My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka – Becoming a #1 Bestselling Author

Out of all the subjects Iā€™ve studied at Ashoka, Entrepreneurship has been my favourite by far. It has fundamentally shaped how I think.

I began pursuing my Entrepreneurship minor in my 4th year, and it felt like I joined Ashoka all over again. Itā€™s funny; now that Iā€™m done with my Ashoka journey, I can say that out of my most of my favourite courses have been from the InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship. They werenā€™t just about building businesses; they were about building mindsets. From learning how to think like a designer to how to argue like a lawyer, from crafting a world-class brand to embedding social impact at the heart of your venture, the department taught me how to build anything with meaning.

The professors werenā€™t just academics. They were practitioners- people who get it, who know what it takes to bring an idea to life. I walked out of every classroom more energised than when I walked in.

But if it were only an academic engagement, then that would be the end of it. It is the support beyond academics that makes this department stand out. The department exemplifies the fact that entrepreneurship is, at its core, a topic-agnostic practice. You can be entrepreneurial in anything.

For instance, I am someone who is deeply passionate about the natural world. One of my lifeā€™s missions is to speak for creatures and landscapes that canā€™t speak for themselves. In this regard, one of my projects involved making a field guide for all the wildlife found in and around Ashoka. This small book contained information about all the creatures I documented in and around the campus across my 4 years. The idea is that this book would help anyone identify an animal they came across in and around campus.

The Entrepreneurship department saw value in this project and helped me scale it. They offered platforms, mentorship, and community support to help the guide reach more people. That kind of backing for a nature-focused initiative- in a business program- speaks volumes.

When I released The Light of Wilder Things- a deeply personal book exploring the beauty, fragility, and wonder of the natural world- I wasnā€™t prepared for the response it received. It went on to become a #1 bestseller, and what began as a quiet project rooted in my love for wildlife suddenly became a conversation with a much larger audience. Once again, the Entrepreneurship department stepped in- not just to congratulate me, but to help me navigate this new terrain. They offered mentorship in branding, outreach, and platform-building. They helped me treat the book not just as a creative endeavour, but as a living, breathing venture. With their guidance, I was able to turn The Light of Wilder Things into more than a book- it became a movement. One that invites readers to reconnect with the wild, and to see conservation through the lens of storytelling, empathy, and action.

As I step beyond Ashoka, I carry with me more than just memories or lessonsā€”I carry a way of thinking. Entrepreneurship, as Iā€™ve come to understand it here, is not limited to startups or pitch decks. Itā€™s about noticing whatā€™s missing in the world and daring to create it. Itā€™s about leading with empathy, thinking systemically, and acting decisively. Whether Iā€™m writing my next book, launching an environmental initiative, or just trying to change minds through conversation, I know Iā€™ll be practising entrepreneurship in all that I do. CfE lit the spark- now itā€™s my turn to carry the fire forward.

So, wherever you are in your Ashoka journey, my biggest piece of advice is simple: take a course with the Entrepreneurship department. Dive in. It doesnā€™t matter what youā€™re studyingā€”the experience will change the way you see your work and your world.

My heartfelt thanks to my faculty: Priyank Narayan, Nikhil Sud, Vani Gupta, Navyug Mohnot, Ashish Mathur and Advaita Rajendra. I recommend ALL their courses. Special thanks to Ekanto, Suhesh, Shubham, Sushant, Riya, Srishti, Avnie, and Praveen ji.

Written by Ishan Shanavas (ASP'25)

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My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka: Nurturing Growth, Empowering Futures

My tryst with entrepreneurship is a journey brimming with discovery, experiences, and profound gratitude. It began within the confines of the classroom but swiftly expanded, offering me a treasure trove of learnings and experiences that I will undoubtedly cherish and apply throughout my career and life.

My first encounter with an entrepreneurship class was sparked by the news of Aditya Ghosh teaching a course at Ashoka. Learning about service excellence in business from a leader who steered India's largest airline and subsequently led numerous esteemed organisations was an opportunity I could not fathom! This was precisely what the Centre for Entrepreneurship consistently provided for its students. Aditya Ghosh's course was an exceptional experience that inspired me to explore a range of entrepreneurship courses. These classes delved into the fundamentals of finance and accounting to the intricate art of company valuation. Through the Centre's courses, I had the privilege of learning from industry experts across various facets of business, encompassing sales, marketing, service, business analysis, and even social impact!

The courses not only imparted valuable theoretical knowledge but also facilitated enriching field trips that expanded my learning horizons significantly. One standout experience was an enlightening visit to the Parliament of India, affording me the privilege to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker. Additionally, I had the opportunity to explore leading firms in the country, such as ChrysCapital and Akasa Air, where interactions with their CXOs provided invaluable insights into crucial subjects like investment strategy, deal negotiations, and the intricate operations involved in running an airline.

However, my most cherished field trip was an integral part of the 'Strategies for Market Access' course. Spending an entire day shadowing a Pidilite salesperson, I accompanied them on visits to 25 shops within a span of 6 hours. This immersive experience granted me firsthand exposure to on-ground sales tactics and strategies, offering a profound understanding of practical market dynamics. These skills have well-equipped me for my career.

The inception of the business club by the Centre aimed to foster growth and learning outside the conventional classroom setting. Selected as the club's inaugural Director, it provided me with the platform to enhance my leadership and other soft skills. This role enabled me to initiate three programs designed to assist my fellow peersā€”a program facilitating internships, a mentorship programme with industry experts for student venture ideas called Guided Projects, and educational field trips to prominent company offices to learn from CXOs. Leading the club proved transformative, allowing me to cultivate my network and secure opportunities such as internships and job offers from some of the country's leading companies. I went on to become the club's president, and I take immense pride in the numerous inter-university competitions, seminars, and programmes that contributed significantly to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit at Ashoka.

Empowered by these experiences, my tryst with entrepreneurship bolstered my confidence to embark on an independent venture. Recognising that a majority of Ashoka students pursued Economics as their major with a keen interest in finance, consulting, business analysis, and entrepreneurship, I observed a dearth of opportunities to test these skills within the university. Hence, I conceived an academic festival, Equilibrium, designed to amalgamate all the aforementioned fields through inter-university competitions, seminars, discussions, and more. The Centre provided unwavering support, ranging from funds, contacts, and logistical assistance to ideas, enabling us to successfully bring Equilibrium to fruition. Its success stands as a testament to how the Centre wholeheartedly backs both small and large entrepreneurial initiatives at Ashoka.

My most recent role as a Teaching Assistant aļ¬€orded me the opportunity to closely work with professors possessing extensive industry experience, aiding in the delivery of courses, and facilitating invaluable knowledge absorption among students. It also allowed me to delve into one of my passions- social impact. The course looked at social sectors including agriculture, education, and healthcare from a problem-solving and analysis point of view. The Professorsā€™ teaching methodology allowed for rich and exciting discussions and ideas.

As I embark on the placement phase in my final year, my tryst with entrepreneurship has prepared me profoundly for the world beyond. I am profoundly grateful for the life skills I acquired through entrepreneurship at Ashoka, and I look forward to continuing this journey beyond its campus.

(Written by Aviral Anand, ASP 2024 )

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ISPIC 2023: My transformative journey from Persistence to ThePrint!

I recently secured a spot in the Top 3 (out of 80+ teams) of the India Smart Protein Innovation Challenge () organised by Good Food Institute India, a think-tank and international organization working to accelerate alternative protein innovation. Participating in the challenge, I was able to network with senior investors, incubators, and scientists who are spearheading research in this space. Additionally, I was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh as one of the winners, and the competition was featured on , , and .

As I reflect on my journey, I would like to share some of the highlights here:

ISPIC was a 5-month-long exciting journey where a cohort of 200+ professionals, researchers, and students across India came up with innovative solutions to address the scientific white spaces and bottlenecks in the alternative protein and dairy sector.

One example of the provocative questions that we tackled at ISPIC 2023 was, 'How will you feed nearly 10 billion people globally by 2050, while safeguarding the environment, public health, and our scarce natural resources?' The competition was structured in a very holistic manner, covering the scientific, entrepreneurial, and policy-related aspects of Smart Protein. In the Indian context, we also looked at topics like protein deficiency, nutrition, and animal welfare.

The particular solution that I worked on with my team was about the 'Channel Strategy for selling Smart Protein,' focused on the HoReCa segment. India already has 30+ mock-meat brands, and this number is constantly increasing. These brands sometimes struggle with repeat orders and organically growing their revenue. We creatively presented some methods to strike B2B partnerships with restaurants and established QSR Chains, and how this can be really impactful for Indian Mock-Meat and Vegan Dairy brands.

The competition was also transformative for me as an individual, as I got to work with a diverse group of professionals hailing from different geographies and educational backgrounds, from Food Technology to Chemical Engineering. The journey was a true test of my perseverance! The earlier rounds of the challenge included online quizzes, and I remember waking up at 7 AM during my family trip in Las Vegas to compete in the quiz. My sheer passion for the field and the competition got me to do so, and without it, I wouldnā€™t have made it to the Demo Day (final round) that was held at The InterContinental in Mumbai. I also had the pleasure of experiencing and trying the vegan meat offerings in the western context while travelling in the US, and this inspired me to propose similar solutions to bring to the Indian market.

In one of my entrepreneurship courses at Ashoka called 'Entrepreneurial Strategies for Climate Action' by Prof. DVR Seshadri, I remember studying a very interesting case about the company 'Impossible Foods' and their strategies for growth and innovation. This included a tie-up with Burger King (HoReCa sales channel) in the west. This provoked me to explore the white space in the Indian market as well, and inspired the great solution that I eventually presented. An entrepreneurial mindset has been at the forefront of my thoughts and has truly enabled me to go above and beyond, looking at the world from a disruptive mindset. To make things even better, Startup Ashoka 2023 was around the corner right after my competition. I took the opportunity and used my learnings from ISPIC 2023 to come up with a venture idea related to smart proteins, which I was able to refine and pitch to a distinguished panel of entrepreneurs within a span of 24 hours. Networking with peers and forming a team to work on the idea was a super fun and productive experience for me!

in conclusion, I want to share that Smart Protein is the need of the hour. The animal agriculture industry contributes more emissions to the atmosphere than the entire transport sector combined, whilst also having ethical constraints and cruel implications for the victims. With the growing focus on sustainable living, we even need to look into transforming our own plate.

(Written by Karan Kapadia- UG 25 Economics and Entrepreneurship)

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Embrace the detours | Dear First Year Me

Hey, it's meā€”or rather youā€”just a bit further down the road of life. I am about to begin my second year here at 51²č¹Ż and am overcome with a flood of memories from the beginning of this incredible journey. I wanted to take a moment to reach back through time, to hold your hand and whisper some heartfelt advice into your earā€”advice that comes from the heart, learned through both laughter and tears.

As you embark on the next four years, take a moment to reflect on all that got you to where you are now. The challenges you conquered in high school, the lessons you learned, and the growth you experiencedā€”have all paved the way for what lies ahead. Just like the swift passing of high school days, brace yourself for the whirlwind that is your first year and beyond. It might seem as if time has put on wings, and before you know it, your college years will have gracefully soared by, leaving behind a tapestry of memories, some of which you might not necessarily want to cherish, but that is honestly all right, you will get through them( albeit with some difficulty). Those tough times, those tears you will shed in the quiet of the night, and the countless late-night doughnut runs to find solaceā€”they will all be etched in the mosaic of your college experience. They're a testament to your strength, your resilience, and your capacity to embrace even the uncomfortable parts of growth.

I know you are worried about choosing the "right" path, about making decisions that will impact your future. Let me ease your mind a bit ā€“ there's no one "right" path, especially here at Ashoka, with its never-ending options. Your journey will take unexpected turns (you are studying Computer Science right now ), and that is where the magic happens. Embrace the detours, for they will lead you to passions you never knew existed and opportunities you never thought possible. I know you are a bit of a perfectionist and a know-it-all, always striving for that elusive "A" in every subject. While your dedication is admirable, do not let the fear of failure hold you back. It's okay to stumble; it's okay to not have all the answers (you will learn to cope with a B+). Each setback is an opportunity to learn and grow. Trust me, some of your most significant breakthroughs will emerge from the moments when you felt like you were falling apart.

While everything around seems to be changing every waking moment, try to welcome it . Attend those club meetings, hang out in the common areas, and strike up conversations with strangers. You will find yourself to be a very talkative and social person soon enough and will actually have a lot of friends (I know that sounds unbelievable). This version of you is the beginning of the ā€œyouā€ you have always wanted to be. Sure, you have bad days, club rejections, health scares (and bad grades oops!) but you are happier than you have ever been.

Lastly, remember that you are here for a reason. You earned your spot in this incredible institution, so you better own it well. Always keep your dreams alive. That spark of passion that fuels your ambitionsā€”nurture it, feed it, and let it guide you. Don't let anyone or anything extinguish your fire. You have the opportunity to create a future that aligns with your heart's desires and while you are at it enjoy every moment (especially the Thursdays!).

With all my love and the promise that you will not only survive but thrive,

Kenisha

51²č¹Ż

My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka: From doubt to delight

ā€œIf you canā€™t keep your cameras on and maintain eye contact with the screen for three hours, please drop out. There is a long list of students waiting for a seat in this course.ā€

Overwhelmed, I made up my mind to drop out once the class got over. 

Hi, I am Aditi, and back then, I was a second-year Computer Science Student at 51²č¹Ż. In my fourth semester, I stumbled upon my first entrepreneurship course, Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset, taught by Prof. Mukesh Sud, one of the most loved visiting faculty from IIMA.

The class was very different from any other class I had taken at Ashoka or outside on three counts:

• It was participation heavy: During the class discussions, students not just interacted with the professor but students also interacted with other students
• We went through interesting case studies like that of PayTM, the making of 51²č¹Ż, and more
• We were also expected to submit a one-pager before each class addressing a question from the case that we thought was most relevant

Coming from my very theoretical Computer Science classes with barely any cameras on, having such a lively class with so much class participation was a foreign concept for me.

The 3-hour experience turned out to be so much fun that I decided to change my mind and stick to this course, thus, marking the beginning of my very rewarding and interesting journey of Entrepreneurship at Ashoka. 

One major learning at Ashoka has been to always try - either we win or we learn, so I went ahead and applied for it. I am so glad I did because becoming the representative turned out to be one of the best decisions I have taken in life so far. 

I was also lucky to be chosen when the department was scaling from three courses in a semester to 17, thus allowing me to contribute a lot more. From interacting with 300+ students and understanding their needs to conducting the first-ever Entrepreneurship Mixer, my tenure started on a very high note.

I got the opportunity to work closely with the entire team at the Department of Entrepreneurshipā€”Prof. Priyank, a mentor, a friend and a guide; Ekanto, my go-to problem solver for anything and everything; Sagar, a jack of all trades; Manoj, the relatable genZ with the best jugaads. Working alongside a team that is incredibly approachable, creative, and open-minded provided me with an exceptionally fulfilling experience.

In this journey, I was lucky to also learn from the brightest minds from across the industry and pick their minds on various topics and the latest industry trends. Our foundersā€”Ashish Dhawan, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, and Dr Pramath Raj Sinha; and professorsā€”Raman Roy, Sridhar Sethuram, and Yash Gupta were among a few of my favourites. 

Being the Department Representative (DR) not only opened my doors for any opportunity I wanted to grab, but also accelerated my drive to solve problems, take initiative, and build things from scratch. 

Not to forget, Shivanshā€”my Co-DR. From being a random irritating acquaintance to becoming one of my favourite people at Ashoka, the Department also gave me friends that I will keep for a lifetime. Given our love for trying new things, I always had a partner in my many experiments, be it with a new venue for the mixer, a South Indian food menu from an Ashoka Startup over the regular Chicago pizza, making students entrepreneurially speed date on a staircase, or prompting founders to share the worst investment they have madeā€”WE DID IT ALL!

In retrospect, I wonder why I was chosen to be the representative in the first place. One of the biggest reasons was probably the club that I had co-founded: . 

It was supposed to be a college community for language learners but given the drive that the Entrepreneurship department ignited in me, the club ended up being my ground for a lot of experimentation. From doing language meet-ups in six languages, developing our first website, launching a newsletter, screening movies, and collaborating with 20+ clubs on campus, to making a Lang-up Film, pitching the idea at various platforms and setting up a booth at the Convention of Digital Entrepreneurs (CODE), Indiaā€™s Largest Digital Conferenceā€”Lang-up became my passion project.

It was impossible to keep Lang-up going at such a high pace without CfEā€™s support. CfE did not just give me the space to brainstorm all the ideas I had for Lang-up, but also supported me in the tiniest of ways possible - be it by allowing me to use the CfE classroom to screen the Lang-up film or giving me munchies to show their support. 

Lang-up has also been lucky to have gained mentorship from Prof. Srikant Sastri, as part of the course, Startup Incubation Lab. Over 13 weeks, we got a clear idea of how to position Lang-up, the TG (read target group) we wanted to target, how to pitch, calculate the TAM (read Total Addressable Market), and more. During this time, we worked on our first deck, talked to 100+ potential users, and pivoted our idea from an-in person college-wise language learning community to an activity-based digital language community for self-learners.

I wanted to become a Teaching Assistant since my first semester at Ashoka; it was one of those bucket list things that I wanted to tick off. Finally, in my sixth semester, I got my first ever TAship with Prof. Priyank for his course, Creativity and Design Thinking. The experience exceeded my expectations to the maximum. From looking through 20+ design books to choose the best seven, taking my first class on Biomimicry, my first shot at grading, to preparing a dance performance for the class with 10 of my students, and talking to my students to get their feedback in person, I learnt how TAship can be enriching, fun, and rewarding at the same time.

Thrilled by this experience, I then got the opportunity to TA for Professors Shantanu & Nitin for their course, Strategies for Market Access, in Monsoon 2022.

This TAship was a little different from my previous experienceā€” a smaller class size, a lot more guest speakers, and professors who specially travelled to Ashoka to teach the course. Apart from the usual responsibilities as a TA, I also had the pleasure of coordinating the one-on-one sales trip for 25 students with representatives from seven different companies, including Pidilite, Kohler, and Ceat among others. It was a one-of-its-own kind of opportunity for students to shadow a salesperson for an entire day. When the students learnt tips and tricks to be great salespersons, I learnt to deal with things that appear to be a logistical nightmare.

I am very grateful to know Professors Shantanu and Nitin. They always supported and hyped up every initiative I tookā€”my weekend solo trips, cracking an internship that I wanted. Our WhatsApp group soon became a platform for not only work discussions but also updates on anything significant that happened in my life.

CfEā€™s support has extended to a lot more things than expected. For any initiative I took, the Centre was a lot more excited and enthusiastic about it than I was. Be it my participation in Jagriti Yatraā€”a 15-day train journey around India to understand the roots of entrepreneurship, or doing a with entrepreneurs from Shark Tank India Season 1 to reach a wider audience through the domain. 

I have not only become a lot more confident but have also learnt to optimize for experiences. 

I am forever indebted to CfE for the opportunities it has given me and for the person I have become today. Undoubtedly, the InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship has been the best part of my Ashoka life.

Graduating with more than nine Entrepreneurship courses on my transcript, a great community of super-smart peers and experts from all around the world, and an amazing CfE team to fall back on, I am excited to conclude my rewarding tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka.

(Aditi Tibarewal is a Computer Science & Entrepreneurship student from the Ashoka class of 2023. She is an incoming APM at KiranaClub)

51²č¹Ż

Celebrating Excellence: Recognizing Outstanding ELM Teams at YIF

The Outstanding ELM Award recognises the brilliant achievements of teams in the Experiential Learning Module (ELM) at the Young India Fellowship (YIF). These are teams that have demonstrated exceptional dedication, innovation, and impact in their respective projects, leaving a lasting impression on both the YIF community and their clients.

