As part of our ongoing Women’s Mentorship Program, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has implemented various mentoring schemes to support women students after they join our institution.
At Amrita, we believe mentorship can be an incredibly powerful tool to encourage the growth of young women and help them reach their full potential.
In 2023, 83% of our women students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels participated in mentorship programs at Amrita.
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham offers different mentoring schemes to accompany, guide and inspire women students:
Specific tools for women, including: face-to-face or online mentoring, free conferences on job areas where women are under-represented, access to free international competitions for women.
Generic tools from which women students can benefit, such as training and mentoring sessions for students organized by Amrita Corporate and Industry Relations Department.
Inspiring talks or panel discussions on gender equality and female-specific subjects to generate reflection to become self-reliant and develop empowerment
Indirect tools: Training and internships in Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Research centers or departments with a high women’s empowerment component to benefit from national and international projects signed with major government and private institutions.
Several of our schemes are available both for staff and students. In each of these schemes, at least 10% of female students are participating.
1. Specific Mentoring Tools for Women
1.1 Team Shakti
Team Shakti is a group of budding young female minds who have joined together for the cause of bringing about a change in the field of cyber-security. Established as a Capture The Flag team, the team works tirelessly to share knowledge and make a contribution to balance the prevalent gender gap in the field.
Team Shakti works on the principle of team peer mentoring where the senior members mentor the juniors. Members support and help each other ultimately making the entire team stronger.
Since its foundation in 2019 by Shri Vipin Pavithran, Team Shakti has been recognized as the only CTF team in India that exclusively comprises female students.
TeamShakti proudly organized in 2022 the second consecutive ShaktiCTF, an ethical competition organized for women in cybersecurity, in partnership with Amrita Center for Cybersecurity Systems. It is a 24-hour cybersecurity competition held on the 9th and 10th of December 2022.
The event attracted a total of 955 participants, including 743 contestants organized into 243 teams and 500 individual participants. The competition featured 35 challenges spanning diverse categories such as Reversing, Web Exploitation, Forensics, Cryptography, Binary Exploitation, and Miscellaneous, resulting in a remarkable 4086 submissions. Notably, nine women-only teams also participated, demonstrating a commitment to inclusivity. The top honors went to CeSeNA-Ulisse-Girls, who secured the 1st prize, followed by Onii-Chan in 2nd place, and Pwnrpuff Girls taking the 3rd prize.
The competition ended with ShaktiCon.
A similar event was organized in 2023.
Since 2020, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita Cybersecurity, Amrita Technology) has been organizing Shakticon, a completely free global conference focused on inspiring, training, and upskilling women in cybersecurity. ShaktiCon includes keynote sessions, training, contests, and workshops. The 3-day conference last year attracted over 5000 participants from over 72 countries, and featured over 35 talks and trainings from the best in industry.
Born out of an understanding that cultural circumstances do not always encourage women to flourish in male dominated fields, ShaktiCon is committed to creating a suitable environment to showcase the range of women’s talents in cybersecurity.
In September 2022, several trainings were organized as well prior to the conference: Automation of reversing challenges, Introduction to SQL Injection, Introduction to Shellcoding introduction to Blockchain & PQC, Introduction to Digital Forensics.
Example of post on social media:
1.2 Support Group for Women Ph. D. Students
Amrita School of Social and Behavioural Sciences started in August 2022 the first Women PhD student support group facilitated by Dr Martha Miller, Adjunct Professor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Faculty Director at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson Women Leadership’s Institute, USA.
The first group consists of 3 women PhD students of the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, out of 12 women PhD students. They meet at least once in a month. In October 2023, already 16 sessions have been successfully conducted.
The goal of peer mentoring is to cultivate a nurturing environment of mutual support and compassion by engaging in empathetic and focused listening, being fully present in mind and heart. In peer mentoring sessions, whether conducted virtually or in person, each female PhD participant is given a designated time to speak. The individual in focus expresses their current emotional state, discusses the challenges they are encountering in their professional or personal life, and articulates specific research-related issues they are endeavoring to resolve. Fellow group members provide attentive listening, offer support, and, when feasible, suggest potential pathways for the person to progress.
“Dr Martha’s support group has been a pivotal contributor towards my holistic development. A safe space to brainstorm as well as vent out my concerns and emotions. A sense of ‘you are not alone’ in this Ph.D journey is a great relief.” Meenu Prakash, PhD Student in Social Sciences
For more information:
1.3. Access to Women High Management Mentors
Our female students can request mentorship on critical personal and academic issues from women in top management and senior faculty counselors at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. This mentorship is usually reserved for complex topics that typically cannot be addressed by class counselors. This access to female top management offers many advantages to our female students:
Role Modeling and Representation: Seeing women in leadership helps them visualize themselves in similar roles, breaking down internal and societal barriers that may otherwise discourage them. These mentors serve as proof that leadership positions are attainable, particularly in areas where women are underrepresented.
