Launches ‘Women of Impact at IIT Delhi Awards’

I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC), Technology Innovation Hub of IIT Delhi, announces a call for applications for funding under the ‘IITD Women in AI & Robotics Initiative’, offering up to INR 2 Cr

New Delhi: IIT Delhi celebrated International Women’s Day with an inspiring keynote talk and an engaging panel discussion titled ‘Baaton Baaton Mein.’ Aligning with the theme of International Women’s Day (IWD 2025) #AccelerateAction. The event was enthusiastically attended by faculty, staff, and students from various schools and colleges from Delhi NCR.

The celebration began with a welcome address by Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, who began by greeting everyone on the occasion. The Director announced the launch of “Women of Impact at IIT Delhi Awards” and also stressed upon the importance of building a congenial environment fostering the growth of each member of the community. He highlighted the institute’s initiatives for women over the past year and the plans ahead towards building an inclusive academic environment. 

Furthermore, to celebrate the day, I-Hub Foundation for Cobotics (IHFC), Technology Innovation Hub of IIT Delhi, in collaboration with IIT Delhi's Alumni Association and Academic Outreach office, announced a call for applications for funding under the IITD Women in AI & Robotics Initiative, offering up to INR 2 Cr. to support and advance women in technology. 

Following the Director’s address, Prof. Shilpi Sharma, Associate Dean Academics (Outreach & New Initiatives) introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

Dr. Swaminathan, who previously served as WHO’s first Chief Scientist and Director General of ICMR, delivered an inspiring talk titled ‘Holding up half the sky,’ where she shared insights on empowerment and the path forward on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Attendees actively engaged with Dr Swaminathan in the discussion that followed.

Prof. Narayanan D. Kurur, Dean (Academics), delivered a vote of thanks to the speaker, attendees and the organizing team.

The celebrations on March 7 continued with another exciting event, ‘Baaton Baaton Mein,’ an open forum that highlighted the experiences of women at IIT Delhi. The session witnessed an enthusiastic participation by faculty, staff and students from the community. Esteemed faculty members of IIT Delhi, Prof. Angelie Multani, Prof. Deepti Gupta, and Prof. Ravinder Kaur, shared how they navigated in their professional journeys so far and how they managed to shatter stereotypes.

This was followed by a panel discussion on Self-Leadership, moderated by Prof. Shuchi Sinha, Associate Dean (Faculty). The discussion provided the IITD community with a platform to share their journeys and how they navigated their paths to reach where they are today.

                      ******

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED ON 08-03-2025