the obvious truth that excelling in academics only does not lead to a complete 360° development in an individual. Studies are definitely necessary — yes! —but, they are not the only requirement. They form one of the many categories that are responsible for the evolution of a successful personality. Our Director Sir, the entire faculty and staff realize this and it is the outcome of their tireless efforts that this programme has become a constant success. IIT Gandhinagar is all about its students — their career-aim, their success, their happiness, their development—and this initiative is another ‘unique’ step amongst numerous others that this IIT has taken for the welfare of its children.

Such strategies lead to an inculcation of independence and confidence in students. We come to terms with the fact that we have our own identities and strengths, that we are capable enough! All these efforts by this institute make the entire transition, from being children to becoming mature adults, very easy and interesting. It is the result of these policies that IITGn students can easily and successfully organize workshops, conferences and fests. Our elders here comprehend that all this cannot be acquired in one day and that is why we are constantly nurtured from our Day 1 in this campus. Endeavours are under way about introducing similar initiatives for PhD and Masters’ Programmes also. After all, these activities make student-life enjoyable! Nobody can just keep on studying continuously without getting bored, and these recreational means serve as a perfect escapism from all the boredom. The only distinctiveness lies in the fact that they are not just for enjoyment — they are about ‘educating the heart’. As Aristotle rightly said, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

So people… Foundation Programme is one of the ‘exquisite spices’ that make up the ‘delicious food’ of IIT Gandhinagar! All such ‘flavours’ lead to one of the top rankings of this newly established Institution which is an achievement for its entire family—we all are being trained to become really outstanding ‘cooks’ for preparing our strong career ‘recipes’! Now, I will leave you all to wonder about the beautiful aroma and deliciousness of this dish…. Will see you all really soon to add some more ingredients to make it tastier still! Till then, sayonara!

By Apeksha Srivastava, MTech student – Biological Engineering (16210113)