Directions in Retrospect

An academic institution is, essentially, a dynamic entity, continually changing and renewing itself. This process of renewal has to be accomplished through the participation of all concerned people, both within and outside the institute. To ensure the necessary participation of all, the concerns of the institute have to be kept alive and fresh in the minds of people.

A standard and effective method to achieve this is by investing in an in-house publication _ a newsletter. A newsletter can be a channel of communication within and outside the institute. It can also be a continual source of information on the changes taking place at the institute, as or before they take place. And, in the running of an institute, discussing changes before decisions are made, is a necessary move to engender collective decision-making. A newsletter can be the public face of the institute, a forum that presents the institute to the outside world. A carefully nurtured newsletter can become the common voice, the symbol of collective identity, that binds together individuals into a more cohesive group.

The major challenge in producing a newsletter of this nature is the need to maintain a delicate balance between projecting the strengths and debating the weaknesses publicly. It is vital that the newsletter does not get reduced to a mere vehicle for propaganda. The "truth" has to be debated, policies must be questioned and problems need to be resolved; and a newsletter must play its part (however insignificant) in making all of this possible.

Another challenge is to represent the viewpoints of everybody who is important to the Institute. It is essential that the content of the newsletter does not alienate any one section of the Institute.

The effectiveness of a newsletter ultimately rests in its achievements on two fronts. On the objective platform, the newsletter may be termed successful if it can lead to an effective flow of information within and outside the Institute. And, on the more subjective platform, the newsletter would have achieved success if it can bring together the members of the institute and make them feel part of a single team.

With something like this in mind, in January 1998, IIT Kanpur took a decision to bring out its own newsletter and in July 1998, the first issue of Directions was released. The initial response to the newsletter was as expected: warm, but cautious. Most people within the Institute were happy to see an Institute newsletter, and appeared satisfied with the contents and presentation of the initial issues. The predominant reaction, however, was doubts regarding the sustainability of the project. Experience had shown that such ventures began well with a lot of initial interest. But, as time passed, they would fade away either due to waning enthusiasm in the editorial team members or dwindling participation of readers and contributors. Directions had to be protected from this fate. A system had to be evolved that would ensure not only adequate community participation, but also preserve a consistent quality and tone of its contents. Further, a formal policy needed to be formulated to give guidance on all important matters, especially those of sensitive nature, for future reference. To accomplish this, and to ensure that the newsletter would be sustained independent of the individuals involved in its making, in January 1999, a policy document was prepared for Directions. On the other hand, the contents of the newsletter were kept flexible to accommodate the input from readers.

Directions has been a step in the direction of keeping readers across the country aware of the steady progress at IIT Kanpur and of uniting the people who are dedicated to achieving the goals of this academic institute. It is still in its infancy, and requires care to nurture its growth and development.

[back] [next]