Targeted Guidance and Insights: Women leaders can offer unique perspectives on navigating professional challenges, especially those related to gender. This includes handling stereotypes, balancing work-life dynamics, and overcoming biases. Mentors from top management understand both the industry and academic landscape, offering tailored advice that accounts for these challenges.
Building Confidence and Resilience: Mentoring relationships help build self-confidence. Female mentors who have navigated the paths to senior management provide valuable guidance on resilience and self-advocacy, encouraging students to build their confidence in managing personal and professional challenges.
Networking and Opportunities: Mentors often help students expand their professional networks, introducing them to other influential figures in their fields. This access can lead to internships, job opportunities, and collaborations that may not be easily accessible otherwise.
Encouragement for Lifelong Learning: Mentorship can instill a passion for continual growth, encouraging students to pursue further learning and development. This is one of the goals set by the Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham for education. Seeing their mentors’ commitment to education and professional development can inspire our female students to adopt the same dedication to their careers.
Testimony of Kripa, a PhD student, on her conversation with Dr. Bhavani Rao R., Dean of the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality
“As a PhD scholar at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, my experience the women in leadership, particularly my interactions with Dr. Bhavani Rao R., Dean of the School of Social and Behavioural Sciences and UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality, has been truly inspiring. What moves me most about Dr. Bhavani is her unwavering commitment to social good and her vision of using research and education as tools for positive societal change. Her work in gender equality and social development has shown me how academic research can be meaningfully translated into real-world impact. Her approach to combining academic work with practical solutions for community development has fundamentally shaped my perspective on what we can achieve through scholarly work.
Dr. Bhavani’s dedication to innovative thinking, creative social application, and creating positive social change has inspired me to pursue research that can make a meaningful difference in society. Her mentorship has shown me that as women in academia, we have the power and responsibility to drive transformative social impact through our work.”
2. Generic Mentoring Tools for Women
2.1 Wellness Center and Counselling
Maintaining good emotional balance is essential for students to thrive academically and personally, with unique importance for women who may face additional pressures, such as societal expectations, career-family balance concerns, or gender-based challenges. Emotional well-being promotes focus, resilience, and a positive mindset, helping students handle academic demands and make informed decisions about their future.
At Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, the Student Affairs and Welfare Department offers dedicated support through its Counselling Wing, which addresses students’ personal and emotional concerns. This department serves as a one-stop support hub, providing guidance for both students and parents on academic and non-academic issues.
By collaborating with various departments, the Counselling Wing helps resolve challenges that could hinder students’ progress, ensuring they receive timely support for both personal and academic well-being.
For assistance, students and parents can reach the Help Desk at
Amrita CIR (Corporate and Industry Relations) department has been continuously organizing training and mentoring sessions for students to encourage their growth and help them realize their full potential. Our women students can all benefit from these trainings to develop themselves, gain inner confidence and strength for their future career endeavors.
The table below gives examples of the existing training and mentoring themes.
FUNCTIONS
LEARNING & DEVELOPMENTCIR has been conducting training in the three major areas of Life skills – Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal and Communication Skills and Soft Skills…»»
SOFT SKILLSTraining in the area of Soft Skills is offered to students of Engineering, Management, as well as other disciplines like Computer Applications, Social Work, and Arts & Sciences…»»
VERBAL & COMMUNICATION SKILLSCIR has been conducting training in the three major areas of Life skills – Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal and Communication Skills and Soft Skills….»»
QUANTITATIVE AND LOGICAL REASONING SKILLSQuantitative tests are conducted by companies as part of the recruitment process to assess the candidate’s decision-making abilities,…»»
CORE COMPETENCY TRAINING – TECHNICAL SKILLSPlan, coordinate and execute core technical training across all engineering branches for B.Tech, MTech and MCA students. The technical domains would include:…»»
HIGHER LEARNING INITIATIVESCIR has been conducting training in the three major areas of Life skills – Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal and Communication Skills and Soft Skills….»»
FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCYMany companies who recruit from Amrita, often send students to other countries for training and projects…»»
CAREER GUIDANCEStudents often seek to clarify their career goals while in the campus. Some of them have career goals that need alignment inputs…»»
PLACEMENTSCIR strives to achieve excellent placement of students each year….»»
ENGINEERINGPlacement for students of engineering, arts, science and allied courses are handled by one group of experts with Head-Placement at the top…»»
MANAGEMENTIn order to fulfill the career aspirations of the students, it was found necessary for them to have expert assistance in specific areas, beyond their regular academic training…»»
CORPORATE RELATIONSThe Corporate Relations function has to be all-encompassing as it has to serve varying needs of multiple disciplines and centre of the University…»»
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONCorporate Communication is being undertaken by CIR on behalf of the university with the sole objective of impacting visibility in print and electronic media through regular write-ups like features, event reports, etc….»»
