Leadership Conclave: Strategizing a Successful Future
“Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan. There is no other route to success.” — Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright
The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar understands the importance of effective strategies to accomplish success in any field. To seek guidance in its short term and long term strategic issues, the Institute organizes a Leadership Conclave every year. This event hosts some of the most eminent thinkers from India and abroad. Renowned academicians, industrialists, and participants from the government provide insights regarding the best ways forward on top priority issues of the Institute. These strategic and external inputs on matters of crucial importance help the Institute to grow and develop to its fullest potential.
The very first edition of this Conclave, organized in December 2010, involved the members discussing several thrust areas of research at IITGN, building active links with industry and academia, and efficient fund-raising strategies. The second, third, and fourth editions saw detailed plannings on undergraduate and postgraduate studies, infrastructure development, and partnerships with NGOs and government. The participants had discussions on three critical issues in the fifth edition, held on 6th January 2015, namely the major fund-raising initiatives, engaging the Institute with professional bodies and organizations, and the creation of a research park at the permanent campus premises. The sixth Leadership Conclave committee interacted at length about strengthening the entrepreneurship culture at IITGN, encouraging active community engagement, formulating frameworks for International partnerships, and engaging external stakeholders. The seventh meeting in December 2016 motivated the Institute to sustain its culture, groom the young faculty for leadership roles, increase alumni engagement, and develop and advance the research park further.
During the eighth Leadership Conclave, which took place on 12–13th January 2018, the Institute explored ideas for providing its students with opportunities to improve their leadership and communication skills. The participating members also discussed the Writing Studio, an effort by IITGN to enhance the writing skills of students. They also reflected on the learning-by-doing paradigm of teaching and several approaches that the Institute should follow towards institutional rankings — up to what extent it should focus on the rankings and the parameters related to them. Inputs on the best practices towards developing various resources for students were the focal point of this meet.
Held on 29th December 2018, the ninth Leadership Conclave focused on the vision and mission of IITGN, policies for the long-term stability and continuity, assimilation of the Institute values among internal stakeholders, along with the branding and image building of IITGN. Participants from the country and across the globe brainstormed and analyzed these issues as four different groups during the break-out sessions to strategize and design practical ideas. Multiple discussions among the participants helped to refine these plans further. For example — suggestions proposed to sensitize the stakeholders periodically through consistent engagements at various levels would deeply instill within them the core values of the Institute. Proposals to create an ecosystem from the grassroots level to achieve better outcomes in the future also made it to the to-do list. Another topic of significance, IITGN’s branding, involved dialogues on the different ways to reach out to a larger audience, communicating to them the Institute’s numerous unique and avant-garde initiatives that set it apart from others in the arena.
In the words of Prof. Sudhir K Jain (Director, IITGN), “These meetings have been compelling for the Institute to recalibrate its agenda for the future. It works as the guiding light for us as we march ahead on the path of academic excellence, path-breaking initiatives, student-centric approaches, strong leadership, and world-class infrastructural facilities.”
As I am writing this article on 4th January 2020, the tenth Leadership Conclave is happening at IITGN. 40+ leading thinkers and industry experts are guiding the Institute on planning comprehensive strategies for the coming years, ways to sustain and build upon its distinctive and cutting-edge culture, methodologies to deal with unexpected challenges, crisis management, and approaches to scale-up the funding.
In the future, the IIT Gandhinagar will continue to host this event annually to develop and advance continuously, the out-of-the-box holistic approaches to education in disciplines, breakthrough research addressing global challenges, giving back, and in the process becoming one of the leading educational institutions in the world.
“Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” — Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States
