Credit where credit is due: the PanIIT folks should be commended for putting up the videos of the entire conference (or, most of it).
The Women in Science and Technology program at the PanIIT Global Conference is available here [if that link doesn't work, go to this page and choose the right video].
In a nearly 2-hour long program, the panelists offered many different viewpoints (and statistics to back them up), and argued strongly for women-friendly policy interventions. Their case is made in a calm, composed and competent manner.
But, about 75 minutes into the event, you get fireworks! And the program turns absolutely brilliant.
That change is entirely due to some strong and blunt talk from Prof. Shobhana Narasimhan. I don't want to give anything away, except to say that she spoke on "Why aren't IITs more women-friendly?"
Just watch the video; if you can't watch all of it, download it and go straight to Shobhana's talk!
The amount of attention that media (and hence the average Indian) showers on the IITs is a bit of an overkill.
ReplyDeleteIt's become the self-proclaimed intellectual Indian's substitute for Page 3 news.
The IITs are good engineering schools. And it's best left at that.
Leave them and let's move onto something else, Sir.
ReplyDeleteLilavati's Daughters review should be in the Jan 18 C & EN issue Abi.
ReplyDeleteShobana N's essay is also in that anthology .
I agree with anand.IITs are a hyped lot. People in india are short of heroes and would pick up anything that seems to work.Agreed that getting into IIT is tough but let us leave it at that and move on.
ReplyDeleteThese are basically teaching institutions that are probably working somewhat along the lines that they were supposed to work (Other institutions in India are not even doing that).
It's sad to see that they didn't archive those videos. I wish I had saved that video.
ReplyDelete