Guest Speakers at the programme, Divanshu Kumar and Samyak Jain who hail from Patna, Bihar said that they had faced several hardships in their childhood. They were born and brought up in a region where good schools were costly and located far away from their homes. Divyanshu Kumar shared his experience of studying in a school which had no teachers for almost six months. However, the two of them had surmounted all odds and are currently students of IIT, Madras pursuing degrees in Management and Engineering respectively. They are also the founders of ‘Involve Learning Solutions’, a start-up to enhance education and empower young children.
The inaugural session of ‘Coffee Connect’ was an ice breaker in which all participants had to dance and complete a task that was assigned to them. This was followed by questions addressed to the Guest Speakers by participants regarding their journey up to IIT and about their start-up. Divyanshu Kumar and Samyak Jain were forthright and interactive and responded to all questions put to them. They cited inspiring examples, experiences and insights about their journey; spoke about the challenges which they faced and had overcome and shared how they had developed their self-confidence along their journey.
After responding to the questions of students the Guest Speakers conducted an activity to help the participating students to identify their areas of strength. This helped the students to do a self-analysis. To quote participant, Ameer Parpia, “The programme was inspiring as both Divyanshu and Samyak spoke about how important it is to believe in yourself, to work hard, to overcome challenges and to achieve what you want to. I am now much more confident to work towards my goal and to achieve my dream”
The Guest Speakers too expressed that they were delighted to have shared their experiences with such a vibrant audience. In the words of Samyak, “We arrived at the venue with no expectations…the only thing we had in mind was that we will be honest in answering any questions put to us. When we entered the venue, the environment along with the faces of the students was motivating. The kids are very good listeners and have a craving to learn. Some of them said that they want to start a company of their own and having this thought itself is amazing…the seed has been sown. The best part was that the whole event was solely organised and planned by students and even though it has been their first experience we didn't find anything lacking. Finally, we would like to wish all the best to all the students and we hope that something of what we have shared with them will affect them in a positive way.”
The unique feature of the programme was that students from the Chennai-Pallavaram Jamat interacted with students who are only a few years elder to them, but have made a strong impact on society at their young age.
An excellent way to achieve the objective of the programme! To inspire and motivate!!