The first team to receive this award from the batch of 2023 was Team Number 4, which worked with the Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality (CSGS) at 51²č¹Ż. Composed of Aliya Fathima Sheriff, Kuhoo Tiwari, Nishita Singh, Shreya Kaul, and Sonakshi Grover, this team embarked on the crucial task of analysing significant judgments that challenged mainstream norms on sexual justice over the past five decades. Their efforts resulted in the delivery of an annotated bibliography of 100 judgments and a comprehensive judgment repository encompassing all the reviewed cases. Moreover, they launched the groundbreaking The Sexual Justice Project on Spotify, presenting a limited podcast series on Indian Sexual Jurisprudence since the 1970s. The client lauded the teamā€™s interdisciplinary strengths, critical thought, and dedication to continuous learning, highlighting their project as a valuable resource for engaging with the themes of law, gender, and sexuality

The second team to win this award is Team Number 5, who worked with the Paint it Red Foundation. Adwitya Sinha, Meera Amit Trivedi, Prabhleen Singh, Shahana Abbas Khan, and Sona Solgy worked diligently to develop a curriculum handbook specifically tailored for educators working with visually impaired menstruators. Their handbook pioneers a focus on making menstrual health education accessible to people with visual disabilities across India. In addition to the handbook, the team compiled a comprehensive repository of schools and NGOs to further enhance the clientā€™s outreach efforts. The client commended the teamā€™s creation of Indiaā€™s first visually impaired-centric content and teaching methodology for menstrual education, highlighting its potential to empower visually impaired menstruators worldwide. This invaluable resource serves as a guide for teaching body literacy to the visually impaired community.

Acknowledging the exceptional work in the Experiential Learning Module (ELM), it is important to highlight the remarkable contributions of two additional teams. ELM Team 1, consisting of Arijeet Singh, Dharani Dhavamani, Saroj Muthukumaran, Stuti Yeliyur Ravikumar, and Yaswanth Kumar Rayapati, who were involved with Module Innovations to develop a strategy for deploying UTI test kits in the B2C segment in India, the US, and the EU. Their comprehensive primary research data and insights into the adaptability of test kits to Indian regulations exceeded client expectations. ELM Team 13, composed of Raunaq Saraswat, Ritoban Das, Saumya Sharma, Siddhima Sirohi, and Tejasvini S, collaborated with Pratham Education Foundation on a diverse range of projects. They designed learning materials and wrote advertisement scripts for Pratham's YouthNet Programme PRA tool, which evaluates reading-comprehension competencies across various sectors. Through extensive interviews with students in Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the team provided valuable insights during the pre-pilot and post-pilot phases.

These remarkable teams exemplify the spirit of the Young India Fellowship, combining academic rigour, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to making a positive impact in society. Their exceptional contributions during the ELM highlight the transformative power of experiential learning and the potential for young leaders to effect meaningful change.

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Illuminating Paths of Empathy and Excellence

The Young India Fellowship (YIF) recognizes exceptional individuals who embody the spirit and ideals of the programme. The Torchbearer Award is a significant accolade given to the Fellow who not only achieves academic excellence but also demonstrates outstanding extracurricular abilities and a genuine concern for their peers. This year, Aadya Vatsa has been honoured as the Torchbearer of the Young India Fellowship Class of 2023. Her commitment, enthusiasm, and compassionate nature have made a lasting impact on her fellow Fellows. 

To cite directly from her many nominations, ā€œAadya has consistently demonstrated a wholehearted commitment to every aspect of the YIF experience. From academics to the Alumni in Residence programme and crossover sessions, her commitment has been very inspiring. Aadya has constantly been available to every member of the cohort and has facilitated connections cutting across the usual patterns of groupings that happen by default. She has encouraged and motivated fellows to be more confident about the skills and talents they have and to share them with others. She brings a certain energy to the room - one of positivity, unrelenting enthusiasm and the will to accomplish whatever is asked. It requires a lot of courage to be radically kind, and it can be argued that it is one of the most potent ways to bring positive change in the world. Formally recognising her through the Torchbearer Award, would inspire each and everyone in the cohort also to follow her lead and embody the same values as much as possible.ā€ 

In her acceptance speech, Aadya expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the people who have been part of her YIF journey. She acknowledged the impactful role of professors, who have imparted knowledge and challenged her to reimagine the world through interdisciplinary perspectives. Aadya extended her gratitude to the YIF Programme Team, who tirelessly ensured a unique educational experience, and the entire Ashoka community for providing a platform for quality education. She recognised the invaluable support of the YIF support staff and expressed her appreciation to her family for their trust and belief in her decision-making.

However, Aadya's deepest gratitude was reserved for her peersā€”the 98 other Fellows who have created an environment of growth and authenticity. She acknowledged their shared perspectives, which challenge societal norms and dare to address the most difficult problems. Aadya emphasized the collective courage of the YIF Class of 2023, a group unafraid of uncertainty and willing to ask difficult questions that propel positive change. With unwavering support for one another, both in success and failure, Aadya believes that the Class of 2023 will continue to make a difference wherever they go.

She says, ā€œI believe that we are the people who are not scared of choosing the most difficult problems to work with, we are the people who want to challenge ourselves - amidst uncertainty and never be afraid of it, which is why we are sitting in this room today. I believe that we are each other's biggest cheerleaders and will give one another unconditional support not only in our successes but more importantly, in our failures. I want to end by saying that no matter where we go, we will continue to ask questions, questions that nobody asks and questions that are the most difficult to bring up in a room full of people. Thank you for seeing each other in ways we had not imagined before.ā€

Aadya Vatsa's recognition as the Torchbearer of the Young India Fellowship Class of 2023 is a testament to her exceptional qualities, leadership, and commitment to the YIF community. Her journey embodies the ideals of the programme, fostering a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. Aadya's heartfelt acceptance speech serves as a reminder of the transformative power of the Young India Fellowship, where academic excellence, personal growth, and collective vision intertwine.

51²č¹Ż

From Circuits to Cinematics: The Multifaceted Journey of Ravi Ranjan

Hailing from a humble background and upbringing in Patna, Ravi Ranjan was always one with big dreams ā€“ ones which he has successfully given flight to through his immense hard work and dedication. He was admitted to an NGO called Shoshit Samadhan Kendra, a completely free residential school for economically disadvantaged children. It was here where he discovered his scientific temperament. He was named the ā€˜chota engineerā€™ in his school as he would often be found opening up electrical appliances to analyze their circuits, attempting to repair computers and inverters, and making material out of waste.  

Ravi Ranjan is a man of many talents. A skilled filmmaker with an eminent Filmfare nomination, he found his interest piqued in the world of cinema when he started to participate in theatrical productions and nukkad nataks during high school. The recognition and appreciation he got for playing the modest role of a beggar motivated him to continue being in front of the screen. He soon transitioned from acting to being behind the camera because became enthralled by the story writing process and wanted to see his stories adapted onto the screen. 

Two of Raviā€™s films, namely Zindagi Ek Deal and Apun ka Cinema have already been released and have gained meaningful recognition. Apun ka Cinema was also nominated in the category of Best Short Film for the prestigious Filmfare awards. With another film already in the post-production process, Raviā€™s filmmaking journey has just begun. ā€œWhenever I am behind the camera, it feels like all my worries and stresses go away! I lose myself in the processā€, he exclaims. 

Raviā€™s tryst with YIF started way before he was selected for the programme. It was in 2013 that a YIF alum, Simranpreet Singh Oberoi joined his school as a Chief Project Officer. Within minutes of being around him, Ravi was in awe of his work ethic and the repertoire of knowledge that he possessed by virtue of his liberal arts education. At a time when his school needed serious improvements, Mr. Oberoi was its saving grace! Years later when Ravi found himself freshly out of college and confused about his future, he was reminded of the Young India Fellowship and decided to apply.  ā€œOver the course of the fellowship, I learned so much and got to meet so many people from different backgrounds. Although I studied so many things, ranging from Shakespeare to AI, YIF pushed me to realize my true potential as a filmmaker. Whenever there were group projects, I was always the one who was designated the role of a filmmaker. It was here that I gained clarity about my futureā€, said Ravi. 

For his Experiential Learning Module (ELM), Ravi and his group launched ā€˜A-podsā€™ which is the official 51²č¹Ż podcast. He was in charge of recording, editing, and collating audio. A-pods has multiple verticals such as ā€˜Bookmarkedā€™ where professors would discuss their publications and ā€˜Retrospectā€™ where guests would speak about movies and other media. 

ā€œComing from a completely different background, my first few days at 51²č¹Ż were spent trying to assimilate and figuring out the academics. As an introvert, I thought I would find it tough to navigate life at Ashoka. But my peers and the faculty at Ashoka made this such a fulfilling yearā€, proclaims Ravi when asked about his life on campus. Additionally, Ravi and his peers launched their own filmmaking club on campus called Khayal where members were taught how to read, shoot, and direct films. He describes his time at Ashoka as one that inspired him to give wings to his dreams. 

After his year at 51²č¹Ż, Ravi will be joining Quiditch Innovation Labs and pursuing filmmaking on the side.

(Written by Saairah Mehta rising second-year student studying Political Science and International Relations at 51²č¹Ż)

51²č¹Ż

Exploring New Frontiers: A Journey of Multidisciplinary Learning at the Young India Fellowship

As one of the youngest students in the Young India Fellowship, Arav Shah (YIFā€™23) describes his year-long journey at 51²č¹Ż as one that has significantly helped him carve out his career trajectory and given him uncountable memories. A science student in school, Arav pursued liberal arts and sciences at Jindal Global University where he specialised in Psychology and Economics. When most of his fellow undergraduate students were either sitting for placements or going for master's programmes, Arav decided to apply to YIF to better understand his interests and prepare himself for his advanced studies. 

From studying Astrophysics to Statistical Inferences, Arav claims that YIFā€™s multidisciplinary curriculum helped him learn about things from so many different perspectives and introduced him to new ways of approaching a problem. ā€œHaving studied economics during my undergraduate programme, I never thought I would enjoy a basic ā€˜Introduction to Applied Microeconomicsā€™ course as much as I did. The course taught by the esteemed professor A.K. Shiva Kumar made me learn so much about Indian Development and Foreign Policy. His class provided me with a novel angle to approach developmental studies and has been one of the highlights of my YIF journey.ā€ An experienced content writer, the Critical Writing course helped polish his writing prowess and became one of the formative experiences. For his Experiential Learning Module (ELM), Arav worked with the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) to build a maturity model aimed at social purpose organizations. This 8-month-long journey turned out to be transformative for him as it was one of his first formal professional experiences and gave him the opportunity to him to work on a real-world project, designing relevant and impactful solutions. 

Having spent a year and a half attending lectures on Zoom during the lockdown, YIF gave Arav the opportunity to immerse himself in a multitude of activities and extracurriculars beyond the classroom. As a passionate footballer, he would regularly be found on the football field practising with the team or partaking in events like the Ashoka Premier League (APL), an annual intra-university football tournament. Arav was also a part of two student-produced plays, Amar and Chaya and Comma along with being a staff writer for The Edict, an independently run student newspaper at 51²č¹Ż. 

The Mentorship Programme and the Alumni-in-Residence Programme had a profound impact on his YIF journey. They provided him with the avenues to seek guidance and support from many established, experienced, and driven individuals who have achieved remarkable feats and are well on their way to becoming top names in their respective domains. The Alumni-in-Residence programme helped him network and build lasting connections with many successful alumni. 

ā€œYIFā€™s diverse cohort taught me a lot about the life that lies beyond an undergraduate education. All of my peers came from such interesting backgrounds, carving out a niche for themselves. Interacting with them and learning about their unique experiences gave me immense clarity about what I want to do in my own career.ā€ says Arav. 

(Written by Saairah Mehta, a rising second-year student studying Political Science and International Relations at 51²č¹Ż)

51²č¹Ż

Igniting Possibilities: Ashoka 2023 Graduates Reflect on Their Graduate Journey

51²č¹Ż

Still Jam in a Still Jar | Harshini Dhiyaa Velsamy

ā€˜The air is sticky like jam remnants stuck in my fingers after heaping an enormous amount on toast for breakfast. It is saturated with hopes that summer would be filled with happinessā€” No. The air is thick with the rotting stench of heartbreak and no hope of anything.ā€™&²Ō²ś²õ±č;

Summer four years back could have been dramatic. I can almost hear the house flies buzzing around my probably uneaten mangoes. 

ā€˜I donā€™t know what is happening. But heā€™s like my personal Orion constellation, that only I get to connect the stars.ā€™&²Ō²ś²õ±č;

Summer two years back could have still been dramatic. I can almost see the stars twinkling and the meteor showers early in the morning. But he was nothing special. He left three days after I told him that my favorite constellation was Orion. 

ā€˜Like I said, this year is weird. I sound delusional. But the poems I write about him are way better than anything Iā€™ve written this year.ā€™

Summer a year back must have been actually dramatic for me to be able to just state the facts. I can almost feel the precarious air on my skin as my brain worked overtime solving physics problems and composing odes to the new guy whose sudden friendliness posed a critical threat to my romanticize-even-the-rock-on-the-sidewalk heart. But he was just a normal boy. He stayed a year longer after I didnā€™t speak a word to him. 

ā€˜One year later, I am still in the same rabbit hole. I really should write from the beginning but I am tired. Honestly, I donā€™t even want to write it because it is like an assignment with no due date. And everyone knows what that means. Never write it.ā€™

Summer this year is the least dramatic summer ever. I can smell the disappointment as the wet summer rains begin. It cools down before the heat ratchets up. Itā€™s been three months since Iā€™ve actually written anything honest. Amma just came by and read the last diary entry and said, ā€œYouā€™ve an actual physics assignment with no exact deadline. Maybe you should work on it instead of this.ā€ She speaks the truth. Whatā€™s the use of daydreaming about the beach when youā€™re 141 kilometers away from it?

But the beach 141 kilometers away is actual freedom. The beach has a pavement next to it for cycling till the salt air rusts my bicycle as I pretend to not feel time pass by. The beach lets me run along the shores without expectations or repayments. Night or day it stays. But night or day, itā€™s just there. Thatā€™s the crux of my problem with this summer. 

The summer I turned eighteen is the summer I turned and looked at my problems eye to eye. I suddenly realized that I canā€™t move anymore because time has decided to stand still for months. I am no closer to writing the poem that I had promised my brother. I am no closer to finding the internship I actually want. I am no closer to being the responsible adult my Amma wants me to be. I am also no closer to doing anything I want to get done. Appa is especially frustrated about my driverā€™s licence issue or rather with my distracted brain reading anything but the readings necessary to get through the coming year in university. 

Thereā€™s a jar of jam and a jar of peanut butter on the bottom shelf right next to the mangoes. The cold water I am drinking right now is weirdly molten. I imagine it moving sluggishly down my throat, much like my morning exercise. Drenched in hatred. Hatred towards the season, hatred towards my inability to raise my spirits and greet new ideas, hatred towards the new guy with his nose high in the air who has me still stuck on him for two years. 

I hate the word still. For example, the jar of jam is still the same jar from two years ago. Sure, itā€™s a new batch of mango and honey jam made this year but itā€™s still the same container. Why didnā€™t Amma change it? Even the word ā€˜jamā€™ means stuck.

I hate the jam still staring at the pointless direction my mind has taken me in. There is a housefly buzzing near my ear and itā€™s a miracle that I donā€™t scream. If I did, the neighbors would hear it and would confirm that I was not okayā€”as if they needed any more confirmation after watching me try to move my scooter without a key last week.

I spend the next two hours working with my brother on his project so that at least he would move forward instead of listening to the half-insane voice in his head urging him to break the jar of jam and anger Amma. The sun drags itself down the sky and painfully rolls the clouds out of the way for the stars to flaunt their success in being the highest-reaching points (according to the motivational quotes, at least). Orion is lopsided and I stare at him till I hear him bring his club smashing down right next to me.

The jam jar is on the ground, tiny glass pieces reflecting the pale moon outside. My brother looks at it, his eyes widened in terror. Amma rushes to the kitchen and her distressed noise stirs the humid air. My brother swaddles her with apologies as I bend to help Amma clean it up. We quickly clear the glass pieces and mop the tiles. Now, the pale moon is less distorted on the floor. 

Next morning, I pick up the peanut butter and notice an empty spot next to it. The jam is gone for now. I skip through the morning no longer feeling like I must wade through a puddle to get our scooter out of the parking lot. Thereā€™s an old copy of Alice in Wonderland at my desk right now as I write this. The guy with a personality like the beach 141 kilometers away asks me if I love blue or red. Thereā€™s also a diary entry dated today. He also says that he may like any beach. He also says that he sometimes feels like he wants to swim right in the middle of the ocean and never return.

I tell him that he canā€™t return to where he was before. Literally.  I donā€™t tell him that I want to make some new jam in a new jar. I might tell him if there are mangoes for some jam tomorrow. 

51²č¹Ż

Ashoka student attends Google Research Week

I started off as an Economics major at Ashoka but ended up switching my major in my second year. My switch to Computer Science in my second year was propelled by my budding interest in Machine Learning research. The CS Department played a pivotal role in fuelling my research curiosity which eventually led me to secure a place at Research Week with Google 2023. 

The event was organised by Google Research India in Bangalore and was designed for working professionals, Ph.D. students, and final-year Masters/Undergraduate students. It included a series of lectures, career panels, and research discussion sessions led by pioneering researchers in the field of Machine Learning. Due to the exclusive nature of the program, the selection process was very comprehensive and competitive. Applicants were required to make their candidature by delineating their previous research experience and future research plans. The application also included evaluative questions which were aimed at testing a personā€™s research and scientific thinking. 

The program was geared towards fostering research specifically related to machine learning and was divided into three tracks: ML Foundations, Computer Vision, and Natural Language Understanding. Each applicant was required to submit a statement highlighting their interest, experience, motivation, and future research plans for a specific track. Although I am currently dabbling in computational social science research for my capstone project, I worked extensively in the field of computer vision during my internship at Microsoft Research India last year. Therefore, I was selected for the computer vision track and had the opportunity to interact with researchers who are at the forefront of this field globally.

The keynote speech was delivered by Dr Jeff Dean, the head of Google AI, wherein he highlighted the various Google AI projects currently in progress and their contribution to advancing technology. Some prominent researchers from the industry, including Gaurav Aggarwal, Prateek Jain, Steve Blackburn, and Praneeth Netrapalli, also presented their research. The speakers expanded upon some of the projects announced in the Google for India 2022 summit when Sundar Pichai visited India. These AI projects revolving around advancing the Indian agricultural ecosystem and preventive healthcare, prompted young researchers like myself to ground our research in meaningful problems to make a difference.

I also had the opportunity to attend some extremely fascinating technical sessions in which researchers like Dr Praneeth Netrapalli talked about their graceful solutions to fundamental, yet extremely significant machine learning problems such as non-robust features and simplicity biases in neural networks. During these technical sessions, I was amazed by the ingenuity of the research questions being discussed. One project, for instance, tackled if lip movements and multimodal input (including speech, text, and vision) could train a model for tasks such as speech generation. 

Amongst the many distinguished researchers that attended the event, I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to interact with Dr Angela Yao from the National University of Singapore. Her research session on modelling regression-type models in computer vision as classification tasks for a variety of application areas had me hooked right from the beginning. Dr Yao was also a part of the panel discussion on pursuing research careers in academia and the industry. This fireside chat-type session was the perfect platform for young computer scientists to get their non-technical questions answered. Further, it was refreshing to hear encouraging words from a successful woman in Stem such as Dr Yao. During this panel, Dr Steve Blackburn from the Google Brain team also shared his personal anecdotes while guiding us on career pathways and research directions. 

Dr Manish Gupta, the Director of Google Research, was another prominent speaker who shared his experience of establishing the Google Research India laboratory right from the time of its inception. The most enriching part of the program, however, was the informal interactions I had with the speakers, research scientists, the team from Google, and the bright participants.

With participants from reputed engineering colleges such as the IITs, IIITs, BITs, etc, I felt grateful and proud to be able to participate in and contribute to this symposium. Having this experience as a non-engineer woman in STEM made the experience even more exhilarating. I hope that more women with diverse backgrounds and research interests can access conferences of this scale.

At the end of this event, I was fortunate to have met some amazing people, senior academics and students alike, who are carrying out trailblazing and socially impactful research. Apart from being exposed to the thought process behind how high-quality research is carried out, I have also been able to understand the relevance and impact of AI for Social Good. I am glad to have returned with a profusion of research ideas and a renewed motivation to pursue research projects that positively impact the global population on a large scale.

