NID Ahmedabad seeks agents of change

Here is a programme that is trying to create people who are not merely job seekers but job givers. This is how the Young India Fellowship Programme (YIFP) of National Institute of Design (NID) was described by Dr Anunaya Chaubey, deputy dean, YIFP, at the NID campus on Friday.

The programme is a joint collaboration of the Young India Fellowship and the University of Pennsylvania. It aims to provide a holistic, multi-dimensional education to Indian students. Instead of Indian students going abroad to take advantage of the facilities there, faculty from abroad and infrastructure matching the standards of overseas universities would be provided in the country. The students will be living in New Delhi.  

"We are looking for young men and women with deep interest in extra-curriculars and passion for something outside of their academic pursuits. A prospective fellow should be someone with dimensions to his or her personality, and not just someone who has the capacity to integrate diverse interests and learn to be best at whatever he or she may want to do in life. The person should be a change agent," said Dr Chaubey.

The one-year YIFP will be fully funded, fully residential for 50 students, chosen from varied disciplines like law, engineering, humanities and business. Already, the programme has managed to penetrate small cities in Rajasthan and Bihar. Divided into eight semesters, with three subjects in each semester, the programme will teach subjects like analytical thinking, leadership, art appreciation and even Latin dancing. The whole process of admission involves five stages including online application, telephonic interview and also a face to face interview.