What are we doing at Lean In, IIT Kharagpur?
Lean In, IIT Kharagpur was started by a group of women taking inspiration from the book Lean In, written by Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook. The major objective of this group is to create a community for women in IIT Kharagpur, and to give them a platform where they can learn, be inspired and serve as role models for others in the community.
In order to achieve the above objectives, we have started with the following steps:
Lean In Circles
We started with a Lean In circle on campus, where about 15–20 women come together and meet weekly for about an hour. In the circle meet ups, we focus on our personal growth as individuals. Every meet up comprises of at least one unique activity which brings to light at least one aspect in which we can grow. We try to discover our strengths, weaknesses, priorities, goals etc. through these activities. As a rule, we end each meeting with each one of us setting at least one goal for the coming week.
The circle provides an avenue to meet new people who we can relate to, while drawing a new perspective through the wide variety of stories and experiences each of us has to offer.
Providing role models and mentors
Through Lean In, we want to create a community where girls on campus are able to receive help from alumni through drawing inspiration from their stories, as well as through one on one mentorship.
Currently, we have started with girls on campus interviewing successful female alumni and publishing these interviews through our Facebook page. These interviews provide an opportunity for college students to interact with their role models, and the stories inspire many others to take on similar paths. Next, we plan to launch a mentorship programme where both men and women can participate to mentor female students interested in their particular field.
Targeted workshops
While Kharagpur has a plethora of opportunities to learn and grow, sometimes being a part of the gender minority can prove to be overwhelming. In order to target this, and to create a peer group among girls of similar interests, we plan to organise small workshops targeting specific skills.
It has been wonderful to see the help that fellow male students have offered in this regard! We are starting with a workshop on one of the programming languages which can be expected to take place in the next 15 days in collaboration with one of the existing technical societies on campus.
If you are a female student who wants to join a circle, or a male student who in interested in contributing, or an alumni interested in helping us and mentoring young girls; please fill this form and let us know.
https://goo.gl/forms/ghR1RH1NtrdcM1ev1 (old form for 2018)
For any other questions, feel free to drop an email at ayushimrigen11@gmail.com