Isha Singh (ASP'23) is currently completing her advanced major in Computer Science. She interned at Microsoft Research India last year and has worked on research projects in computer vision and computational social sciences.

51²č¹Ż

Ashoka student wins the title of Young Earth Champions

Yashesswin works with Bodhi Capital, Indiaā€™s first student-run Undergraduate Investments fund as well as the Ashoka Investments Club. Along with this, he also actively rides and organises bike rides on and off campus with the Ashoka Cycling Club. Yashesswin and his team of high school and college students from Dexterity Global across India have been awarded the Young Earth Champions Title (Jeunes Champions de la Terre) for winning the Team up for Climate Challenge and were invited to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Their project constitutes building the worldā€™s first amphibious housing model that uses calabash as its buoyancy mechanism for the low-income district of Dhemaji in Assam. Dhemaji colloquially means ā€˜Playgrounds of floodsā€™. Their team had been crowned the winners of the Challenge, in the process beating over 540 teams from top institutions.

Egis Foundationā€™s international student challenge for innovation ā€œTeam up for climateā€ aims to stimulate the creativity of students around the world in the face of climate change. Under the problem statement of ā€œadapting and living together in the face of climate risks and how we can adapt to climate reality and promote the integration of affected populationsā€, 542 teams of over 60 different nationalities participated in the challenge. The project used locally-sourced and inexpensive materials for the house, an owner-led democratised construction approach, behavioural economic nudges, a community model to support the inhabitants along with an open-sourced globally replicable design, as a part of the solution.

Yashesswin says, ā€œWe strived to make our solution people-centric by understanding the socio-economic conditions of Dhemaji, Assam. We wanted our solution to be a part of the people and not separate, so we developed an elaborate implementation plan, focusing on public policy and behavioural economics to increase the likelihood of our solution being accepted by the people. We believe that in the state of Assam alone, 4.6 million people could achieve full-flood resilience We have always affirmed that the world is our family, and our solution can be effectively adapted globally, alleviating the problem of millions of people facing flood-caused displacement.ā€

After months of continuing to strengthen the project model and prototype, the team was invited to pitch the project at the Earth University (UniversitƩ de la terre), being held at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on a fully-funded trip, to the public and experts, speaking alongside more than 150 business leaders, scientists, economists, politicians, NGOs, and sociologists, and were awarded the First position, the title of Young Earth Champions and a cash prize of 7500 Euros. On the road ahead, they understand that the adoption of our model can prove useful to the local socio-ecological system while solving the issue of climate vulnerability through flood-resilient housing. The plan is to open-source the model and engage all stakeholders to mutate the model into shelters, schools, and other infrastructure across the world.

Yashesswin believes that his education at Ashoka has played an integral role in this venture, in terms of providing an ecosystem that develops a critical-thinking mindset and intellectual curiosity, while breeding a heart that carries care, concern, and empathy for our fellow citizens. With no academic background in environmental studies, sustainability, architecture, or engineering, it was a steep learning curve. And it is a culture of self-learning that helped us immensely throughout the process. 

ā€œThrough the project, we are able to turn playgrounds of floods & vulnerability into playgrounds of resilience, and I am proud that it was an Indian team that won the competition and the flag will continue to fly high!ā€, concludes Yashesswin who is overjoyed with this achievement.

51²č¹Ż

Driving student experience outside the classroom

ā€œWhat do you do at 51²č¹Ż?ā€, a friend recently asked. 

I repeated my usual answer, ā€œI work at the Office of Student Affairs which has three verticals under it ā€”the Residence Life Office, the Sports and Exercise Office and the Student Life Office.ā€ At this point, I could sense a questioning look on their face, wondering what this Office of Student Affairs is. But I avoided their curious look and changed the conversation. 

Explaining what the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) does is not a simple task. It includes questions such as what is the goal of the Office, why it is important and what issues it addresses. So, to respond to all these questions, I venture to write this piece, as I unpack these answers for myself.

Before I joined the OSA a year ago, I worked with an NGO, the Rural Changemakers, which worked on the idea of open education. Open education refers to the practice of education which is not limited to the four walls of a classroom but happens through our daily activities. For instance, we focused on collaboration and teamwork through daily sporting activities. The OSA at 51²č¹Ż, on similar lines, aims to drive student learning outside the classroom. While my role at my previous job was exciting and meaningful, what attracted me towards my current role at the OSA was that at Ashoka I would be able to impact a much larger and diverse student population.

At a broad level, the OSA takes care of the residential experience of the students, creates and enforces policies for student conduct on campus, organizes the orientation for incoming students, and organizes events and workshops throughout the year while also facilitating student events.

For me, one of the highlights of last year was organizing the Orientation for the freshers. It can be overwhelming for a student to leave their home for the first time to join a fully residential campus. Therefore, in a five-day programme, we organize multiple workshops to give them a glimpse of what life at University means, prepare them for their first year on campus and ease the transition process for them. They get to know the rules and the structure of the University, the people they can reach out to for any support and the ways they can add value to their University life by participating in sports, cultural events, clubs and societies, and so on.

Starting from orientation, throughout the year, the Office drives, defines, and expands the experience of students outside the classroom. And now, as I complete my first year in the Office, I can see the two major ways through which the Office achieves this.

The first is maintaining the overall well-being of students. In addition to physical and mental well-being, it also means providing the students with a safe space to express their dilemmas and seek resolutions to them. For instance, this year, a group of students could not eat the mess food due to time and dietary constraints. Even though this issue does not come under the Officeā€™s purview but directly impacts studentsā€™ well-being, the Dean of Student Affairs met them. Through dialogue with the students, we tried to come up with a solution that was acceptable to students and is in sync with university policies. Through this kind of individual care and attention, the Office contributes to maintaining the overall well-being of the students on campus.

The second is promoting learning opportunities outside the classroom. When a student(s) wants to organize any event on campus, they approach the Student Life Office or the Sports and Exercise Office. The Office thoroughly goes through their request, gives constructive feedback, and guides the students throughout. For students, this is an opportunity to learn and grow, as they dabble with a variety of tasks during each stage of the event.

51²č¹Ż is a place full of opportunities to grow. Sometimes, it becomes a challenge for students to choose between the various offerings. Therefore, when I had to organize an informal interaction between students and the Dean of Student Affairs, I chose the theme of balancing academics and life on campus. The idea was for the students to hear the experiences of the Dean and understand that she has also fared through similar challenges in her college life, to inspire the students and facilitate their well-being through learning outside the classroom.

In my one year at the OSA, I have enjoyed promoting learning opportunities for students, the discussions on improving the well-being of students, and the constant effort to be more inclusive. In the next few years, the Office will grow and become more structured. And maybe the student affairs professionals will become student affairs educators. 

(Abhishek Singh is an Assistant Manager with the Office of Student Affairs.)

51²č¹Ż

My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka: A journey of deep gratitude

The InfoEdge Center for Entrepreneurship has greatly aided my journey through Ashoka and beyond. I could not have imagined where it would take me when I sat to attend my first entrepreneurship course. I was your typical second year at Ashoka; confused about my career after college with no idea what the corporate world involved beyond corner offices and pencil skirts. Furious googling, frantic phone calls to seniors and many existential crises later, I stumbled into the department's introductory offering of Entrepreneurial Marketing and Finance. I saw it as a way to dip my toes into this unknown world and hopefully gain some clarity on my skill set.

The course delivered over and above what I had expected. Not only did I discover how fun the problem-solving aspect of the fields we studied could be, but I also discovered opportunities that went beyond the classroom. It led me to my next course in entrepreneurship, Cultivating an Entrepreneurial Mindset where the classroom was fertile ground for new ideas and introduced me to people who were just as excited about them as I was. The enthusiastic peer group that the department provides compels you to pick up on essential soft skills. This includes the ability to clearly and effectively communicate your ideas in a classroom bursting with opinions. The journey turns classmates into teammates, friends, and eventually even co-founders. The Centre gave us the opportunity to start a business club on campus, and I am proud to say that the Ashoka Business Club (ABC) is now a year old and thriving. The ABC hosts events, guest sessions, field trips and a vibrant learning community that contribute to my growth every day!

The coursework and club introduced me to a wide range of ideas and perspectives, which helped me think creatively and outside the box. Looking back, I realize that this was crucial during my placement process, especially for consulting firms like McKinsey, which value creative problem-solving, entrepreneurial initiative and innovative thinking. These experiences also taught me practical skills such as market research and pitching. Moreover, they gave me a deeper understanding of how businesses operate, and how to identify and solve problems. This knowledge is critical for consulting and is often what interviewers look for during the placement process. 

The most important learning from these experiences, however, was confidence. University life, especially in the middle of a pandemic, has the ability to make you question your every move. It is not easy to shake it off and move on. When you are sitting for 10 interviews a day and facing rejections, dismissive responses and sometimes pure disinterest, it is imperative that none of them shakes you. The opportunities I have been given through the Centre have given me the ability to pose a confident front through the placement cycle and eventually win over potential employers. 

I am deeply grateful to the Center for Entrepreneurship and the mission it has undertaken. The Centre has provided me with opportunities that have helped me grow in countless ways. Through the various programs and resources offered, I have gained valuable experience and knowledge about the corporate world. I have had the chance to network with industry professionals I would not have dreamt of meeting, let alone having conversations and gaining advice from. The Centre has also provided me with a sense of community and support and I am forever grateful for the impact that the staff and community have had on my growth. These learnings have helped kickstart my career and will stay with me all the way till that corner office and pencil skirt collection is actually mine! 

Kavya Satish is an ASP'23 at 51²č¹Ż.

51²č¹Ż

My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at 51²č¹Ż: From scepticism to belief

I was first exposed to Entrepreneurship at Ashoka during our online classes, where I had signed up for a pair of 2-credit courses to see what all the hue and cry was about. Admittedly, I was initially unimpressed. Amusingly enough, my first impression, particularly after Pramod Bhasinā€™s first class in his course ā€˜Theory & Practice of Leadershipā€™ was that practitioners should remain in the industry and leave the teaching to Professors. This hasty judgement was soon revised when I realised the insights and unique perspectives our distinguished Professors had to offer, backed up by anecdotes that would leave you hanging off the edge of your seat. Eventually, I gave up Bhasinā€™s course in favour of Yash Guptaā€™s course ā€˜Real Estate & Investmentsā€™ since I only had the bandwidth for one course at the time; nonetheless, it was far from an easy decision to make and I promised to take up the former course again at some point in the future.

Being a student of Political Science, I was very keen to get back in touch with the business and financial world, since Iā€™d always loved Economics but chose against pursuing it in college due to my fear of Calculus. I also realised very quickly that I was disillusioned in believing that studying political science would prepare me for my grand aspirations for my longer-term goal of a career in politics. While this wasnā€™t entirely untrue, I might argue that Iā€™ve learnt more crucial life skills and practical knowledge in the course of the past 6-10 months than I did in my three years of Political Science. 

Having taken up courses like ā€˜Business Communication & Negotiationā€™ and ā€˜Entrepreneurial Marketingā€™, I learnt a lot about the real-world implications of individual and institutional decisions. Courses like ā€˜Artificial Intelligence and Data Analyticsā€™ and ā€˜Metaverse Decodedā€™ didnā€™t just provide me with an opportunity to learn new skills and actually understand so many ā€˜buzzwordsā€™ that so many of us throw about without thinking, but also look at their practical applications - something which was a thorough miss for me in my three-years degree insofar. 

That being said, me being the eternal sceptic that I am, I approached Entrepreneurship at Ashoka initially wondering what on Earth the university was up to by teaching business at a liberal arts school. My very first course with Professor Yash Gupta shattered this sceptical outlook - the man is nothing short of a genius. His course, along with Professor Jhangianiā€™s Marketing course, has to be, by far, amongst my top 5 courses at Ashoka across the four disciplines Iā€™ve dabbled in. The cherry on the cake, of course, was the occasional glamour and glitz we were exposed to on our field trips - an integral part of almost every course. 

Before I knew it, I had made up my mind to stay back for the fourth year and pursue a minor in Entrepreneurship (and no, it was not just for the fun beyond the classes). I did my major in Political Science, a minor in International Relations and a concentration in Media Studies - all in all, a diverse mix of disciplines. Surprisingly enough, it was Entrepreneurship courses that served as a silent and yet sturdy glue that bonded them together and created a complete picture for me. 

I feel almost guilty to have once looked upon the departmentā€™s role at Ashoka with scepticism, given that the department almost feels like a third home for me at Ashoka now. The courses that have been offered (as well as the exciting upcoming line-up) have provided us with an opportunity that very few colleges in India - and perhaps even in Asia - would be able to offer. To learn from industry stalwarts and renowned academics such as Aditya Ghosh, Pramod Bhasin, Pawan Ahluwalia and Yash Gupta has been a privilege. I am eagerly waiting to don the hat of a UGTA and assist Prof. DVR Seshadri in the upcoming semester.

Abhiir Bhalla is an active youth environmentalist and freelance sustainability consultant. He is currently part of the Ashoka Scholars Programme at 51²č¹Ż and is pursuing a minor in Entrepreneurship and Media Studies, after having completed a major in Political Science and a minor in International Relations. 

51²č¹Ż

51²č¹Ż student represents India at COP-27

I had the honour of representing India at COP-27 in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) in the first two weeks of November. It was a unique opportunity for me to participate in not only the Youth Conference (COY-17) between the 2nd - 5th of November but also the main conference as a panellist and delegate between the 14th-18th of the month. 

The UN Climate Change Conference of Youth (COY) is an annual event under the banner of YOUNGO ā€“ The Official Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COY, the largest and longest-running youth event to date, takes place on the sidelines of the annual UN Climate Change Conference, also known as Conference of the Parties (COP). 

COY serves as a space for capacity building and policy training to prepare young people for their participation at COP, empower them, and formally bring their voices to the UNFCCC processes to shape intergovernmental climate change policies. I was amongst the 20 young people selected by the UN (YOUNGO) from across the country to represent India at COY-17, after a rigorous selection process. Our delegation was one of the largest delegations amongst the 140 countries represented from across the world. 

Even amongst the Indian delegates, most were working professionals, many of whom were in their late 20s/early 30s. Being amongst the youngest delegates there, I was fortunate to be welcomed very warmly by the group since many of them were acquainted with my advocacy efforts through LinkedIn and the mainstream media. This was indeed a huge moment for me since my two previous chances to attend a COP were foiled first by my ICSE Boards, and subsequently by Covid. It was really exciting to finally have a chance to share my thoughts at the most relevant and significant climate change conference at a global level. 

As part of the conference, I participated in capacity-building sessions, skill-building workshops, and cultural exchanges thereby contributing significantly to the drafting of the Global Youth Statement. The capacity-building sessions were enriching, yet extremely fun. They encouraged us to look at climate policy documents from a lateral-thinking perspective. One of my favourite sessions was around the relevance of social media in climate action messaging, and how applications like TikTok, Moj, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and even Koo could be used to reach out to the masses in making calls to action relevant at a community level. The UNFPA, UNICEF and UNEP came together to conduct several sessions on understanding Nationally Determined Contributions and how they operate.

• Key points from COY17 were incorporated into a Global Youth Statement presented at the World Leadersā€™ Summit on the 7th-8th of November at COP. It is a comprehensive 107-page document outlining key youth-led policy demands based on 15 key themes, including climate finance, energy and loss, and damage. Some of the key elements focused on:
• Ramping up the role of private sector engagement; making it less ā€˜passiveā€™ as merely a supporter that was funding the offsetting its evils, to a more active, emission-minimalistic approach.
• Looking at smart cities and how individual campaigns needed to be brought together to create a snowballing societal effect.
• The role of grassroots climate educationā€”changing the perspective of environmental studies from a ā€˜mandatedā€™ education approach to a holistic education approach.
• Strengthening climate entrepreneurship and focusing on not only climate tech but also affordable, accessible solutions that were implementable and replicable at scale.
• The role of AI and blockchain in revolutionising energy-saving and power-generation techniques, as well as looking at nuclear and renewable energy (beyond just solar power).

During the main conference of COP-27, we, as youth leaders, underlined the interrelationship between climate change and the enjoyment of human rights by young people and the role of youth as a catalyst for ambition and climate justice and accountability. It was also noted that youth perspectives and needs should be effectively integrated into the design and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The discussions reflected the strong support by youth to establish a financial mechanism focused on loss and damage, a further movement towards just transition, and also for local adaptation and resilient solutions that are responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities. Quality education and green decent jobs were a cross-cutting element in several discussions.

Unfortunately, due to final examinations, I had to return to India after the first stint and participate in the second half of the conference virtually. This was something the British High Commissioner in India, H.E. Alex Ellis would later have a hearty laugh at, bemusedly noting the difficulties of juggling global climate diplomacy and college examinations parallelly! The two of us were sharing a stage at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, looking back on COP-27 and also speaking of Indiaā€™s monumental G20 Presidency and its implications for climate action. 

Looking back, a key call to action that I was continually advocating for, was a framework for the implementation of the 2009 commitment emerging out of COP-15 in Copenhagen, where developed countries had promised to jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020. Two years past the deadline, this target has not yet been met, not to mention that it is an outdated oneā€”not accounting for the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the global recession and of course, the Covid-19 pandemic, none of which had been foreseen 14 years ago.

Another key focus for me, through all the panels I was a part of, was to drive focus on the phasing down of fossil fuels at large. At COP-26, India and China were criticised for their 11th-hour change in the agreementā€™s wording from the ā€œphasing-outā€ of coal to its ā€œphasing downā€ instead. At the time, I had spoken on BBC about my diverging perspectives as an environmentalist (the idealist) and an Indian (the realist). I had highlighted that coal should not be individually targeted, since this was in the interest of the Developed world. I was delighted to note that following our advocacy efforts, the Indian Government advocated for the phasing-down of all fossil fuels (and not just coal) at COP27. While this received some reluctant support from the UK and US, the rest of the developed world failed to throw its weight behind this proposal, which ultimately failed.

Nonetheless, this was a sign of significant progress, which ultimately contributed towards the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund, which has been touted as the most successful outcome of the ā€˜African COPā€™. Herein, global governments took the ground-breaking decision to establish new funding arrangements, as well as a dedicated fund, to assist developing countries in responding to loss and damage resulting from climate change. Governments also agreed to establish a ā€˜ā€™ to make recommendations on operationalising the new funding arrangements and the fund at COP28 next year. The first meeting of the transitional committee is expected to take place before the end of March 2023.

The conference proved to be an immense networking opportunity, where I met and interacted with like-minded individuals around the world and discussed common challenges and got inspired by localised solutions to various issues. It was not all work, work, work either! Our hosts at Sharm El-Sheikh sure knew how to party, and took us around to all the cool places. There is little doubt that I came back having made new friends, mentors and acquaintances from all over the world, and I am sure we will continue to collaborate to do our best to affect meaningful change in the time ahead.

I am grateful to YOUNGO (UNFCCCā€™s Constituency for Youth Non-Governmental Organisations) for selecting (and funding) me to represent India at the Conference of Youth (COY-17) between the 2nd-5th of November. Iā€™m also grateful to the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability at 51²č¹Ż for supporting me by bearing my travel expenses for the first stint of the conference. Finally, I am grateful to the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC), Future Climate Leaders Programme, Save the Children India, and Earth Day Network India, for inviting me to be a panellist on several key panels at the Blue Zone of the Conference between the 14th-18th of November. 

Abhiir Bhalla is an active youth environmentalist and freelance sustainability consultant. He is currently part of the Ashoka Scholars Programme at 51²č¹Ż and is pursuing a minor in Entrepreneurship and Media Studies, after having completed a major in Political Science and a minor in International Relations. 

51²č¹Ż

My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka: Experiencing entrepreneurship differently

I remember someone telling me in my first year that Entrepreneurship cannot be taught. I think they are right. It has to be experienced through real-time projects, simulations and real-world case studies. I believe that to be an entrepreneur one must have multiple skills and a specialization in a few. Thereā€™s so much that an entrepreneur has to understand and then make decisions accordingly. My experience with entrepreneurship at Ashoka has been deeply rewarding and enriching.

