Campus Talk: IIT-B student body counsels students to help make informed career choices

The CCC initiative focuses on providing in-person career guidance to civic school students, particularly those in Class 10, as this is when many begin to decide their career path.

Elaborating on the format of the sessions, Devang Agarwal, manager at Abhyudaya, said, “These are very interactive sessions. Instead of limiting it to a lecture on careers, the volunteers are trained to create dialogue so that actual questions of the audience can be addressed.”

Agarwal shared that the core team prepares a detailed presentation on career counselling, which is the basis of most in-person sessions held by student volunteers. “But almost all sessions begin with a question about the interests of participating students. The student volunteer then helps students navigate through higher education possibilities available in the area and the potential for a career in the sector. For example, in the session I conducted, many of them expressed their interest in fashion design. I helped them understand various career options and higher education courses they might have to pursue for the same.”

Even as career counselling is by an IITian, the sessions are not restricted to science and engineering-related courses, Agarwal said, adding that the idea was to help young students navigate their career path and to make informed choices with the limited resources they have.”

According to schools, the effort made by the IITians to create an environment of trust and comfort made a huge difference to the sessions. A principal of one school said, “The counselling was very helpful because the children could communicate more openly due to the smaller age gap between them and the college students. This created an environment of comfort, which is essential for students to open up, unlike discussions on careers with an older person.”

In January, all these students will get to be part of the two-day Social Fest, an annual event by Abhyuday that will see an amalgamation of several social initiatives held throughout the year, with events like talk shows, conclaves, exhibitions, panel discussions and more.