IIT Madras students launche online campaign to empower women during COVID-19

The IIT Madras students organised three career guidance sessions for over 190 girl students from schools across the country.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras students have come up with an online campaign to empower women during the COVID-19 pandemic period by creating awareness regarding opportunities in education, upskilling, and financial literacy. Through the ‘She Can’ social initiative -- a part of the IIT Madras annual Tech Festival Shaastra -- students provided career guidance counselling to girl students from schools and colleges across India. Sessions on financial management were also conducted for working women in Mumbai and Chennai.

On January 3, 2020, the campaign was launched by the institute virtually along with a panel discussion of eminent women from various walks of life. The participants of the event include Prof. Preeti Aghalayam, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras, Ms. Roopa Karemungikar, Vice President of Customer Value, HighRadius, Ms. Vandhana Ramanathan, Co-founder of Wsquare, and Ms. Jagadharini Sampath Kumar, Former VP National Stock Exchange of India Limited.

Lauding the students for the social initiative, Professor Shaikh Faruque Ali, Faculty Advisor, Shaastra 2021, IIT Madras, said, “Shaastra does a social outreach every year wherein our students interact with schools in and around the city for various social activities. This year, even being constrained by the pandemic, the students came up with a brilliant idea of ‘She Can’. Initially, it felt to be an ambitious project but the students pulled all the strings and made it a reality... I congratulate the students’ team and thank all to be a part of the initiative.”

The IIT Madras students organised three career guidance sessions for over 190 girl students from schools across the country. Tese sessions, IIT Madras said, reduced the percentage of students confused about their future plans from 80.2 per cent to 26 per cent.

In addition, leaders in entrepreneurship interacted with around 200 college girls across the country, highlighting the multiple opportunities available for women and motivated them to follow their passion. According to an official statement, 58.9 per cent of the students felt that they learned about new opportunities, and 59.6 per cent felt an increase in their confidence and motivation levels after the session.

Information about the ‘She Can’ campaign and upcoming events will be shared on the following social media channel - https://www.instagram.com/p/CJldUb1Ah6Q/

Read More:

• IIT Madras Courses & Fees 2021
• IIT Madras Admission 2020: Cut Off, Eligibility, Process, Fee, Date