My first entrepreneurship course was Dr Priyankā€™s Creativity and Design Thinking Course. This was the beginning of my journey. I learnt about various models in design thinking, which is a very powerful way to solve problems. At the end of the day, an entrepreneur is a problem solver, whoā€™s solving product, marketing, finance and so many other problems in their startup. The course allowed me to explore the fields of behavioural science and user experience design. I spent the next year working in the field and learning hands-on in startups.

Then I did some courses on Marketing and Brand Building, which allowed me to understand how great brands are built and why marketing is so crucial. Using the learnings, I was able to work on the brand building of the podcast and small educational startup I was working on. I also did Nishā€™s Digital Professional Course, which taught me industry skills to run digital marketing campaigns.

It was because of all these courses that I was able to get exposure to how the real world works and what skills are valued. During the summer, I worked as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at a health supplements startup, which allowed me to use all the things I had learnt in these courses. It was an enriching experience as I was able to add a lot of value to the strategy and execution of various verticals in the company.

My last semester has been particularly very interesting. There were so many courses and across functions. The four courses allowed me to further expand and deepen my knowledge in areas of finance, business analysis, sales, distribution, marketing and branding. It also allowed me to understand how great businesses are created and what factors govern that.

Overall, my experience has been quite rewarding, considering the applicability of the skills I learnt in these courses. Although it didnā€™t make me an entrepreneur, but my overall business acumen has improved a lot. It has also allowed me to excel at different skills that an entrepreneur needs to make a startup successful.
Running a successful startup is dependent on multiple factors, some of which are in our control and some not. What entrepreneurship at Ashoka has allowed me to do is give me more control of the factors that are in our control.

Ayush Agarwal is an ASP'23 student at 51²č¹Ż.

51²č¹Ż

My Tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka: Learning about myself and the world

My tryst with Entrepreneurship at Ashoka has been one of adventure, going out of my depth to attempt to try something that I had never come close to trying before and doing it with people that may be "Smarter" or have more knowledge of the subject field. I'd never done entrepreneurship before this semester began and didn't know what to expect but decided to go for it and see after the first semester of the year whether I wanted to continue or not, while the first semester of the year had its ups and downs, moments where I wondered if it was truly for me, if I was good enough, if it was worth it, the answer to all those questions were definitely yes and I wanted to continue to pursue a minor and so much more. I'm unsure of whether I want to be an entrepreneur or start my own venture, however, I quickly realized entrepreneurship at Ashoka isn't about wanting to startup by yourself, but is more about building the entrepreneurial mindset in an individual and preparing you for the outside world and these are skills that any organization would want, and in this regard, I learnt more in my one semester about myself and being a leader than I had in the entirety of the previous 21 years of my life.

This past semester I had taken 3 Entrepreneurship courses - Leadership Lessons from the Road Less Traveled, Venture Planning and Strategy, and Understanding Law for Entrepreneurs.

During my time on the road less travelled, the takeaways that I have had from Professors Sunil Handa and Rashmi Bansal supersede that comfortably. I've felt more empowered and confident in myself when I have heard their stories notwithstanding the fact that even a lot of the guest speakers that we hosted, had turned to them for help. Now that I see myself towards the end of the course, I see the transformation in myself as a professional, thanks to the opportunities I've been given by the Entrepreneurship Department. One key takeaway that I will hold and spread about entrepreneurship at Ashoka is that whether you want to be an entrepreneur or not it's important to take these courses because even if you do decide to work, the mindset of an independent entrepreneur is crucial.

Whereas another course I thoroughly enjoyed was Venture Planning and Strategy in which having been from a psychology background, I have spent a lot of time analyzing behaviour within scope, with there being an outcome which is expected or lines in between that we couldn't escape. However, with this course, I felt encouraged to colour outside the lines, to express thoughts which might, as ridiculous as they sounded have some semblance of truth to how it worked if analyzed in the correct method. One aspect that I loved about the course was the analytical aspect, the fact that we were encouraged to think on our feet, the fact that with the case we were encouraged to come up with a one-pager for a question that may or may not exist and more than that the fact that we discussed all the aspects of our cases with our peers, and even the faces behind the cases at times, and that we weren't discouraged from asking the hard-hitting questions.

Last but not the least, the third entrepreneurship course that I've done was one with the most mixed emotions. It wasnā€™t too taxing because it was on a Saturday. However, when it came to the contents of the course it was arguably one of the most interesting courses that I had done in the semester, in the sense, no other course covered the length and breadth that this course covered. As someone that has a vast interest in law and has had generations do law, it was of great insight to me and offered the privilege to learn from esteemed practitioners.

My tryst with entrepreneurship is something that I really do want to continue post my time at Ashoka and really do believe that a lot of the relationships I've made with the faculty will be relationships for life and I will be forever grateful for this. That is something the Entrepreneurship at Ashoka has done that no other department has been able to do.

Rohan Manoj is an ASPā€™23 student at 51²č¹Ż.

51²č¹Ż

Ashokapreneur Highlight: Amaan Andicot, Co-Founder, Finforall

The creation of the asset

After graduating from Shiv Nadar School, Gurgaon in 12th grade, Aayush decided to take a gap year to ā€œtake a break from academiaā€. In that period, he caught wind of a vicious cycle wherein, kids never really got comfortable with money and thus rarely sought to figure out how to earn more of it or allocate it intelligently, apart from the standard of getting a job and putting the money thatā€™s left over into FDs and some mutual funds that their uncle recommends. Due to poor financial habits, many people are left with a far lower amount of money than they would have if they had practised fiscal discipline. A lack of money is not the ideal situation to be in and not talking about it makes the situation worse. Aayush resolved to break this money taboo.

He did so, by starting an Instagram page which went by the name of Finforall.

With what little savings he had, Aayush hired a graphic designer part-time and focused on brand building. He ran continuous experiments on social media pertaining to the content and found that brief and concise articles interwoven with clean, yet vibrant illustrations worked very well with audiences (who at the time were friends and their extended social circles). What worked for Finforall was that carousels (a new content format on Instagram at the time) gained a significant amount of traction and were seeing farther reach than just utilising pictures and slapping articles down in the caption (which was what Finshots - the only player in the market at the time was doing). He doubled down on this new form of content by using illustrations coupled with articles that could be read in no more than 3 minutes and pushing it to the designer to have it drawn out in creatives wherein, the content took centre stage. Within the first few months of going live, Finforall had crossed the 10k follower base mark. This follower count is important as per data from social blade spanning hundreds of pages, the founders realised that the algorithm Instagram uses to push out content to new audiences goes into overdrive once a page crosses 10,000 followers.

Getting to the 10k mark is arguably one of the hardest milestones to achieve on an Instagram page as growth primarily must either be: 1) inorganic (leveraging Instagram ads) which puts engagement at risk, or 2) via word of mouth which is extremely difficult to achieve.

Aayush found that Finforall was in a unique position. Given the surge of interest that took place during the pandemic for investing and the increased amount of screentime people put in towards social media, there was latent demand just waiting to be tapped and no player in the market was capitalizing on it. This first-mover advantage enabled Finforall to scale aggressively and that too, organically (i.e ā€“ with 0 ad spends). At the time, Finshots had total dominance on the newsletter segment; however, Instagram was a relatively underutilized platform on the topic of Finance. Thus, less competition and strong demand from consumers made Aayush plough on with Finforall, eventually rolling out podcasts that were available on Spotify, Apple Music and all major platforms. These podcasts hosted industry legends like Matt Dajer from Yes Theory (a prominent YouTube page), Tanmay Bhat from AIB & Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder of Zerodha.

Eventually, Finforall scaled to 50,000 followers and Aayush had burned over Rs. 2,00,000 into the project without any sight of obtaining a return on the capital invested.

Entry of a co-founder

Finforall as a company started with a very specific chance interaction. While out on a family vacation to Rishikesh, Amaan happened to get acquainted with an HNI. Upon learning about Amaanā€™s interest in investing and his track record over the years, the strategies and rationale behind the investments made, the HNI offered to sign Amaan a cheque to kickstart a public market investment fund with a long-term investment horizon, if Amaan could provide a rationale behind the usage of the money. The catch: in the future or at any point in his career, if Amaan was to turn entrepreneurial and start a venture, the HNI would be issued equity as a sign of good faith. Secondly, in case of any capital losses, Amaan would be personally liable for paying him back his principal amount. The flip side to this was, that if Amaan were to consistently outperform the markets for a 5-year horizon, the HNI would up his stake in the fund and get other HNIs to invest with him. This was a deal of a lifetime for Amaan as it gave him exactly what he dreamt aboutā€¦his own investment fund. This deal however came at a steep cost.

Pressed with this decision, Amaan reached out to Aayush, an old friend and a devilā€™s advocate. After hearing about the terms of the deal, Aayush simply advised ā€œdonā€™t do it, dudeā€. Instead, he came up with another proposal. He threw Amaan an offer to own half of Finforall as a Founder and to create a business model around it. Aayush was creative with his solutions to problems, while Amaan was an executor whoā€™d bring ideas to life.

Equity Split

Aayush and Amaan didnā€™t want to needlessly inflate the value of the business especially when there is no revenue or profit to justify such a steep increase. While Amaan was adamant about getting in at the lowest possible valuation as Finforall was just one year old at that time, Aayush felt strongly that he had taken on a disproportionate amount of risk doing it alone full-time for an entire year, investing his savings and taking a gap year with no clear ROI. Finally, it was decided that Amaan would buy a 50% stake off of Aayush. This enabled the valuation to stay low enabling Amaan to get in on the ground floor, i.e ā€“ keeping the business valued at Rs. 4 lakhs while compensating Aayush for his risk-taking. Thus, they agreed on a 50-50 equity split.

Both founders had seen many businesses fail due to irreconcilable differences among the founders, which eventually permeated into other issues. So, both of them would regularly talk through why a certain course of action was better and if the other wasnā€™t convinced, they would drop the idea altogether. Such a style worked given a high degree of alignment among their values. They were striving to create a cash-compounding machine and one that was not only sustainable but profitable, to begin with.

Structuring out the Company: The Birth of a Business Model

The founders found out that they had a concentrated niche of:

• 24-35-year-olds
• A healthy mix of both genders
• People have either just started working or have limited work experience
• Educated audience with basic knowledge about personal finance
• Possession of savings that can be invested and used 1-2 Bank Accounts

The founders realised that the readers were their greatest asset. To be the customer acquisition channel for finance-based startups, Finforall started offering digital marketing services. It did so by running integrated posts for reputed fintech Brands and financial services companies. So:

• Finforall positioned itself at a premium price point given the high quality of audiences.
• The first ad campaign run was for CoinDCX.

Following a stringent KYC process Finforall only promoted brands which fit at least one of the two categories:

• Founders had used the product/service themselves and felt satisfied.
• The product/service would be of value to their readers.

This helped Finforall, retain the trust of their audiences. Simply put, they put their ear to the ground, studied vast amounts of data and tried to diagnose what problems the audiences faced and how those problems could be solved.

This eventually led to the need to expand the team. Finforall was operating at a very small scale and the founders had to get creative with the hiring process. Knowing that beaten-down stocks tend to trade for lower than even their cash value on the books, they adopted a similar strategy for hiring:

• Find meritorious prospects that have the academic calibre and domain experts but lack soft skills.
• These prospects got passed on for numerous prestigious internships or jobs.
• This in turn enabled Finforall to have high bargaining power with their hires and the hires accepted below industry standards for pay.

This allowed Finforall to expand aggressively while keeping its costs in check. Barring a token salary, all profits that were borne after paying off the entire teamā€™s salaries were ploughed right back into the business, leading to huge profits.

Finforall leveraged the user feedback - there was a high demand for people to learn investing. There was a lack of solid offerings in the market. So Finforall went ahead and handcrafted a course for a batch size of 30 seats (later raised to 50). Rationale ā€“ quality came first above all else and only serious candidates were granted seats. The USP of the course was simple ā€“ the course provided meritorious members with a shot at working with a highly prestigious hedge fund based in India. Finforall was happy to discover the product market fit - receiving 250 applicants within the first 48 hours of opening up the course to their focus groups. The course was priced at Rs. 3,499 a seat. Courses having a zero marginal cost of replication allowed them to remain asset-light.

An Opportunity to Raise Investment

Due to the traction, Finforall enjoyed a YCombinator-backed startup that wanted to explore the possibility of investing in the company. The founders flew down to Mumbai, however, after preliminary discussions Aayush and Amaan decided against raising investment given that they didnā€™t need the capital at that stage and so this would be needlessly diluting the equity. The idea was to remain bootstrapped for as long as possible.

Competitive Pressures

Inspired by the traction received by Finforall, new players started entering the market. Due to increased competition, organic growth for Finforall began to stall.

This is when the founders turned to utilising data and tried to assess what kind of content could go viral. The strategy coupled with targeted inorganic expansion got the growth engine back into full gear.

During this period, barely anybody was advertising on social media. Ad spends were as low as Rs 0.5-0.75 per account. For context, when the advertising boom followed a few months later, ad spending jumped to figures as high as Rs. 2-5 per account reached. Inorganic forms of growth helped Finforall reach the 75k follower mark. This led to significant attention from multiple brands and deal flow began to resume.

In this time period, many foreign clients were opening up shops in India and Finforall became their favourite to advertise with given its audience composition.

Inflow from foreign clients = Need of reaching audiences with high net worths = Competition for limited ad space on Finforall = Pricing Power, given brand value.

Navigating the Acquisition

In December 2021, a foreign hedge fund managed to obtain an overseas direct investment licence from the RBI. This fund was making waves at that time featuring in Sucheta Dalalā€™s Moneylife, ET, and Financial Express (to name a few). This hedge fund was keen on running an integrated ad campaign on Finforall. The hedge fund turned out to be the dream client for Finforall. Firstly, it paid the full amount upfront which is rare when it comes to running campaigns. Secondly, a single integrated post that Finforall ran for them generated $23,000 worth of investments for the fund. Thus, they were keen on exploring the possibility of acquiring Finforall.

The hedge fund was happy to close the deal on the terms that the founders put forth and executed the transaction quickly. Amaan and Aayush knew the euphoria in the market wasnā€™t going to last forever and if they were to take their chips off the table, then that was the time. Their mentor of sorts offered to float the acquisition offer around to see if he could get them a better deal than what was on the table. The founders also consulted an industry veteran regarding the market behaviour and that confirmed their hypothesis.

The very next day, their contact returned with two buyers. One Jupiter - a neo-bank and the second NeoPay - an Indian e-commerce system and payments processor for teens. Finforall had 3 potential buyers at the table which gave the founders the ability to negotiate the best possible deal by staking one offer against the other.

Eventually, the hedge fund applied pressure on insisting on closing the deal within the following week. This forced the founders to negotiate more aggressively with the other potential buyers. In the end, they narrowed it down to 2 potential avenues:

Jupiter ā€“ same target groups, highly experienced management, ideal culture fit for Finforall. The valuation was at 21x Revenue which was better than the hedge fund deal. Additional Clauses: 3-year non-compete post-1-year binding employment contract to oversee the transition.

Hedge Fund ā€“ Faster closure of the deal, more tax efficient (transaction in cash), news articles on both founders regarding the acquisition, no binding clauses or non-compete.

The Jupiter deal was of larger ticket size, and was a better fit for Finforall but came with sharp consequences. The Hedge fund deal on the other hand gave the founders the freedom to do what they wanted as soon as the transaction was closed. This was ideal given the fact that they were attempting to perform a hostile majority stake takeover on a similarly sized competitor of Finforall due to fundamental differences between their stakeholders. What worked against the Hedge Fund deal was the pressure to decide quickly.

In addition to this, Amaan and Aayush had never been able to get onto a video call with the hedge fund buyers. On the other hand, Jupiterā€™s management was more than communicative. During the entire acquisition saga, the founders noticed that the Hedge Fundā€™s Chief Investment Officer was slated to come onto a prestigious conclave/summit that happens once a year and is run by an extremely reputed media house. Looking at the image of the CIO, they ran a backwards search only to find out that thatā€™s not him, but rather a stock image of a ā€œbusinessmanā€ thatā€™s been used in 14 different places including MensHealth!

The term sheet for both deals came in on the same day. They went ahead with Jupiter.

At the time of pitching, Finforall had a follower base of 132K, reached 1,032,118 accounts and garnered over 6,128,000 impressions over a 90-day period. The page had a baseline engagement rate of 3.48%.

Keywords:

• Traction = Follower Growth
• Engagement Rate = For social media pages, it is calculated as:

(Likes+Comments+Saves+Shares) / Total Follower Base

The higher the engagement rate of a page, the better the page is from a quality standpoint.

• Carousels = a slideshow format of putting together photos in the same Instagram post

By Amaan Andicot (ASP'23) & Avnie Garg (YIF'20)

51²č¹Ż

Ashokapreneur Highlight: Abbas Ali Zaveri, Founder, Hypefly

What is Hypefly? How did it start and what is the story behind it?

Well, it all started back when I was in 11th Grade, just another broke teenager who wanted to buy a pair of limited-edition premium sneakers. I faced 2 major problems with this purchase, one being the fact that a pair of such sneakers was way over a studentā€™s budget and, the other factor being that I had absolutely no idea where to find these types of sneakers in India. This drove me to speak to a lot of people, and make new connections, all in an attempt to figure out how to purchase these sneakers in India. Soon, I was able to find a community of such sneakerheads who were willing to sell me a pair. When it came to the problem of my budget to fund this purchase, I had an idea. Why not find people with similar interests, facing the same problem, and solve it by supplying these pairs which I had managed to track down? This search for buying my first pair of sneakers led to the birth of a business idea. One by one I began selling these pairs to my friends over Instagram.

The beginning was tough. I would make one sale a week, or at max. two. However, as time passed, the sale picked up. I had generated enough capital to invest in my own inventory which allowed me to create an online store as an Instagram page to put these sneakers up for sale. That was when we initially launched our Instagram page - . We had a successful start since we had great organic growth and the number of sales kept growing.

Eventually one and a half years after operating from Instagram, I decided it was time to take it to another level. We formally registered as a private limited company and began the journey to create a website. From the inception of the idea and accounting for every small detail ensuring it was perfect, it took us six months until we could launch the website . This is the story of our journey.

From a click on the website to order to doorstep delivery, could you run us down the seamless operations you do?

Our process is smooth and convenient for the customer and us too. On the customer's end, once they make the purchase on the website, they receive an order confirmation along with an order number. On our end, as we receive this order, it is at once located in our warehouse and sent for a quality check. This is followed by packaging and branding. We double-box and wrap all our products so our customers receive their sneakers in perfect condition. Post packaging a shipping label is generated, after which the pair is shipped and the tracking details are mailed to the customer. The whole process takes about 24 hours until dispatch after which in 36-48 hours our customers receive their kicks right at their doorstep.

What is Hypeflyā€™s USP?

Hypefly solved the three major problems when it comes to the purchase of hyped and limited sneakers. We guarantee 100% authenticity, providing a full refund for even the smallest flaws, we solve the pricing of the collection trade off providing a large collection of 450 pairs in 10 different sizes at highly competitive prices, further we make the whole process of shopping for such sneakers seamless with our simple to use UI/UX over on our website.

Bollywood stars like Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone etc. are Hypeflyā€™s customersā€”how did that happen?

It all started one day when I got a call from celebrity stylist Shaleena Nathani, who was making an inquiry regarding sneakers for Deepika Padukone. Stunned by her words, I quickly rounded up some options at great prices and sent them over to her. Soon after I got a call that she had made her picks and they required it delivered to the film set. That day I was able to interact with her while she tried on the shoes, and she was no doubt in love with the pairs. Later that year Shaleena requested pairs for Shah Rukh Khan and Hardik Pandya too! Over time, word spread in the industry, and stylists would contact us to style celebrities. This gave me the opportunity to interact with many celebrities, and have the biggest stars like Ranveer Singh, Siddharth Malhotra, and KL Rahul wear Hypefly.

Can you tell us about any milestones/memorable moments for you at Hypefly?

