In a unique way to recognise the services of its employees, the Indian Institute of Gandhinagar (IITGN) has established an award named ‘Long Service Award’ for the employees who satisfactorily serve the Institute for a period of ten years or more.
The Institute organised the maiden event for this award today wherein 57 employees, including faculty and staff, were felicitated. Prof Sudhir K Jain, Founding Director of IITGN and incumbent Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, was the Chief Guest at the ceremony and presented the awards to all recipients.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Sudhir K Jain reminisced the anecdotes from his earlier years at IITGN and how the Institute started with a handful of faculty and staff and has grown over the years.
He said, “This is a very special and nostalgic occasion for me. With limited infrastructure, the initial faculty and staff worked extremely hard to develop the Institute. Over the years, IITGN has built a very inclusive work environment and a culture of mutual trust that sets it apart from many of its peers. In the years ahead, I expect IITGN to emerge as an Institute with societal impact as a result of the preparatory work it has done so far.”
At the beginning of the event, Prof Amit Prashant, Officiating Director, IITGN, gave a welcome address. Congratulating all the awardees, he said, “We have done a lot of exciting and path-breaking things together with the leadership of Professor Jain, and this is an occasion to celebrate it. The journey to take this institute to the vision that we have thought for it, in the long run, shall continue. Let’s keep moving and work even harder in that direction.”
Sharing his thoughts upon receiving the award, Prof Jaison Manjaly, Jasubhai Memorial Chair Professor and Head, Humanities and Social Sciences, IITGN, who was the first faculty to join the Institute in 2008, said, “I feel privileged and excited to be able to contribute to an Institute which has set many benchmarks for educational Institutes in the country. This also adds a great sense of responsibility to take forward the culture and values of the Institute that has been collectively built over the years. I am looking forward to contributing to IITGN in more ways.”
Expressing his feelings about getting this award, Rameshbhai Vankar, Workshop Mechanic, Mechanical Engineering, IITGN, said, “I feel a sense of satisfaction that I could contribute in building the Mechanical Engineering workshop for this Institute from scratch. We have come a long way from our days on the VGEC campus to now when we have one of the best infrastructure. The journey has been a great learning experience.”