CORPORATE TRAININGCIR has evolved specific corporate training programmes covering areas like leadership development, organizational development, change management, stress management,…»»
AMRITA CENTRE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIPDeveloping entrepreneurship skills amongst students has gained ground in recent times. Most futuristic models of education are focused towards creating graduates who would not just take a job,…»»
3. Inspiring talks or panel discussion on gender equality and female specific subjects
At Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, we strongly believe that our female students possess a strong inner power. By engaging in talks, webinars, and discussions on gender and women-related topics, they gain valuable insights and the opportunity to reflect, empowering them to find their own solutions to challenges. This approach fosters self-reliance and confidence—it is truly a mentorship through example! It’s a powerful indirect form of mentorship where role models inspire others through their own experiences, actions, and resilience, rather than direct, one-on-one mentoring sessions. Below are a few examples of subjects in which our students participated in 2023:
3.1 Female psychology
On March 21, 2023, as part of VIDYUT 2023—the national-level multifest of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Amritapuri Campus—the Social Forum hosted a thought-provoking talk titled “Understanding Female Psychology.”
The session was led by Shabhana Madathil, a renowned psychologist, success coach, and student mentor.
3.2 Transgender Issues
On May 4th 2023, As part of the VIDYUT 2023 multifest at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s Amritapuri Campus, the Social Forum, in collaboration with the Department of Social Work, hosted an eye-opening discussion on the transgender community. The Civil20 Working Group on Gender Equality presented “Transcending Conversations,” featuring a panel of esteemed speakers:
Dr. Sandeep, AIMS
Adv. Padma Lekshmi, Kerala’s first transgender lawyer
K. Prithika Yashini, India’s first transgender police officer from Tamil Nadu
Akkai Padmashali, Human Rights Activist
Dr. Bhavani Rao, Dean, ASSBS
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3.3 Cookery Talks
The cookery talk show was held on April 13, 2023, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Amritapuri, India, with an impressive turnout of around 100 participants. Cookery shows have gained immense popularity worldwide, showcasing culinary talent and inspiring a love for cooking. Importantly, these shows also play a role in promoting gender sensitization, challenging stereotypes, and fostering inclusivity in the culinary field.
The event featured popular YouTube personality Ms. Shalu, who led the show with a focus on gender equality and highlighted diverse perspectives within the culinary world. Key topics of the event included:
Breaking Gender Stereotypes
Encouraging Representation and Inclusivity
Promoting Collaboration and Teamwork
Addressing Gender Bias in Culinary Narratives
Inspiring Aspiring Chefs
For further information:
3.4. Gender sensitization and Film screening and Discussion on Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment with Filmmaker Frederique Bedos
On June 13, 2023, as part of C20, a screening of the documentary film Women and Men was organized by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker from France, Frédérique Bedos. This powerful documentary provides a startling overview of gender inequality worldwide, featuring key testimonies and insights. Created in collaboration with UN Women, CEDAW, FAO, and the French Ministry of Women’s Rights, the film underscores that achieving equality is essential to addressing contemporary global challenges and advancing progress.
For further information:
3.5 Webinar on Women’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystems
A two-hour webinar was organized by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham as part of the work of the C20 Working Group on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment on March 6th, 2023. Seven panelists were invited to share their insights on key thematic areas related to achieving inclusive women’s entrepreneurship and self-employment for their communities, highlighting best practices that have overcome these challenges, and policy approaches that will lead to a more supportive and integrated ecosystem for inclusive entrepreneurship.
For further information:
3.7. Women’s Safety and Engaging Men & Boys towards Gender Equality
On February 11th. 2023, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s C20 working group on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) organised a two-hour webinar to connect Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that work in the areas of women’s safety and engaging men & boys in achieving gender equality. The goal was to begin the process of identifying promising policy recommendations and associated information to produce papers on policy.
For further information:
3.8. One Million Lights Nomination and Reflection on Gender Equality in Social Work Education
This event, held on March 9th 2023, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, encouraged Social Work students to participate in the One Million Lights Campaign and reflect on the role of gender equality champions in their lives. Students were inspired to recognize, with gratitude, the individuals who have positively impacted their journeys.
The event featured discussions on the significance of the C20 slogan, “You are the Light,” where participants explored its meaning and how they could embody this message in their own lives. Through empowerment and responsibility, the event motivated students to become agents of change, spreading light and driving transformative action within their communities and beyond.
For further information: |
4. Indirect tools
CWEGE
The Center for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is a research and academic center dedicated to promoting gender equality and fostering women’s empowerment, using technology and other innovative methods. Our center offers diverse courses on key focus areas, pilot radical ideas, and collaborate with leading universities and institutions to advance the initiatives. It also hosts the activities of India’s UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and offers a wide range of opportunities for students to participate in research, academic and field projects.
AmritaSREE (Self-Reliance, Employment & Empowerment) is a network of Self Help Groups managed by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham & the Mata Amritanandamayi Math that is based on the training of women to shift them from dependence to self-reliance, building trust and confidence between members. The projects are imbued with the entrepreneurial spirit and cover many areas of action, skill-development, and vocational training programs. Empowerment through loans is also facilitated to individual members to promote community growth.
Amrita CREATE, the education-technology research lab of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, provides tablet-based, technology-driven education in remote villages areas through its rural educational program called Amrita Rural India Tablet-enhanced Education (RITE).