The day we launched the website will forever be one of my favourite moments. The result of six months of hard work and planning was going to be decided. The moment the website went up we saw a rapid rise in the number of live viewers resulting in issues with payments, servers, etc. We had never anticipated such a great response. Gathering the web development team, we spent the whole night troubleshooting and ensuring the performance of the website goes as per our standards. Eventually, our stress came to an end, the website took off perfectly and the orders started growing exponentially. The moment it hit me that this project was a success is one which I can never forget. The whole process from brainstorming the website, and orchestrating and marketing our launch to the excessive stress finally paid off when it went live.

What is the next big thing Hypefly is planning to do?

Over the next few years, we plan to expand into other subsidiary products ranging from sneaker care to sneaker storage. Currently, we are in the works of launching our very own clothing brand, a sustainable and affordable streetwear label. Over the next few months, we expect development with this and hopefully will launch soon. Apart from that, we have a long-term goal of launching our very own sneaker experiential store in Mumbai, which hopefully we will achieve soon!

Describe Hypefly in 3 words?

Culture, Authenticity, & Fashion

The interview was conducted by Manoj Kumar Reddy Dinne (MLSā€™23), who TAā€™ed for the Startup Incubation Lab by Srikant Sastri in Monsoon Semester 2022 where Abbas was a course participant.

51²č¹Ż

Finding My Inner Strength To Strive Against All Odds

I used to be a person who always doubted myself but I am so proud to share with you that I have gone on to start an NGO, ā€œGoPaadhaiā€.

Oh, my readers, did I miss a few steps? Let me take a step back!

Having cerebral palsy and being a wheelchair user, I have been working towards improving my condition ever since I was born. My parents have been providing all possible support to make me more independent--from giving physiotherapy and enrolling me in an inclusive school to providing all kinds of possible opportunities to achieve my dreams. Most importantly, they treated me equally among peers, which gave me a sense of being in the real world. 

My condition does not stop me from dreaming. I took a gap year after my high school graduation in the year 2020. My dream is to pursue child psychology and I took this opportunity to engage with children. I volunteered at my school (HLC International) to work with children and teach them English and math. 

It was a life-changing opportunity for me. I learned a lot of things like how to deal with different kinds of people and age groups with different characteristics from all walks of life. I had a lot of ups and downs, struggled a lot in managing various things but I did not lose hope and worked hard to achieve what I wanted to pursue and I strongly believe that the gap year that I chose shaped me to start my next chapter.

Having my condition in mind (cerebral palsy and being a wheelchair user) I realized that universities abroad will have better opportunities in terms of accessibility and the quality of education would be much better, especially in the field of psychology. 

In my life, I have realized that when I plan something it does not happen that way. When I was applying for universities abroad, a pandemic stepped in. There were many difficulties in the process and it took a lot of time for the process to set in. So my parents and I made the decision to stay in India for my undergraduate education.  

Although I was very happy that we made a very practical decision as a family, I was very worried about the support I will receive from the universities that I apply to. The moment I realized abroad was not going to be feasible was the moment I started researching universities that had inclusion as one of their core values. 

There were hardly any universities that had an inclusive setup and accessibility other than Ashoka. This university was my first choice.

During my schooling, the support of academic accommodations to take my exams, complete my assignments, note taking, etc was taken care of and I was very unsure if I will be receiving similar support while applying to Indian universities.

Right from the start, Ashoka university was very supportive of my accommodations. In fact, the university was very understanding that they allowed me to have my mother as a scribe to write my entrance test. I was thrilled and overwhelmed when I got admission into Ashoka.

Fast forward to the first year I was very nervous about taking online classes and writing long essays. One of my difficulties - my typing and writing speeds are very slow and I was worried even with the extra time given to me that I may not be able to complete my assignments on time. 

That is when OLS came to my rescue and they introduced me to the software Otter.ai where the software types everything that I say. Believe me, it saves so much time and I was able to do everything independently which gave me a lot of confidence.

I completed my entire first year online and Ashoka was very supportive.  This is my first year at the campus and I love it. Being a wheelchair user, it is very accessible for me because there are ramps, lifts, and even wheelchair-accessible restrooms. I am very independent on campus. Being a social butterfly, it is not difficult for me to make friends or interact with new people but I was very nervous about what people will think about my disability, not that I care about what people think. 

But itā€™s very nice when people see me beyond my disability. 

I have been selected as a where I have been raising funds for underprivileged schools and communities. I started my own NGO called ā€œGoPaadhaiā€.  I published a book called ā€œPaadhaiā€, which has my story and three other amazing young changemakers' stories as well. During this process, the professors were so understanding and even reduced my workload so I could focus on writing my book. These things motivated me and gave me more confidence in what I do. 

I faced a lot of challenges but I didnā€™t let go of my dreams.

Being at 51²č¹Ż for two years changed me as a person too. I learned that itā€™s okay to ask for help when you need it. Sometimes when things get hard, we need to enjoy the process because, in the end, we will learn something from it.

(Upasana Ravikannan is a second-year undergraduate student studying Psychology at 51²č¹Ż.)

51²č¹Ż

Honā€™ble CM Manohar Lal felicitated the sixth batch of CMGGA

A graduation ceremony for Chief Ministerā€™s Good Governance Associates (CMGGA) Programme batch of 2021-22 was chaired by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Haryana in the presence of PD CMGGA Dr. Amit Agrawal (IAS), Vineet Gupta, Trustee, 51²č¹Ż, Ashish Dhawan, Chairman, Board of Trustee, 51²č¹Ż, Mohit Soni, Chief Coordination Officer, CMGGA programme and CMGGAs from all districts at Haryana Niwas, Chandigarh.

The CMGGA programme is a strategic collaboration between 51²č¹Ż and the Government of Haryana since 2016 to leverage the energy, creativity and skill of the youth to work on state priorities and push for good governance. Every year, the selected candidates are placed across 22 districts of Haryana and work directly with the Deputy Commissioners and district administration to streamline the system and provide innovative solutions to revamp existing structures for increased productivity and enhanced citizen delivery.

The interaction at the graduation ceremony started with progress updates on multiple flagship initiatives across agriculture, poverty alleviation, e-governance, education, and service delivery running in the districts where Associates presented a status of milestones achieved and shared their insights from the ground.

Honā€™ble CM Shri Manohar Lal awarded the associates with the Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the one-year experiential learning programme. Honā€™ble CM interacted with associates about their learnings and contributions over the past year and their future plans.

The Hon'ble CM expressed his appreciation ā€œI am pleased to see another successful year, the 6th year, being completed by CMGGAs. It is the only youth participation-based governance programme in the country which has lasted this long. I believe it is because of the programmeā€™s fundamentally strong design and structure and relentless work from you all that makes it a success. The zeal and enthusiasm that Associates show in their one year of tenure with the CMGGA programme are unparalleled. Their initiatives and ideas have aided the District Administration in the process of reengineering various schemes.ā€

APSCM Dr. Amit Agrawal, PDCMGGA says, ā€œThis year, we are successfully graduating our sixth batch (2021-22). These 24 young Associates chosen from various States, with diverse academic backgrounds and professional expertise have worked closely under the valued guidance of their respective District Administrations to ensure the success of welfare schemes on the ground.ā€

Vineet Gupta, Founder and Trustee, 51²č¹Ż, says, ā€œUnder the leadership of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Haryana, who is a continuous source of motivation and leadership to us, this programme was able to contribute to the weakest sections of the population of the State. I wish all the luck to this cohort of 2021-22. I believe these Associates would be valuable assets for any corporate or organization.ā€

Progress across the government's flagship programs was also highlighted.

For instance, in Mukhya mantri Parivaar Utthan Yojna, associates assisted the administration in increasing the sanction of Loans to 26000 + till date and disbursal of 10,000+ loans. They were instrumental in training and onboarding of the over 330 counseling desk members that helped increase the scheme selection rate from 56% to 89% in Antyodaya Melas.

Similarly, in Welfare Schemes delivery, associates recommended 12 suggestions under 4 themes were presented in the Feb review meeting. These recommendations span across Policy Changes, strengthening of delivery. 25 recommendations across 150 + schemes under 6 themes are being presented. The same is being published launched by Honā€™ble CM through the report Strengthening Welfare Delivery in Haryana - Citizen Feedback and recommendations on Schemes.
Honā€™ble CM also launched the CMGGA yearbook that summarizes the achievements of the programme in the sixth year run.

It is noteworthy that the associates facilitated 700+ trainings to cover all the 24,000 Anganwadi Workers in Haryana strengthening the Samarth Haryana across state. Since 2016, the CMGGA work domain has expanded. From citizen service delivery, women safety, health and nutrition, education, sanitation, and now COVID, agriculture, poverty alleviation, welfare schemes feedback, and skills & employment. Associates (or CMGGAs as they are referred to) have worked efficiently to bring about the best in governance.

51²č¹Ż

Ashoka Semester Abroad 2021-22: Discovering the world of Academia and Culture

Ashoka Semester Abroad 2021-22: Discovering the world of Academia and Culture

Travel restrictions and visa delays could not deter Ashokans from exploring the world through the Ashoka Semester Abroad Programme. During the Academic year 2021-22, 15 Ashoka students spent a semester abroad at partner universities. Their enriching experience has motivated a larger student body to pursue Summer and Monsoon 2022 abroad.

The Spring Semester 2022 started in the month of January 2022 where students participated in one of the host universities for studying Spring Semester Abroad 2022.  The GESP office presented an opportunity for Ashoka students to study at international universities for the spring semester in 2022. In particular, six students were nominated to the partner universities Kingā€™s College London & Trinity College Dublin & one student went on self-funded to UC Berkeley making a total of 7 students who were abroad.   

The students completed spring semester 2022 at host universities successfully. Here are some of their experiences.

Kingā€™s College London

"A semester in London as an English major allowed me to experience the discipline more broadly. Whether it was watching an adaptation of Hamlet at the National Theatre or walking through the street where Herman Melville used to live while reading Moby Dick for class. The faculty at King's showed a deep investment in the students' learning and the class sizes were small to ensure everyone participated in the production of knowledge. I am grateful to the GESP and the English Department at Ashoka for this opportunity." Saadia Peerzada - UG 22 at KCL

ā€œBeing a student in London is allowing me to firsthand discover more about the world and its diverse cultures. Simultaneously, it is giving me the humbling chance to represent our Indian culture abroadā€¦My semester at Kingā€™s College London is positively challenging me both academically and personally, and is helping me grow into an informed, free spirited and happy individual.ā€  Shireen Kalra - UG23 at KCL

University of Berkeley, California (UC Berkeley)

ā€œMy time at Berkeley has been so rewarding and enriching! Along with premier academics where professors support different thought processes, the campus has such a bustling culture that invites you to experience the whole world in one microcosm!ā€ Hemanshi Agarwal - UG 22 ā€“ at Berkeley University

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

"Being an exchange student at Trinity College Dublin has been immensely rewarding, both academically and personally. TCD's model of self-study complements Ashoka's academic rigor perfectly - it builds upon a foundation of critical thinking while allowing students to delve deeper into their own interests. I am exploring untrodden paths, bit by bit, everyday here in Dublin!""                                           

Isha Dasari - UG 22 at Trinity College Dublin

"A few months ago, I had no foresight that I would be studying abroad. However, as this marvelous opportunity to study at Trinity - with a waiver on tuition fee- came along, I was quick to grab it! Here, as a Psychology student, I am pursuing rigorous courses in the Biological domain. During break times, I love sitting in the aisles of the historic Long Room and other academic libraries. Arguably, the best part of my experience, however, has been making friends from all parts of the EU and discovering threads between our cultures." Vaidehi Gupta- UG 23 at TCD

ā€œAttending Trinity for a semester not only allowed me to experience a multicultural classroom but also provided me with a euro-centric perspective to view economic issues. Itā€™s been enthralling to study in the heart of Dublin with beautiful seaside towns a stoneā€™s throw away. Iā€™ve deeply enjoyed and learnt during my time here and would highly recommend interested students to applyā€. Atisha Mahajan- UG22 at Trinity College Dublin

Sciences Po, Paris

ā€œStudying abroad for me was a journey towards exploring a life filled with possibilities and liberating experiences.ā€ Sanjay Sudarsan at Sciences Po, Paris

University of Sheffield

"I experienced a moral, spiritual, and intellectual awakening because of one of my modules... I am genuinely grateful for the support I found at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield." Dewansh Matharoo at University of Sheffield.                                                       

51²č¹Ż

Kicking off the Summer Semester-2022Ā 

The summer semester is all set to take place from July 4th to August 12th and the GESP office is looking forward to welcoming and hosting the VSP, VISP and Ashoka Students on campus.

This year the summer semester is being held in a hybrid mode with some courses offered online but a majority of them taking place on campus. 

Additionally, the GESP office has hired two undergraduate students who will support and assist the office in ensuring a seamless experience for Visiting Students and planning engagement activities for the students. 

Meet Our Summer Ambassadors 

Shyamali Tewari likes to introduce herself as a professional procrastinator. She is an upcoming second year Economics major and a Mathematics minor student whose interests range between Indian mythology and Bollywood cinema. She recognizes herself being an all-time foodie, and says - ā€œjust hand me a pepperoni pizza and that's the quickest way to win me over.ā€ 

As a Summer Ambassador, Shyamali is looking forward, ā€œto interacting with my peers from around the world and trying to connect with them at a cultural, social as well as at an intellectual level.ā€

Bhumika Mittal

Bhumika started her undergraduate degree at 51²č¹Ż in 2021 and is currently a rising sophomore. She is planning to major in Computer Science and Entrepreneurship with a minor in Mathematics. At present, she is exploring the intersectionality of different computer science and mathematical fields and wishes to pursue higher studies in the same. In her spare time, she enjoys learning about different cultures and reading about human psychology.

ā€œAs a summer ambassador, I am looking forward to meeting incoming students, interacting and learning with them and presenting Ashoka from my lens while getting a new perspective about Ashoka from their lens :)ā€

51²č¹Ż

ā€˜The brightest day follows the darkest nightā€™

There are just a few things that can justify getting dressed up in formal suits, dresses and saris to make a long journey under the sweltering sun, through the dusty highways of Haryana, to a place that is far from home for most of us. Seeing as how, on the 11^th of June, hundreds of us did just that, I think itā€™s safe to say that the Convocation ceremony at 51²č¹Ż is one of those things.

It was a bittersweet feeling, entering those gates between the red brick walls, knowing full well that once we left that evening, we wouldnā€™t ever return as undergraduate students. So, even as we donned our mortarboards and gowns, illuminated by the beaming smiles of the loved ones accompanying us, both feelings of jubilation and trepidation took their seats in our hearts. 

Speaking of taking seats, the chaos as we assembled for our batch photograph was one to behold, both for the awe of seeing such a large number of our batch together and the palpable excitement in the air for when we would finally toss our hats up high. 

It was oddly fitting that the ceremony took place in the multi-purpose hall of the sports complex. Years ago, this was where we had one of the first orientation sessions of our college life. So, it was only proper to see us off at the same place. Even as we changed and evolved from the fresh-faced young undergraduates we were that day to the experienced graduating seniors had become, some things really did remain the same.

Waiting in line alphabetically was an experience I hadnā€™t been through since my school days. It felt oddly nostalgic to find myself phonetically shuffled into a moving queue. I saw many kinds of people around me that day; people I was close to, people I knew and people I knew of, and even people Iā€™d never interacted with before. Altogether, they were people part of my collective experience of graduating, and I was proud to share the occasion with some of the best, brightest and most accomplished individuals I have had the pleasure of knowing.

Professor Kelvin Everestā€™s convocation address struck a chord with me. When he spoke of the journey across India he had once undertaken that led him to his association with Ashoka today, I couldnā€™t help but reflect on the journey that I, alongside so many of my peers, had come on over the past three years. 

Through sunshine and storms and thick and thin, we persevered on an odyssey that spanned both the real world and the digital one we took refuge in for the better part of two years. But truly, the brightest day follows the darkest night, and the very fact that we could all assemble in that hall in celebration of our achievements put a spring in my step and a smile on my face. 

As someone who suffers from anxiety, the idea of going up on stage without any rehearsal or training can sometimes be daunting and scary. Oddly enough, on the day of the convocation I felt none of that. Cheering on those who came before me played a part in that, my hands were too busy clapping to tremble and my mouth too busy smiling to grimace. The applause and the cheering as each student was called on stage to receive their degree deafened any murmurs of hesitation or nervousness within me. And after my turn was done, I came right back to my seat to clap my hands red and raw, just to show each of my batchmates the well-deserved appreciation that was long overdue. 

The last two years had taken many things from us but the fact that we could still have this fleeting moment of triumph was something worth appreciating indeed.

As all good things must come to an end, so did our convocation ceremony. We filtered out of the sports complex as a writhing sea of humanity; hugging, crying, laughing and congratulating. We had entered that very building as freshers not knowing the path that lay ahead of us, yet we exited it as confident and accomplished adults, looking far beyond the horizon on which the sun was setting right before us.

Finally, it was time for high tea, for others, it was high time to leave before the traffic outside got worse. Although the day began with reunions, farewells were soon to follow. Some of us would be coming back to the campus soon, others would not. As I walked out of the campus from between the gates that had now become a familiar part of my life, I pondered the lines of dialogue made immortal by the late Irrfan Khan: ā€œI suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.ā€

I held my hand out and I waved.

(Adheesh Ghosh graduated from 51²č¹Ż this year)

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Wrap Up: Convocation for Undergraduate Programme

The convocation ceremony for the undergraduate batch of 2022 kicked off with a speech by the Chancellor, Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee. Prof. Mukherjee encouraged the graduating students to ā€œstep over the threshold of Ashoka into an onerous phase of lifeā€. He further described how the graduating students would be entering the ā€œuniversity of lifeā€ and leaving their existence in a bubble in Haryana. He urged the students ā€œnot to forget the virtues of integrity, moral courage, sense of responsibility that they learnt at Ashoka and to serve as beacons of these virtues to the people around them.ā€

His words were met with a loud round of applause, after which he invited the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Malabika Sarkar, to address the august gathering.  

Prof. Sarkar, in her speech, acknowledged the difficulties faced by most of us during the COVID-19 pandemic. She praised the universityā€™s efforts in overcoming these difficulties, celebrating how ā€œeveryone made sure that the vibrancy of the university was not taken away by the challenges of the pandemic.ā€ 

Prof. Sarkar also discussed the future of the university, which included strengthening all university departments, the creation of centres for advanced computing and scientific and medical research, and the completion of the new library building- the very ā€œheart of the campusā€.

To productively counterbalance the growth of the sciences in the university, Prof. Sarkar revealed that new plans for a centre for classical and modern languages have been set in motion. After detailing the universityā€™s future plans, She told the graduating students that there was a ā€œwonderful worldā€ waiting for them outside, quoting Louis Armstrongā€™s famous song.

She ended her address with some advice for the students, telling them not to feel intimidated or anxious as they stepped out with their graduating scrolls but to carry the wonder of learning in their hearts. 

Prof. Sarkar then introduced the distinguished keynote speaker for the ceremony ~ Prof. Kelvin Everest, Emeritus A.C. Bradley and Professor of Modern Literature at the University of Liverpool.

Prof. Everestā€™s ties with 51²č¹Ż are indeed strong ~ he has donated more than 400 books to 51²č¹Żā€™s library on the famous Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

He started his address by celebrating the importance of the convocation and being a graduate. Prof. Everest urged the students: ā€œgive this moment your full and undivided attention to soak it all in for the future and the rest of your lives.ā€

ā€œ51²č¹Ż is an outstanding example and model for the manner in which India has gone about addressing the fundamental question of how to educate its aspiring population to an appropriate level in the contemporary world,ā€ he maintained. 

Prof. Everest recalled his first visit in India, remarking on how different India was then than it is today. He noted how, despite all the change, Indiaā€™s democratic spirit is the one thing that hasnā€™t gone. ā€œIt is a vision of nationhood, a great deal to the life of Mahatma Gandhi,ā€ he stated.

He ended his address by telling the students to remember that they have the power and potential to help the world change, and reminded them to enjoy convocation and remember it forever. 

The undergraduate students of 2022 were then awarded their degrees by the Chancellor. One by one, bright-eyed students lined up to receive their hard-earned degrees from the Chancellor on stage. 

