IIT Gandhinagar’s student-centric approach emphasizes student responsibility, independence, and physical and emotional well-being. IITGN prides itself on maintaining a ragging-free campus and a high level of ethical conduct in all academic and non-academic matters. Along with rigorous academic training, students pursue a large number of additional curricular and extracurricular activities (through several student clubs, sports camps, and other initiatives) for their holistic development.
Several student festivals and events are celebrated on campus, including Blithchron, Amalthea, Jashn, Ignite, Halla Bol, Winter Carnations, etc.
Friendly and professional staff are available to help students with their various needs in hostels and other areas. Student emotional well-being is a high priority at IIT Gandhinagar. The Institute has very proactive counselling services consisting of professional counsellors, faculty advisors, student guides, and other supporting mechanisms to keep in close touch with each individual student. More information is available at:
https://www.iitgn.ac.in/student/lifeoncampus/
Flagship Programmes and Initiatives
Foundation Programme: The Institute’s flagship Foundation Programme is now being emulated by several IITs and other colleges. This programme nurtures students’ creativity, communication skills, ethics, physical fitness, and social awareness, thereby setting the foundation for the creation of engineers who are not just technically sound but also socially aware and responsible citizens. Such “life skills” are emphasized throughout the student’s stay at the Institute through various other activities.
International Opportunities: A significant number of undergraduate students typically participate in study abroad or other international opportunities before graduation. These opportunities developed through partner collaborations are funded entirely by the Institute and its international partners at virtually no cost to students.
Student Leadership Initiative: Leadership development and life skills are among the core pillars of IIT Gandhinagar’s educational experience. Leadership is woven through a student’s journey at IIT Gandhinagar and embedded in many ways, both tangible and intangible. In partnership with the Indira Foundation, IITGN offers a regular sequence of workshops, short courses, events, one-on-one tutoring sessions, etc., around leadership. They cover a wide range of competencies, such as oral and written communications, people skills (team, collaboration, and leadership), critical and visionary thinking, and physical and mental health, which are all crucial for personal satisfaction and professional success, regardless of career paths chosen.
Explorer Fellowship: The IITGN Explorer Fellowship is an annual summer programme that enables students, organised in small teams, to undertake a six-week adventure across the country. The programme empowers students to plan and travel with a limited budget throughout the country to observe India intimately at the grassroots level and encounter diverse cultures and lifestyles. The fellowship is entirely funded by the Institute and requires no costs to be borne by the students.
Gram Fellowship: The IITGN Gram Fellowship aspires to sensitise the students towards the concerns of rural living by exposing its students to rural India. This fellowship is for the students to experience the life of common people who may not have access to sufficient resources. It would also be an opportunity for the fellows to think beyond technological interventions to address the concerns of the community. The fellowship is entirely funded by the Institute and requires no costs for the students.
Campus Jobs: The “On-Campus Employment Opportunities (oCEO)” programme aims to provide students with first-hand employment and job experience. This programme is meant to help the students with ‘High-Quality Job experience’, ‘Inculcate Higher Responsibility’, ‘Develop Leadership and Life-skills’, ‘Opportunity to Earn', and ‘Meet Human Resource Requirements’ of the Institute. In addition, the students can contribute significantly to continuing education programmes and various other initiatives of the Institute.
Academic Support: Numerous academic support initiatives are available to students:
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Each student is assigned a faculty advisor who guides them through understanding the curricular requirements and remains assigned to them through their tenure at the Institute.
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Our unique peer-assisted learning (PAL) programme is designed to help first-year students who face difficulties in adapting to a new culture and medium of instruction in their coursework.
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Academic discussion hours, facilitated by senior students, provide support on more technical matters to students who may be facing challenges in certain courses.
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For the speedy integration of new students into IITGN, 10-12 students are assigned a student guide who acts as a guide and mentor for the student during their first year.
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A robust and proactive counselling service offers a mechanism to address broader issues related to student well-being.