The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Dr. Rajesh Garodia. The ceremony concluded with the singing of the national anthem. 

(Reported by Juhi Negi and Uma Bakshi. Juhi is a second-year student at 51²č¹Ż studying English and Media Studies. Uma is a first-year student studying Sociology at 51²č¹Ż.)

51²č¹Ż

Meet our Graduates

The Curious Kid Who Found Answers At 51²č¹Ż

Nitin Verma is a member of the graduating batch of 2022. He double Majored in Mathematics and Economics with a concentration in Entrepreneurship

Taking Things One Day At A Time

Nishtha Dani is a member of the graduating batch of 2022, who majored in History with a concentration in International Relations

The Dancer Who Loves Solving Complex Problems

Kashvi Jajodia is a member of the graduating batch of 2022, who majored in Economics

To Live As It Comes

Pawas Pratikshit is a student belonging to the graduating batch of Ashoka Scholars Programme this year. He has done an Advanced Major in Political Science with a minor in English

Like A Box of Chocolates

Satvik Agarwal is a member of the graduating batch of 2022. He majored in Economics and Finance with a concentration in Entrepreneurship

Overcoming The Culture Shock

Saransh Ahuja is a part of the graduating batch of Ashoka Scholars Programme this year. He has completed an Advanced Major in Psychology

Kindness Goes A Long Way

Pranathi Jammula is a part of the undergraduate class of 2022. She majored in Economics and Finance along with a concentration in History

For more information, visit: 

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ Kindness Goes A Long Way

The first time I came to 51²č¹Ż, I was overwhelmed by its sheer immensity ~ both in terms of space and people. There was nobody else from my city in our batch and I wondered if it would be difficult for me to adjust to the new environment. I was proven wrong instantly as the university welcomed me with open arms.

The more I explored 51²č¹Żā€™s vastness, the smaller it grew and the more approachable the people became. It was the first time I was so far away from home and the freedom of having my own room, the ability to roam the campus at whatever time I wanted and do whatever I wanted while being responsible for my actions made me feel like a true adult and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The memories of rainy days on campus, late night walks and food runs, curling up inside my blanket with snacks and a movie, are still fresh in my mind as though they happened yesterday.

Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, I was on campus as I wasnā€™t able to go back home to Kurnool. This proved to be a blessing in disguise because during this time, I underwent some serious self-reflection and growth that was almost cathartic. During my first year on campus, I had faced a lot of self-doubt which stemmed from me limiting myself. I decided to not let it set me back anymore and started taking academically challenging courses, going out of my way to approach people and be friends and signing up for various events.

Slowly but steadily, I started prospering academically and found some wonderful friends. This gave me a massive confidence boost and made me realise that I am on my own journey and I need not compare that with others. I even started learning a lot through my interactions with different people.

The only advice I have for upcoming batches would be to explore every inch of campus. You do not know where you might just find the spot that becomes your haven for the coming three years. Try to be more inclusive in everything ~ be it academics, your friend circle, or extracurricular activities.

This way you can grow with the people around you. A major takeaway I have had is that being kind goes a long way. I have known so many people who are always willing to help others out and I aspire to be like them and help people with whatever knowledge I have.

My time at 51²č¹Ż has been really special to me. It has been a space that has helped me flourish, a sanctum away from chaos, an anvil that has shaped me. It has been home.

(Extracted from a conversation with Juhi Negi)

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ Overcoming the Culture Shock

After four years at 51²č¹Ż, Saransh Ahuja is now ready to sprout his wings and fly away from 51²č¹Ż to chase his dreams. He recounts the extraordinary journey he has undertaken as a student at this university.

Saransh reveals that he underwent a grave ā€˜culture shockā€™ after joining the institution, which affected both his academic as well as non-academic endeavours. He says that the academic challenges that he faced in the first semester included ā€œchoosing the right combination of foundation courses, balancing the difficulty of their course content, assessing the aims/objectives and pedagogical styles of different professors, and most importantly, adjusting to the system of self-learning by indulging in scholarly material and academic writing.ā€

These academic challenges cropped up in different forms in the later semesters. After changing his mind about his major four times in his first year and changing his prospective career path three times in the last three years, Saransh claims that an important lesson that this journey taught him was that ā€œit is completely fine to try out new things, develop new interests and not be afraid of changing paths.ā€

In the non-academic realm, Saransh states that his role as a Resident Assistant and a Resident Assistant Mentor at 51²č¹Ż was integral in the development of a professional skill set. At the end of the day, Saransh not only discovered himself multiple times on this journey but also embraced each of those versions of himself.

Saranshā€™s perception of 51²č¹Ż has evolved over the span of four years. He says, ā€œBeing a part of the institution for the past four years, I have experienced it grow in many realms. I used to see it as an elite institution that is obscure from mainstream A-list Indian institutions at the beginning. I have seen 51²č¹Ż create a name for itself not just on a national level but also on a global level through research collaborations, guest lectures and talks from esteemed faculty of premier institutions, and the work that 51²č¹Żā€™s brilliant alumni are doing across the globe.ā€

However, according to him, this competitive environment at Ashoka could, at times, be frustrating for people to deal with. In such times, Saransh believes, ā€œIt is important to have faith in your ability, back your strengths and trust the reason why you were selected to study at 51²č¹Ż. So remain patient, keep hustling and wait for your moment.ā€

Although he would miss taking leisurely strolls on the lawns during snack time and watching the colours of the sunsets unfold to give us the most magical Sonipat Skies, he has greater plans for the future. 51²č¹Ż bids Saransh a fond farewell as he sets foot into the outside world to further his studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

(Extracted from a conversation with Zoya Sayeda)

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ Like a Box of Chocolates

Throughout my time at 51²č¹Ż, I constantly felt like I was in Forrest Gump. I kept ending up at the right place, at the right time, which helped me make the best use of my time here at the campus right from the very beginning.  

My first day on campus as a freshman was nothing out of the ordinary. The entire day went in completing formalities (like going to the dreaded IT department to get the WiFi password) and engaging in conversations with people on campus. Getting acquainted with my roommate was a challenge at first, considering how we were opposites of each other. Itā€™s funny thinking about that now that we are best friends.

I think the sense of community you feel once you are at college is unique to 51²č¹Ż, especially in the clubs and societies. The Ashoka Investments Club took me in when I had zero knowledge of finance and investments, and moulded me into a ā€œfinbroā€ (according to some of my friends) over the three years. On a more serious note, I learnt a lot in AIC- lessons that continue to help me to this day.

My experiences at 51²č¹Ż were shaped by the people around me, and the memories we have of our time on campus. One such instance that captured my Ashokan experience was when I rolled down the hills near the dhaba on my roommateā€™s birthday. This is something of an Ashokan tradition ~ almost everyone at Ashoka has done this in their first year. So, my journey at 51²č¹Ż came full-circle when I did this in my last semester.

This was followed by lying down on the grass under the night sky with my friends and drinking soda from the dhaba. I think that has been one of my most ā€œAshokan experiences,ā€ and itā€™s one I will never forget.

From the start, being at 51²č¹Ż was like a roller-coaster. I learnt so much from my time here, and every challenge I faced pushed me to work harder and become a better person. If thereā€™s any advice I could offer the incoming batch, it would be to put yourself out there! After all, life is like a box of chocolates- you never know what youā€™re going to get.

(Extracted from a conversation with Uma Bakshi)

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ To Live As It Comes

After starting the Ashokan journey in the year 2018, Pawas Pratikshit is now ready to leave the campus with a heart full of excitement to chase his dreams, a huge trunk of skills and knowledge, and a truckload of exhilarating memories to cherish.

While his journey has been a special and unparalleled experience, it wasnā€™t a smooth ride by any means. The challenges faced by him were aplenty, subsuming both academic and non-academic dilemmas. Pawas believes that the academic and non-academic challenges he faced on this journey were not entirely different from each other.

Pawas had left the confines of a boarding school only to enter the liberal environment at 51²č¹Ż. He says, ā€œā€¦in that sense, the transition from high school to 51²č¹Ż was anything but gradual. The sheer pressure to fit in into a new, alien, and unrelatable-because-glamorous environment was overwhelming and I would often keep to myself.ā€

The academic challenges that he faced arose from the same reason: differences between his school academic environment and the college academic environment. He states, ā€œThe academic system, the credits and grades were so very different from the system that I was accustomed to in a CBSE school.ā€

These challenges took the better of Pawas in the first semester, but gradually, he managed to find his way around them.

While overcoming these challenges, important life lessons were also learnt. When asked to summarize his Ashokan experience in a single song, he said it would be the stirring Yun Hi Chala Chal from the famous movie Swades.

Just like the message that the song conveys, to live life as it comes, Pawas believes that at 51²č¹Ż, one must not sacrifice living in the moment because of oneā€™s urge to always fit in with the crowd, but to always retain their individuality and to live life to the fullest. After making memories of a lifetime at 51²č¹Ż, ranging from his experience of winning the Ashoka Cricket Super Sixes league to spending time at the gym, Pawas Pratikshit has successfully managed to reach the end of a remarkable Ashokan journey.

(Extracted from a conversation with Zoya Sayeda)

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ The Dancer who Loves Solving Complex Problems

I am someone who is extremely passionate about breaking down complex problems and solving them using analytical frameworks. My Economics and Finance degree at 51²č¹Ż has equipped me with the necessary tools to solve wide ranging macro and microeconomic problems across different industries. Thus, I will be pursuing a career in Management consulting which feeds well with my interests.

Apart from academics, I am a professionally trained Kathak dancer. I headed the dance society - Abhinaya of 35+ members at 51²č¹Ż. During my tenure, Abhinaya carried forward more than 15 online productions including Masterclasses with Maestros like Srimati Ramavaidyanathan and three mega in person events in a span of 1.5 months since the college reopened.

Along with my degree at 51²č¹Ż, I have also been pursuing a masters in arts degree in Indian classical dance which has enabled me to represent the country both at National & International level for dance.

Having been someone whoā€™s always had a lot on my plate, be it 51²č¹Żā€™s challenging economics curriculum, my passion for problem solving or my active involvement in student life services, I believe I have learnt the art of maintaining a work life balance.

Overall my journey at 51²č¹Ż has been enriching and has helped me to think analytically and critically, understand people better, and manage my time effectively.

(Edited excerpts from a conversation with Samantha Samson) 

51²č¹Ż

#Graduate Stories – Taking Things One Day At A Time

If my time at 51²č¹Ż was a TV show, it would probably be Schitt's Creek. Everything that happens in college often feels extreme, with extremely small things seeming like great leaps and vice versa after a while.

Even my first day on campus followed this pattern. I vividly remember it. It was so much running around, saying hi to way too many people and asking generic questions. I was mostly flabbergasted being in this new environment, but at the same time I was also really happy and energetic. My favourite part was talking to seniors. Everyone I spoke to was very warm and enthusiastic, and this surprised me the most.

Clubs and societies are the greatest representation of the feeling of community at 51²č¹Ż. The Ashoka History Society had the greatest impact on me. From literally the 2nd week of my first year, till now I have never found a warmer, welcoming and exciting community than History Society. I found friends for life, inspiring and loving seniors, inspiration, and motivation all combined in one.

Yet, there are some hurdles you have to overcome alone. Time management is so hard to do at 51²č¹Ż and honestly, you have to give yourself time to get a hang of things and keep your overflowing schedule under control. I sort of overcome this every semester by planning my to-do list and keeping the bare minimum on it. Personally, planning is half the work done, and I always try to take things one day at a time.

Thatā€™s essentially college ~ taking things one day at a time. If I could give juniors some advice before graduating, it would be to not overthink. College is tough, but so are you! 51²č¹Ż is going to bring lots of surprises every day, so try your best and do not ever be shy to ask for help.

My college experience was so different from a regular one because of the pandemic but the spirit embodied by the Schitt family of hanging on to the different people in their lives and making the most out of the small moments is how I would encapsulate my experience at 51²č¹Ż.

(Edited excerpts from a conversation with Uma Bakshi)

51²č¹Ż

#GraduateStories ā€“ The Curious Kid who Found Answers at 51²č¹Ż

I come from Kaliya Kadi, a small village in Madhya Pradesh. When I got the opportunity to come and study at an institution like 51²č¹Ż, I was overwhelmed but I found a safe space to make mistakes, learn and grow from them. Since I was a child, I was never afraid to question things that were going on around me. I was curious and I wanted answers, and I think it's safe to say that I found some answers to my questions by interacting with a diverse group of people here at 51²č¹Ż. 

If I had to describe my Ashokan Journey in one word, it would be a rollercoaster ~ a good roller coaster ride where there were no full stops to high points. From pursuing a double major in Economics to following my passion for cycling and becoming an integral part of the Career Development Office team, I got to unravel many milestones in these four years for myself. In my very first year, I found my passion for Cycling which led to me becoming the founding President of the Ashoka Cycling Club where I have done everything in my capacity to fuel my passion. 

Throughout these years I have organized various rides and events for the Cycling Club but one of the biggest milestones which I accomplished was in December 2021. I completed my first 3000 km- solo and self supported ride, which started from 51²č¹Ż Campus to Atal Tunnel North Portal, Himachal Pradesh to Delhi and then to my village in Madhya Pradesh, further to Ahmedabad and then back to my Village. These rides provided me with a sense of liberty and freedom ~ where I had beautiful encounters with nature and people in their rawest forms. 

During my time at 51²č¹Ż, I liked keeping myself busy because there was so much going on around me and I wanted to experience everything that I liked. The hustle and bustle of the campus motivated me to work on myself every day. But one thing I learned at 51²č¹Ż is to value my mental health, even though I am at a stage of my life where I am experiencing various things one at a time. Nevertheless, I have realized it's very important to slow down and introspect my day to get a better perspective of my life. 

Back in 2016, I would have taken hours to complete one sentence,  I would barely be able to communicate without hesitating but here I am today standing as a confident individual. I am excited to unfold the next phase of my life and achieve the goals that I have set for myself. I am grateful for this experience and I am happy to take away all these happy memories with me. 

(Edited excerpts from a conversation with Samantha Samson)

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Falling in love with life all over again at 51²č¹Ż

Over the years, the students of 51²č¹Ż have familiarized themselves with every corner of the campus. They have come to associate certain thoughts and feelings with different parts. While some places feel like a gentle pat on the shoulder at the end of a long day at work, the hustle and bustle on other parts of the campus serve to rejuvenate tired minds. All these places together complete what we call the Ashoka Experience and go a long way in creating lasting memories. 

After taking a tranquil and leisurely walk on the mess lawns, entering the mess feels like one has set foot in a completely different universe. 51²č¹Żā€™s very own New York, the place that never sleeps, the mess is always teeming with people. There is reverberating music in the air, complemented by a constant silent chanting of Carpe Diem in everybodyā€™s mind. 

Experiencing life in this part of the campus feels like one has been thrown into some peppy and energetic track from Student of the Year, except that the Ashokans seem to display a greater scholarly bent of mind than the students in the film! The vibrancy of the place is all-consuming. It is like a rainbow visible across the sky after a bout of thunderous rain, reminding us that on the other side of the storm, thereā€™s comfort and peace, which can be reached only if one remembers to hope fiercely. 

Despite being one of the quietest places on campus, the library is where one feels the most alive. It is a place where the dreams and ambitions of people collide to form something greater. If one were to classify the library as a form of literature, it wouldnā€™t just prove to be your personal diary, a place where you can sit alone with your thoughts and emotions without being judged, but also a highly motivating autobiography that empowers you to study peacefully for hours at end. 

The books and the people alikeā€”all have a story to tell; itā€™s like every single soul in the library is fiercely waiting to be picked up, to be read. How can a place store an infinite number of uncontainable stories without exploding, one wonders. Regardless, one now knows that the next time a person is seen reading The Fault in Our Stars, we would know exactly what Hazel Grace meant when she said, ā€œSome infinities are bigger than other infinities.ā€

At night, the Ashokans, like weary travelers seeking refuge at the end of a long summer day, retire to the slopes of the field to replenish and revitalize themselves. For almost every Ashokan, the field proves to be the most personal public space on campus. While some people choose to observe the blustery night winds ruffling their hair and have a dramatic moment of their own, the others observe a moment of peace and quiet, sitting on the slope of the field, listening attentively to the moonā€™s nightly soliloquies. 

The stars, the grass, and the winds, all come together like the Radif, Qaafiyaa and Matla of a Ghazal and form something as coherent and beautiful as Ghalibā€™s masterpieces. However, at the end of the day, the field with the cool breeze ruffling the moon-soaked grass proves to be something very simple yet integral to every solace-seeker sitting on the slope: the warm embrace of a friend who promises to stick by you through the thick and thin of life. 

It is not just these larger parts of the campus that hold significance in the Ashokansā€™ lives, but also the small corners and crevices that often go unnoticed by people who are strangers to this place. Whether itā€™s the residence hall elevators, that, like your best friend, never seem to be on time, or the Dhaba and other eateries on campus where people have managed to create copious memorable moments, the campus of Ashoka proves to be a heaven to those who are open to the idea of falling in love with life all over again.

(Zoya Sayeda is a first-year student of English and Media Studies at 51²č¹Ż)

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A Series of Heartfelt Goodbyes

The Week officially began with the Alumni Induction, organized by the ARO. The Ashokan Alumnus Corpus was formally invited and addressed by Eshwara Venkat, Pro-Vice-Chancellor 51²č¹Ż; Anu Singh, Director of Parents Office; Akriti Asthana from ARO, and Akashmegh Sharma, the President of the Alumni Council. This was followed by an Open House event, wherein the graduating batches had insightful conversations with their alumni fellows. Conversations filled the auditorium as the batches reunited once again and shared the long-lost feeling of being an Ashokan on campus and felt the energy that is unique to, and defined by the boundaries of the red brick University. The day concluded with a 'Dinner Under the Stars' which set the tone for the Seniors Week to officially begin.

The following days kept the energy high with a packed schedule of events that would get every Ashokan excited. The batch photo was a classic printed hard copy of the graduating batches in red t-shirts smiling at the camera from the library stairs, forever sealing that moment in time. As remarked by some batch mates, this was the first time their batch had gathered at one spot, as one unit. This energy was preserved with the Karaoke Night, which was organised in the open amphitheatre. The sound of collective cheerful singing could be heard all over campus as students sang their friendship songs together, still in their red t-shirts, one last time.

The third day was especially organised for the game lovers. In the morning, an Ashokan version of the widely popular game 'Family Feud' was held. It was played in a quiz format wherein the seniors had to guess the most popular answers on questions that were asked to 50 junior Ashokans. Later that evening, the second most awaited event of the week was organised, the Slip and Slide. The football field was topped with rows of tarp lathered in soap and water for the Ashokan seniors to relive the joys of rolling down the frisbee field, but smoothly this time. The event saw many job seeking almost-graduates relive their sliding childhood memories and laugh away as they walked back to their rooms all soaked up. At night, they returned in teams of three as they began another Ashokan tradition ~ Sopaan, the 51²č¹Ż treasure hunt. The winners were awarded with Dhaba dinner coupons as they danced under the spotlight at the Reddy's Auditorium, the place where their journey began. The O-week days were thus back, bringing the Ashokan experience back to a full circle.

The fourth day, 10th May, was a relatively more relaxed day. Post lunch, seniors were invited AC02 to paint their hearts out and create a unique masterpiece that reflected a holistic creative expression of their batch, with an output that had a greater meaning than all of its individual components combined. When it got dark at night, the opportunity was seized by having a classic Movie Night. Two simultaneous screenings took place, one in the conventional indoor movie hall manner, and the other was an outdoor bedsheet-projector set-up. 

The night further became more wholesome, as Ashokans got up and danced to the songs of the movies with popcorn and cotton candy in their hands, making it a near movie night picnic experience. 

The next morning, smiling faces assembled in the Atrium with sketch pens in their hands as they performed the Scribble Day ritual. Loud happy music played in the background and the seniors wrote an advice wall for the incoming batch of UG25, with insights they wished they knew when they were freshers. That afternoon they walked back not only with whiskers and doodles on their faces but with a million memories that were fit into a few words on their t-shirts. 

To lighten the mood, a talent show was hosted in the evening and Ashokans came forward with the talents that had either seen the stage many times before or had long been hidden inside the walls of their tiny dorm rooms. 

The last two days were a blur of fleeting moments as Seniors tried to move past their denial into accepting that their Ashokan days with their batchmates were indeed coming to an end. The students had a meeting with Professor Danny Weltman and Professor Arunava Sinha, who talked about the bigger things in life that lay beyond the college experience and prepared the students to step outside by inspiring them with the opportunities that awaited them. Furthermore, the evening saw a screening of the Seniors' Roast- an Ashokan adaptation of the Celebrities Roast that captures people's reaction to roasts written for them. 

The seniors laughed away embarrassing comments about them, but with consent and good hearts, they were ready to take back whatever this experience offered them one way or the other, it was either a roast or a toast.

The last and final day of the Seniors' Week began with tensions. The Seniors awaited a classic pre-covid Atrium party and the organizing committee had unknowingly high expectations to meet. After an entire day of silence, the university was reverberating with high volume music and pride. While hundreds of Ashokan got their polaroids clicked at the photobooths, the party kept picking up energy as numbers filled the Atrium. There was endless dancing and crying that day, bittersweet tears were shed, hugs were shared and promises for later were made. And with that, the Seniors' Week finally came to an end. 

51²č¹Ż

Let it pour and show me my vibrant campus

I always associated the term ā€˜traditionā€™ with festivals, such as Durga Puja, or Diwali. How do you make a tradition? Better still, how do you decide what constitutes a tradition? The term usually refers to a practice or ritual with cultural or religious connotations that is carried out over a period of time. But, this simple word took on a completely different meaning for me after joining 51²č¹Ż. 

As a member of the undergraduate batch of 2024, I spent most of my first year at home. Almost all of my social interactions pertaining to college ~ be it lectures, discussion sessions, or fun movie nights with friends ~ took place virtually, thanks to the boon of the internet. 

51²č¹Ż to me was just a picture of red brick buildings and green fields. To be very honest, I didnā€™t think I would ever see the campus as a first year student. And then just six months down the line, I found myself sitting near the mess lawns with my friends. Yes, it was difficult to believe my luck. 

The weather was beautiful. It had just drizzled, and it looked like it was going to pour heavily. Despite the gloom of finals fast approaching, almost everyone at 51²č¹Ż left their dorms and the library to take advantage of the weather. 

This, as it turns out, is an unspoken Ashokan tradition. Whenever the weather allows, the students turn up in large numbers to settle on the mess lawns, and around it. One can spot them either reading a book under a tree, catching up with friends or just enjoying the weather. Almost nobody stays inside. 

In many ways, this new-found love of the outdoors that attracted many Ashokans might have also been strengthened by their inability to remain indoors. Fumigation of all the buildings on campus was a routine affair on most evenings during the weekend. Despite getting multiple emails about it, almost everyone (at least on my floor) would forget to go out until the very last minute. 

Walking outside the residence halls, one would be able to see an influx of students rushing out of the reception area into the courtyard, out of breath but just in time to avoid the fumes. Some residents wouldnā€™t leave at all ~ they would just sleep until fumigation was over. A strange tradition for some, but staunch followers of this ritual absolutely refuse to hear any criticism of it. 

Another unsaid student tradition at 51²č¹Ż is grabbing a midnight meal at the Dhaba. There are many alternative food outlets on the campus but the Dhaba certainly is the most popular among them all. Most of the food outlets on campus are open throughout the night for students. From students craving for a midnight snack with friends to students who have just emerged from the library after working on a paper for two days in a zombie-like state, the eatery of our subject attracts a diverse set of patrons. Eating at the Dhaba is an important midnight ritual, something many Ashokans consider sacred.Ā 

Ultimately, a tradition is just that ~ something so close to oneā€™s heart that they consider it sacred. Traditions arenā€™t always grandiose events conducted in view of societal norms. Often, itā€™s the little things that bring an entire community together. 

(Uma Bakshi is a first year-student at 51²č¹Ż)

51²č¹Ż

51²č¹Żā€™s cultural ethos came alive during Spring 2022

Students of 51²č¹Ż come from different cultural backgrounds and have varied interests and talents. The university takes pride in its diversity and it contributes to an enriching campus experience. 

Throughout the semester, this diversity was celebrated on campus through the medium of different fests, tournaments and exhibits which highlighted not only each studentā€™s uniqueness but also their capacity to work in tandem with like-minded people. The events served as sites to stimulate the student body intellectually while also providing them with spaces to have fun and relax.

We witnessed the reopening of campus after a seemingly never-ending wait of one-and-a-half years. Naturally, students were excited to be on campus and engaged in a plethora of activities. An upcoming cultural event heightens the anticipation for the weekend and the dynamism on campus can often be felt through the lively practice sessions, the furious hours spent in making banners and the preparations for the event to be successful. These events range from club and society showcases to baithaks and haats, and serve as nurturing environments for the holistic growth of students.

Here are the major highlights: 

Spring Haat: A ā€˜h²¹²¹³Łā€™ is a colloquial term for a market that is held on a regular basis. 51²č¹Ż organizes several haats to celebrate cultural heritage which offer a great opportunity to both students and local artisans to exhibit their talent. Spring Haat 2022 was organized to celebrate the advent of spring ~ the season of colours, hope and happiness. The area under the atrium was decorated with colourful multicoloured ribbons that made the entire place look vibrant and abuzz. The haat had several stalls filled with mouth-watering food, craft and a lot of other activities. From learning how to make mandalas to savouring traditional chicken biryani to purchasing authentic Kashmiri wear, the students did it all! Several students also showcased their artistic talent by setting up stalls selling self-made art in the form of stickers, jewellery and posters. Several local artists and NGOs had also set up stalls for mehendi and handicrafts to promote their work which were greatly enjoyed and appreciated by everyone present.

Dorm Olympics: What better way to rejuvenate yourself on the weekend than countless games, challenges, open mics and well, food! Dorm Olympics was the perfect time to bring out your competitive side and try your hand at all the games on schedule. Day one of the Olympics included challenges where you could jump and catch hanging donuts (Takeshiā€™s castle style) and guide your blindfolded team member to victory by giving them the correct instructions. Day two included a literal take on the phrase ā€˜ROFLā€™ where participants had to roll on a mat while laughing and put their reputation at stake to engage in the most fun (and important!) pani-puri eating competition of their lives. Not only were all these events enjoyable but also, dare I say, great team building exercises. To preserve these incredible memories in pictures, Caperture, the photography society of 51²č¹Ż had set up a photobooth where students could take pictures with their friends as a reminder of the time they had. 

Vistaar and Abhinaya showcases: Several clubs and societies had their showcases throughout the semester, including the music and the dance societies which put their best foot forward to create an entrancing experience for the multitudes of viewers present. Vistaar, the music society of Ashoka, had a spell-binding showcase where they presented everything from original songs to covers. Music flowed in every vein in the hall as the participantsā€™ hard work shone through and they put everyone in a trance through their melodies.

Abhinaya, the dance societyā€™s showcase was also mesmerizing where they covered everything from contemporary to classical to krump. The audience too was brimming with energy as they beheld the agility of the dance performances. Both the showcases exhibited the immense talent of the student body of 51²č¹Ż. 

(Juhi Negi is a third-year student of English and Media Studies at 51²č¹Ż)

51²č¹Ż

51²č¹Żā€™s Ph.D. Student Shreya Kundu awarded the prestigious Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship

Shreya Kundu is a third year Ph.D. student in the Department of History, working under the supervision of Prof. Aparna Vaidik. She has been awarded by the Charles Wallace India Trust; CWIT Research Grant is given to selective Ph.D. students enrolled in Indian Universities for short-term research visits in the UK.

Shreya joined 51²č¹Ż in 2019 as a part of the second batch of History Ph.D. cohort. She completed her M.A. and M.Phil from Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

At 51²č¹Ż, her thesis explores the everyday lives and experiences of the labouring children in the jute mills of Colonial Bengal from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. It examines the economic, affective, and spatial dimensions of the life of the proletarian children and the ways in which their lives were interlocked with global capital, colonial policy-making, and the spaces of the factory, working-class home and school. This research interweaves histories of labour, emotions and spaces with that of the history of childhood and, in doing that, it challenges the adult masculine discourses of labour and gender history that have invisibilised the history of the labouring children in India.

With the help of this grant, Shreya will be able to access various journals, Factory Commission Reports, Humanitarian Aid Collection, Legislative Reports, Committee Minutes and Missionaries' Charity works which are not available in the Indian archives. These resource materials are spread across the archival collections at London and Birmingham in England and Manchester, Glasgow and Dundee in Scotland. Additionally, she will also be presenting a paper in the Children and Childhoods Conference at the University of Suffolk, UK.

This project begins from the historical juncture of colonial history. It addresses a wider knowledge gap in the scholarship on poor children in colonial India. Children as a segment of colonised population in colonial and national discourses have remained a focal point among the childhood historians in India. This research, however, portrays the ā€˜nativeā€™ children as interlocutors in the imperial, national and regional level discourses on Three Cā€™s: Childhood, Capitalism and Colonialism which have remained an untouched area in the Indian scholarship on imperial childhood(s).
ā€”

Prepared by Dr Yukti Arora

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A sneak peek into Psychology Student Upasana Ravikannan’s book

My GoPaadhai journey started two years ago. I have often acknowledged my privilege and hence have always wanted to help children from less privileged backgrounds. One might wonder how someone like me could bring a significant change in society. My school HLC International thought otherwise. They believed in my abilities and forgot about my disabilities. Yes, I am like any other young adult, although wheel-chair bound, and with Cerebral Palsy.

HLC is a social incubator, and one of its initiatives is Karthavyam ā€“a diploma in social public problem-solving. As part of this initiative, I happened to visit Assefa School at Pooriambakkam. Here, I interviewed a few children, many of whom said they wanted to become police officers, computer engineers, and teachers. I noticed they were not fortunate to have the same kind of education and resources as I did. This made me think. I am a student of an institution that believes that everybody can be a changemaker. So, I took my baby steps to explore the possibilities of helping and bringing better quality education to rural areas. But I had no idea what to do, so I parked it somewhere in my head. I had bigger parking problems.

Much later, my music teacher Seetha aunty told me about a fascinating project at Assefa School in Cuddalore. That project was called Kanavu (dream). I was excited. I started my research and decided to help them. We had the same goals and values. I reached out to a friend working in that school. She informed me about their requirements for stationery and teacher training. I had found my calling. So, we joined our efforts and decided to spread the message to a larger audience. Some of my friends and I made info charts to display. We formed a small team of strong-willed youngsters.

Christmas is a time of giving, sharing, and chocolate chip cookies. In December 2018, I decided to spend my vacation raising funds for the Kanavu project. I approached my well-wishers in my apartment community. Dolly aunty and Ashok uncle supported me immensely in spreading the word. Ananth, a teammate, and I spoke about the project at the Christmas gathering. Our team raised significant funds for teacher training at the many Kanavu schools across Cuddalore by year-end. It was a Christmas Miracle indeed!

The New year began on a sweeter note. One of my friends at school surprised me by taking my initiative to his apartment. His thoughtfulness overjoyed me. We invited the community to attend our presentation, and soon our campaign went door to door (viral as some would call it). We begged; we borrowed; we almost stole. No, we did not have to! People from all over donated generously, in cash and kind- books, stationery, etc. We were able to fulfill the resource requirement for the Kanavu project by June 2019.

On June 22, 2019, my friend Arjun (a foodie at heart) and I, interacted with the students of a Kanavu school in Cuddalore. He says he came for the free food, but I knew his heart was in the right place. It was a heartwarming and memorable experience for both of us. During our interaction, a ninth-grader shared that she would like to be like me one day. That is when I realised that my team and I were creating a Paadhai (path) for all dreamers like ourselves. So, we aptly named our team "GoPaadhai".

This is an extract from The Path Chose Us, published with permission from the author.

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Ashokans Join the Climate Change and Democracy Design Jam from the University of Toronto

51²č¹Ż students participated in the virtual Design Jam organized by the University of Toronto in March 2022. 

The Design Jam brought together students from around the world through collaborative workshops for cross-cultural engagement and learning, rooted in design thinking. This series explored how citizens, activists, NGOs and governments respond to climate change issues in innovative and democratic ways.

Global Classroom for Democracy Innovation of the University of Toronto hosted the design jam. They had partnered with to frame design challenges around specific climate campaigns, offering pathways to collaborative design and action for student participants.

The series took place over four weeks in March 2022, and consisted of three facilitated workshops held on Saturdays in order to accommodate a variety of student schedules. Between workshops, students were expected to work together in teams to expand and test their design ideas.

6 Ashoka students who participated in the design Jam are Anugrah Singh (UG 23), Suchir Kalra (ASP-22), Sannidhya Aggarwal (UG 24), Abhivyakti Srivastava (UG 24), Adwityaa Jha (YIF) and Vedika Bagla (UG 24)

ā€œThe session stood out for the level of interaction it offered and the quality of discussions. Understanding to identify the problem was the main agenda for this session which we did working in groups that were guided by facilitators. Overall, it was a fun-filled learning experience!ā€ Anugrah Singh UG23

"The climate change design jam has been a great platform to interact with changemakers and learners globally. Moreover, the energy and passion towards climate change and the environment shown by my peers and the organizers of the jam has been highly motivating. The jam has helped me to learn about the different global perspectives on the issue and also on the ways Climate change-related issues are being tackled internationally." - Suchir Kalra ASP 22

"I am so grateful that I was part of the Climate Change Design Jam. Our team, which was from all over the world, came up with an idea to create a digital platform which would bring together climate change activists and would enable them to share their story, also, NGOs would be able to fund projects and get funding for their projects. Due to Design Jam I was able to have healthy collaborative conversations with people who care about climate change as much as I do." - Adwityaa Jha, YIF 2022

A MoU between 51²č¹Ż and University of Toronto was signed in early 2022 to facilitate academic and scientific events and exchange of academic information in disciplines of mutual interest.

51²č¹Ż

Two Ashoka Students awarded the prestigious ISEB Student Grants by Indian Society of Evolutionary Biologists

This grant will enable students to register for the International Conference on Insect Systematics and Evolutionary Biology. The conference aims to bring together some of the foremost researchers in ecology, evolution, and insect systematics from India and around the world; it is dedicated to the memory of Edward Osborne Wilson, scientist, naturalist, and a great synthesiser of ideas.

At the dawn of his career, he, along with Robert MacArthur, carried out pioneering work on island biogeography, which explained patterns of colonisation and extinctions of species on islands as a function of their distance from the mainland as well as the size of the island.

Biswajit Shit is a first year PhD student of Biology at 51²č¹Ż. His area of research is evolutionary immunology and he is particularly interested in understanding the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions in the context of different environmental stresses such as malnutrition or elevated temperature. Chandrakanth M is also a first year PhD student of Biology at 51²č¹Ż. His research area is evolutionary biology and his interest lies in understanding the adaptation of species under different environmental conditions focusing on its life-history behaviours. 

These opportunities are aimed at providing budding evolutionary biologists an opportunity to showcase their own work and to interact with some of the best people in the field. It is noteworthy that out of seven awardees chosen nation-wide, two are from Ashoka's Biology Department ā€“ this underlines the good prospect of the department and the university.

51²č¹Ż

Ashoka Ph.D. student awarded the prestigious Inlakhs Research and Travel Grant 2020

Himani is a third-year PhD student in History working under the supervision of Prof. Aparna Vaidik (previously with Prof. Mahesh Rangarajan). She has been awarded by the  IRTG is a Research and Travel Grant awarded to PhD students in Indian universities for short-term research visits abroad.

Himani joined Ashoka in 2018 as a part of  the first batch of History PhD students. She completed her M.Phil. in History from Centre for Historical Studies, JNU.

At Ashoka, her thesis examines mapping and surveying practices in the Himalayas in the colonial period. The focus of her study is British Kumaon, roughly overlapping with the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. She aims to investigate the varied roles played by local and indigenous communities - as intermediaries, guides, porters, and native surveyors - in scientific knowledge-production about the mountains in the nineteenth century CE.

With the help of this grant, she will be able to access historical maps, private papers and correspondences of colonial officials and naturalists who were associated with topographical and trigonometrical surveys in the British Kumaon region. This material is spread across the archival collections of the Royal Geographical Society, Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew) and the British Library. Additionally, she will observe botanical specimens that were collected from Kumaon and its high-Himalayan Tibetan frontier which are currently preserved in the herbaria collection at Kew.

During her stay in London, she will also be a visiting PhD student (under the supervision of Prof.Felix Driver) at the Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Her research aims to contribute to existing histories of geographical exploration and  knowledge-production in British India by highlighting regional specificities of colonial rule. By taking a historical approach to the assembling of knowledge about mountain societies and environments, she aims to dig deeper into the social relations of production of knowledge in the colonial period.

51²č¹Ż

ā€œWhat it may be like:ā€ Into Ashokaā€™s Orientation Week

The phase before entering college is full of different colours - one may be full of excitement, anxious, fraught with expectations, or with no expectations at all. The most unique fusion of this phase is its uncertainty and predictability playing out simultaneously, with Ashokaā€™s Orientation Week as a site to experience this interplay. 

As one enters Ashokaā€™s O-week, as it is popularly called, one is freely and graciously exposed to different settings to experience the enthusiastic emotions surrounding the excitement of ā€œcollege life.ā€ Be it the mandatory workshops or guest-speaker sessions, the regular coming together of batchmates familiarises a fresher to what it may be like - with their personal expectations of the ā€œit.ā€ As the trend follows, all first-year students are divided into diverse cohorts, guided by a cohort leader(s). The cohorts interact, play, sing, have coffee nights, meet, and enjoy with each other to immerse themselves into what it may be like as college begins.

The week is all planned out left, right and centre to not only help give a glimpse of the schedule as the semesters begin, but also to expose students to opportunities, spaces, and possibilities. For example, regular evening activities and fun sessions within and between cohorts are based around getting to know the University that is so much theirs. ā€œWhich Ashoka building is what?ā€ ā€œWhich spot is unique to what?ā€ Such thoroughly planned-out events help students feel part of Ashokaā€™s landscape and architecture, which welcomes you even before you enter the campus while travelling the 44th National Highway, and occupies a space of its own - not just in terms of Ashokaā€™s erudition, but also its ingrained and inseparable culture and values. 

In that way, the O-week gives one an entire week to enjoy and imbibe the treasures of campus life, which makes Ashoka what it truly is. With good time in hand, one may find themselves trying the mess-food for the first time with a group of strangers-turned-best friends in a comfortably shared dining space. By trying out new sports, shuttle services to travel independently, unique meeting spots, food vendors and what it may be like, the week gives one a time of oneā€™s own to experience Ashoka and its offerings. With open arms welcoming Ashoka and its possibilities, itā€™s time to gear-up for one of the most thrilling, exciting and memorable experiences in this beginning of a new journey - Welcome, Undergraduate Class of 2024! 

51²č¹Ż

10 Best Spots on Ashoka Campus to Relax and Unwind

51²č¹Żā€™s campus is home to a diverse range of academic and non-academic facilities. Sometimes, however, this sheer number of choices of activities can become overwhelming and too much to handle. On those days, one needs a quiet corner to kick back and relax. Here is our take.  

Library
If you are drained after engaging with the hustle-bustle of Ashokan life, find a quiet corner in the library and unwind with a book, or simply watch the world go by through the windows.  

Mess Lawns
You can always count upon the lush, green lawns of the Ashoka campus to brighten up your evening after an exhausting day of classes. Sit on the benches with a cupcake from the Fuel Zone, or lounge under the trees with your friends and enjoy whichever new music festival is happening at that moment. 

Student Commons
The perfect place to both meet up with your classmates and discuss a group project, or relax late into the night and watch a film with your friends. Plus, the Commons have snacks.  

Reading Room
The Reading Room is a large area on the second floor of the mess hall. It has multiple and varied seating spots like desk chairs, stairway steps, couches, and offices. You can always come up here with your assignments and find a little peace and quiet. Plus, conveniently, the campusā€™ printing facility is right here.  

Football Field
The sprawling ground is almost always filled with people kicking around a ball or preparing themselves for the next time they can get together to kick around a ball. Sometimes, people even show up here, set up a DJ, and dance the night away.  

Yoga Room
Itā€™s quiet, it has couches, and it even has clear windows which let the sunlight in just right. What more can one ask for?  

Dhaba
The Dhaba is the warmest place on campus! Nestled among tall trees, it is always lit up with natural light and serves as the ideal place to relax with your friends with either a mouth-watering plate of jalebis or spicy servings of honey chilli potatoes.   

The Terrace at the New Academic Block
The terrace has multiple round tables, each with three to four chairs. Itā€™s on the third floor of the New Academic Block building which makes it an ideal spot to look over the campusā€™ skyline and luxuriate in the beauty of the stunning Sonepat skies.  

The Couch in the Sports Block
Honestly, itā€™s just a really comfortable couch which is the absolute perfect napping spot after a grueling workout!  

Your Room
Really. Just, sleep. (Or, grab a pizza, light up the fairylights, and tuck into a new movie with your friends!) 

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Student Life at 51²č¹Ż: A glimpse into Ashokaā€™s vibrant campus life

51²č¹Ż invites you to a panel discussion on ā€˜Student Life at Ashokaā€™ on 12th February at 6 PM.

In this webinar, a group of Ashoka undergraduate students will share their experiences of campus and residence life at 51²č¹Ż, talking about the various clubs and societies, sports, hostel life, dining and cafes and the overall environment in and around the Ashoka campus on a daily basis.

Join us to get an insight into the life at Ashoka and ask your questions directly to the students studying there.Ā 

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Ashoka Ph.D. student wins prestigious SSE Lewontin Award Grant

Two weeks ago, Srijan received an email that created a wave of smiles all around. He had just been awarded the globally recognised Graduate Research Excellent Grant ā€“ RC Lewontin Early Award by one of the apex evolutionary biology societies in the world, Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE). Sharing his exhilaration, Srijan said, ā€œIt feels great to win such an award at an early stage of my research career. Being the first India-based Ph.D. student to win this award since its inception in 2018, makes it even more special.ā€  

Why Evolutionary Biology?

 While completing his masterā€™s degree in Biotechnology from the St. Xavierā€™s College, Kolkata, Srijan was working on his masterā€™s thesis at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and that was when he was introduced to the fascinating world of Evolutionary Biology. And he has been hooked ever since!  After joining the Ph.D. programme at Ashoka, Srijan has been working on multiple projects aimed at understanding of rapid evolution of immune strategies against novel pathogens. He explains his research area, ā€œUnder natural conditions, hosts can be challenged with multiple co-infecting pathogens simultaneously. I am intrigued by how quickly animals respond to these infections and what are most effective strategies that they might evolve over generations to reduce the severity of co-infection. In fact, I am tracking these evolutionary processes as they happen using experimental evolution with popular insect models such as red flour beetles. This is one of the most efficient ways to mimic evolution as closely as possible in the laboratoryā€.   

For the award grant, he had to submit an experimental proposal on the evolution of immunity against co-infecting pathogens that would form an integral part of his doctoral thesis. 

Srijan, at the Evolutionary Immunology Lab, 51²č¹Ż. 

Coinfection, as Srijan said, can result in diverse outcomes compared to single infection events leading to major changes in the evolution of host immune responses.

Srijan said, ā€œThough many theoretical models exist pertaining to such responses, but, there are no experimental studies to test the hypothesis predicted by the models.ā€ Given the importance and natural relevance of coinfection, Srijan feels that his research would reveal insights into the complex dynamics of evolving immune strategies against single versus coinfection.  

Pursuing Sciences at a Liberal Arts institute is enriching, said Srijan. Elated as he was at the beginning of the interview, he was all praise for Ashoka for the support he has received.

 He believes that Ashoka opened new horizons for him. Ashoka has been a pioneer in the Indian education system, bringing in an interdisciplinary approach to education with its extraordinary faculty and research pedagogy. Srijan said, ā€œThe research environment here at 51²č¹Ż is encouraging and cooperative with a lot of opportunities for interdisciplinary research. All the faculty in the department of Biology along with the research office provide extensive support.ā€ 

Professor Imroze Khanā€™s contribution has been immense. 

A Ph.D. student under Dr. Imroze Khan, Srijan first got to know about Imrozeā€™s lab, the Evolutionary Immunology Lab (51²č¹Ż) during his time at IISc. Srijan was fascinated with Imrozeā€™s work on adaptive evolution of immune responses under different pathogenic environment. A humble Srijan continued, ā€œMy advisor Imroze Khanā€™s contribution to winning this grant is immense. I had the structural framework of my proposal but he helped me in shaping that into a proper proposal that won the grant. Starting from going through the numerous drafts of the write-up and providing key inputs, he encouraged me in every step of the way and I am so thankful to him.ā€  

On the other hand, the advisor himself, Dr. Imroze Khan, Assistant Professor of Biology, was impressed by his studentā€™s achievement. He said, ā€œReceiving the RC Lewontin Early Award is indeed a wonderful achievement by Srijan, which puts his work immediately at the forefront of academic scholarship demonstrated by early-stage graduate students across the globe. This is also a big recognition of his thesis proposal where he plans to track how animals can rapidly evolve complex immune responses against infections caused by multiple pathogens together. With a rapid surge of infectious diseases in recent decades, his discovery will also significantly advance our fundamental understanding of how immune strategies cope up with new emerging infections."   

The road ahead. Using the generous fund received from SSE, Srijan first plans to systematically track how diverse immune responses can evolve in hosts repeatedly exposed to multiple pathogens simultaneously across many generations. Subsequently, he will also be looking at the underlying molecular mechanisms. 

Srijan has a message for the prospective students of the SSE research grant. 

He said, ā€œSSE provides a lot of different grants (including travel grants) to junior and senior research fellows who are working in the fields of ecology and evolution. I would strongly urge prospective students to keep a close eye on their website and social media platforms for the details of the same. A clear idea about the background of your questions, novelty, and robust experimental framework is important to write a proper grant proposal. It is also equally important to state clearly the limitations of the study or experimental design as it gives the reviewers an idea that you have thought about the alternative possibilities and the project in detail.ā€ 

Applying to grants is always a fulfilling experience. 

He urges undergraduates, postgraduates, and Ph.D. students to apply for different grants and awards given by various societies across the world for young researchers. Srijan joked, ā€œI understand, that writing grants can be an extensive and tedious process!ā€ But in the end, as Srijan said, ā€œIt is an enriching learning experience. Sharing your ideas and work with different people and getting the reviewerā€™s comments helps in getting different perspectives on your work. It might help in better planning and smooth execution of your research work.ā€ 

We have come to the end of the interview. 

I asked if he would like to say anything before we wrap up. Srijan as always very thorough wanted to thank his family, friends, and close ones for the support they have shown on him over the years. ā€œI would like to mention that apart from my family who supports me in all my endeavours, I have another equally supportive group of lab mates and Ph.D. cohort here at Ashoka who would chip in with suggestions whenever needed and this motivates me to work harder. Needless to say, I am blessed to have them in my life,ā€ signed off Srijan.  Srijan Seal is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Department of Biology, 51²č¹Ż, and a stellar researcher in the making in his own right.  

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51²č¹Ż undergraduate student wins first prize in Stiglitz Essay Competition

Stiglitz Essay Competition is instituted by the International Economic Association (IEA).  Prof. Ashwini Deshpande, Professor of Economics at Ashoka mentored and guided him on the choice of theme as well as with references and comments on earlier drafts. Daksh will receive the award at the World Congress of the IEA in Bali in July 2020.

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Ashoka student talks about how the right opportunity helped him pursue his dreams

Coming from an economically underprivileged background, Saurabhā€™s story is an ode to his sheer courage and shows how if help is given at the right time, a person can flourish.  

Saurabh was in class 3 when his mother passed away and his father left him and his brother to fend for themselves. Growing up in a small shack in South-East Delhi with his grandmother as their sole guardian, Saurabh tried his best in various ways to support his family, seeing many difficult days. Yet, his quest for learning is contagious! Studying in a government school, he self-taught to appear for SAT exams, spending almost all his free time in a nearby government library to eventually receive a full scholarship to pursue his undergraduate degree in Computer Science at 51²č¹Ż. 

What drove him to Computer Science, we asked. Saurabh replied, ā€œI have always been fascinated with computers. As part of a government scheme, I used to get a small remuneration to buy new school uniforms and stationeries but instead of spending it on those things, I went to cyber cafe and learned programming, web designing, and the basics of android development. Slowly and over time, I grew a knack for artificial intelligence and machine learning and when I had the opportunity to pursue that at an institution like Ashoka, I grabbed it with both hands!ā€ 

What worked as motivation was Saurabhā€™s zeal to learn and grow. He wanted to better himself. He feels that there is no end to learning and he wants to acquire as much knowledge as he can. 

His knack for knowledge drove him to contact as many universities as possible and from there he got to know about the Global Alliance Programme of which Ashoka is a part. When the results came out, he received a list of universities where he would receive a full scholarship. Without delaying any further, he applied to Ashoka. Humble, as he always is, Saurabh was all praise for Ashokaā€™s admission process, saying, ā€œThe Admissions Team helped me through the whole process including grooming me for the interview and I am indebted to them. At first, I had a lot of inhibitions about adapting to this new life, system and curriculum but the Academic Bridge Programme helped me a lot.ā€ 

The Academic Bridge Programme is a 2-week planned programme created and hosted by the Office of Admissions in collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs for Indian and International incoming students who require assistance in the English language and academic reading and writing. Planned sessions are organised with a strong focus on academic learning and support to ease their transition into 51²č¹Żā€™s residential life.

The academic focus of the programme is taught by the Centre for Writing and Communication with the objective to act as a bridge for students to be acclimatized to the academic culture of Ashoka. A specially designed course on the introduction to the foundations of critical reading and writing is taught to the students. Activities are designed to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, to make students familiar with methods to think critically and articulate their ideas with precision and without hesitation. 

In the beginning, Saurabh felt quite out of place. He said, ā€œI did not want to be included in anything. I was timid. I did not have an opinion but with Ashoka came stability and I have grown as a person in the last many months. While scrolling through Ashokaā€™s website, I got to know about different centres on campus like the Ashoka Centre for Well Being (ACWB) and the Office of Learning Support (OLS). I went to the OLS and shared my story. I was initially scared of being judged but the people in OLS listened to me. You know how they say that every person needs an ear to tell their stories? Thanks to OLS, I became more social than I was. Although I still am not entirely comfortable in sharing my opinions publicly, I am sure I will get there someday.ā€ 

Saurabh is also a member of NEEV which is a community engagement club aiming to create a space for engagement between Ashoka and its immediate surroundings. As part of the club, he teaches basic computer science to children from the Asawarpur village. 

When asked about his future plans, Saurabh replied, ā€œI just want to learn and immerse myself in research. I also want to find students like me and give them the help that I was given at Ashoka. Right now, my father has also come back to my life for good. He is working as a security guard and trying hard to lead a normal life. So I want to grow and support my family. My quest for learning helped me develop myself. Ashoka has provided me with the resources I wouldnā€™t have gotten elsewhere, along with global exposure and definitely all other logistical help. I feel like there is so much to learn here that even 24-hours is not enough. I cannot really put into words the help I have received from Ashoka and all I can say is thank you for believing in me.ā€ 

Saurabh has recently been selected for the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to pursue his education in Computer Science in Japan. 
 

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51²č¹Ż

Annual Merit Awards 2019

The Annual Merit Awards 2019Ā recognised the numerous contributions, achievements and initiatives that have enriched the Ashokan experience. These awards aim to foster a true spirit of mutual pride and a sense of achievement for one another. The Office of Student Affairs honoured those who have stood out in their chosen fields, be it student life or sports, due to their commitment, humility and zeal.

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Tata Crucible: The Campus Quiz

Tata Crucible is India and Singapore's largest quizzing championship. Hosted by celebrity quizzer, Giri 'Pickbrain' Balasubramaniam, this yearā€™s edition saw participation from many more Universities and Colleges in and around Sonepat. With a draw of 54 teams for the preliminary round, the Quiz saw students from Ashoka leaving an indelible mark as four out of six participants made it as finalists.

Rohan Nagpal and Yashaswi Raghuveer (from the MA Economics 2020 batch) eventually emerged as the runners-up at the Sonepat regional. The winning duo of Mayukh Nair (ASP 2019) and Anit Basu (YIF 2019) went ahead to participate in the north zonal held on 16th March at Taj Vivanta and won the event comfortably. They will now be competing in the nationals to be held at Mumbai later in April. They have won the TATA Crucible National independently at least once each, and we hope that this spirited duo brings more accolades to our University.

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4th Edition of the Undergraduate Elections at 51²č¹Ż

By Venkatesh Thapan

The 4th edition of the Undergraduate (UG) Student Government elections were held on 15th February, 2018. The election saw four parties and six individual candidates contest for positions in the House of Representatives (HoR). The parties were the BJP (Bringing Justice to the People), Moksh, Prakrit and Independents Bloc. The independent candidates were Akash Kumar, Shivam Sahu, Sumedha B Suresh and Kanan Gupta. The BJP won four seats, Prakrit seven, Moksh two and amongst the independent candidates, Kanan Gupta and Shivam Sahu were elected to the HoR.

"This house has a big responsibility of reinstating the student body's faith in the institutionā€™s HoR. If the students don't come to their government, the Student Government will have to go to the students. We will work on making ourselves more accessible, transparent, and accountable," said Kanan Gupta, Independent member.

The UG Student Government elections are conducted annually. The process of elections is similar to the elections held in the parliament. Students are given the option of participating in the election either as an independent candidate or as a party representative. Independent or party candidates are expected to file their nominations and declare their candidacy. 

The candidates are free to campaign in whichever way they deem fit. Most parties on Ashoka Campus use posters, host open meetings for the student body, release manifestos, etc. The objectives listed in this yearā€™s manifestos ranged from increasing the number of courses offered at 51²č¹Ż to uplifting the standard of living for students. During the campaign period, multiple debates are held on campus. Candidates present their opening statements and address questions or concerns from the audience about their manifestos or statements. Students are allowed to campaign up to 3-5 days before the election. After which, all campaigning and campaign material must be removed.

The 51²č¹Ż Election Commission is an independent body that ensures the smooth running of the election process on campus. A Chief Election Officer is elected as head of the commission to oversee the various responsibilities of the commission. The 51²č¹Ż Election Commission also releases an updated electoral code and organizes ballots for student votes. The electoral code is a detailed manuscript that describes the election procedure and protocol. It also states the rules and conditions of the election campaign and the penalty students may face if protocol is violated.

Once elected to the House of Representatives, a party must hold a majority of votes to be able to form a government and elect a President from among themselves. The President will then distribute ministry portfolios like IT Minister, Cultural Minister and so forth.

Speaking about his election experience, Vidhi Goel of the BJP said, ā€œThe process to get there is crazy, intense, fun and incredibly stressful, but I feel in the end it will be worth it. As a member of the HoR, the student body has placed their trust in me. I will make sure I deliver my best and restore the student bodyā€™s faith and trust in the student government.ā€

The writer is an undergraduate student at 51²č¹Ż.

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Students intern with 51²č¹Ż

August, 2016: Internships are a productive way to spend summer vacations as they provide students an opportunity to take their learning experiences beyond the classroom. Not only does working with an organisation prove to be a significant aspect of the studentsā€™ learning, it also ensures that they develop a variety of skills during their education. During the summer break at Ashoka, while many students went out and hunted for internships, a few of them chose to stay at the university and understand that how the institution works.

As the second undergraduate academic year at Ashoka came to a close, along with the large number of opportunities that organisations offered to students, 51²č¹Ż invited interns as well. This year, students interned with nine offices and centres at the university- Admissions and Outreach Office, the Career Development Office, the Centre for Sexuality and Gender Studies, the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Genpact Centre for Womenā€™s Leadership (GCWL), the Office of Student Life, and the Trivedi Centre for Political Data.

Yearning to apply their classroom knowledge in practical fields, the students enthusiasticallyĀ  merged their academics with the corporate world to prepare reports, develop policies, write articles, run campaigns, amongst manyĀ . When asked why they chose to intern with Ashoka rather than any other company, one of the interns at GCWL, Kavita Sunil said, ā€œBeing a part of GCWLā€™s first leadership lab was rewarding in many ways, and so I saw this as an opportunity to give back and help develop the centre further.ā€ Students at 51²č¹Ż are a part of its administrative inception. Consequently, they have formulated integral policies, schemes, and projects for the University.Ā  ā€œFor me, Ashoka is like a startup; it will yield greater returns only if we make the effort of making it better. I chose Ashoka for multiple reasonsā€“ā€“being able to start projects from scratch, meeting with brilliant minds, and experiencing a warm work environment,ā€ says Rhythm BanerjeeĀ , an intern at the Office of Student Life.

Students joining Ashokaā€™s internships have shown a keen interest in having a positive community oriented influence.  Kavita says, ā€œwhat is most important to me is knowing that we do work that will have an impactā€“ā€“all the research conducted and information compiled is set towards influencing current policies and practices to provide women with better footing no matter what they choose to do.ā€ Furthermore, the interns were driven in the idea of ā€˜giving backā€™ to the system; as Rhythm explains, ā€œimagine being a part of a dream and being able to build upon it through your work. This is once in a lifetime opportunity.ā€

Ashokaā€™s summer internships have received an overwhelming response. The students were given profound research opportunities and projects to begin and handle. As a result, they garnered the experience of building their own space of startups  through Ashokaā€™s support. Overall, the internship experience at 51²č¹Ż has been described as rewarding, as well as dynamic.

51²č¹Ż

AIM Smart City Accelerator Begins!

The AIM Smart City Accelerator Program started its work by preparing entrepreneurs from across India to inspiring talks and engaging activities about entrepreneurship. This preparation began with an on-site training program of two weeks, giving the startups an opportunity to not only informally mingle with each other but also learn from their peers and trainers. Soon the cohort headed to the off-site Noor Mahal in Karnal for inspiring talks and impactful activities. Back on 51²č¹Ż campus, the Centre hosted goal-setting activities in one-on-one sessions with the entrepreneurs to detail out the finalized operating plans.

Startups interacted with Vineet Gupta, a seasoned entrepreneur and Pro-the Vice Chancellor at 51²č¹Ż. This brought in the perspective on the DNA of an entrepreneur-to set the need be an entrepreneur right and value of critical thinking and to take the strongest foot ahead to reach startup goals.

The entrepreneurs also interacted with Anirudh Rastogi, Himanshu Arya and Amit Mishra- about legal issues with a startup, Digital Marketing 101 and networking skills respectively. These sessions gave the diverse perspective for various elements needed to make a startup a success.

The second week started with a stakeholder development workshop by Prasanna at a spiritual retreat location in Delhi. Startups were assigned with the task to reach out to each and every possible customer, supporter or competitor and get their insights for the businesses.

The cohort interacted with Sujit Ghosh, Chief Innovation Officer, Dalmia Group and understood how an old company is reviving its energy with the upcoming new ideas and innovations to be in the market for the longer time. They also engaged with the leadership team of the Microsoft to learn how they are moving forward to support startups.

The week ended with the launch party, at the Lodhi Gardens, where Deep Kalra, Chief Guest for the event shared his words of wisdom with the startups to be successful. This event witnessed participation by various mentors, partners and supporters of not only the Aim SmartCity Accelerator Program but also of the larger startup eco-system of India.

With the hope to hit the targets and reach the set milestones, startups headed back to the cities they came from, because this event was just preparation- the real war is yet to be won.

51²č¹Ż

AIM Smart City Accelerator

The Dalmia Bharat Aim Smart City Accelerator program is a 20-week program supporting startups that provide solutions for Smart Cities. It is a partnership program of 51²č¹Ż, ISB Hyderabad, and Microsoft India.

This program supports startups in 10 smart city focus areas with a diverse and deep academic and industrial network along with financial support. It has also been identified as one of the top accelerators in the Indian eco-system by Inc42.

To know more about this program please visit- 

51²č¹Ż