Student Culture

It’s a good place to meet like- minded people and learn and grow together. The campus community forms a close knit group and you make friends for life here. The campus, the people and this life has made a stronger and confident person.

Clubs

Interested in something? There will be a club for it. If there isn't one, you can open your own. (assuming, of course, that you get enough people interested in the same activity) More importantly, you don't have to approach a professor for opening a club, you just put up a proposal in front of the "Students' Gymkhana"(composed almost entirely of students in executive positions). If the Gymkhana approves it, you are done.

Freedom

If someone were to ask me what truly sets IIT Kanpur apart, my answer would be the freedom that the students are given and the trust that the authorities have in us. Starting from the very basic, there is no concept of an "in-time" in hostels, allowing students to pursue moonshots in different technical clubs or just goof around in the campus (or SAC, which has a food court which stays open until 4 am in the morning). The college festivals: Antaragni, Techkriti and Udghosh are planned and executed by the Core Teams (comprised entirely of students) at the behest of the Students' Gymkhana - which oversees all student activities. The Students' Senate is an empowered body which acts as a medium to convey the aspirations of students to the Institute authorities. Who in turn ensure that all decisions affecting the student body is taken only after careful consideration of the students opinions. Even the placements which requires a professional dialogue between multinational companies like Google, Microsoft etc is handled impeacably by the students.

Liberty

If there is anything such as a single defining feature of IIT-Kanpur, it is liberty. You don't have LAN bans, download limits, compulsory attendance (except in some courses where it is a small percentage (5-10%) of the overall course weightage), no fixed time by which you should be in the campus etc. There is no dress code (students frequently come to lectures, project demos etc. in tees and shorts). Boys are allowed in girls' hostels and vice-versa until 12AM, and you are free to go to your friend's room in such cases.

Students' Gymkhana

The entire environment is planned to give a conducive atmosphere for a holistic learning – to focus on the development of personality as a whole.The Student Gymkhana makes sure that the student leads a very active life when present in campus. It understand that the average student coming in has led a very monotonous life during the preparation days and feels he needs to diversify and wants to develop his personality as a whole. It makes sure that there is some thing in the campus from Cultural to Sports to Technical through one of the institute's pillar of strength.

Cultural Council

“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”- Mahatma Gandhi

The Cultural Council of the Students' Gymkhana organizes a plethora of activities spanning over the whole year. With a calendar punctuated by scores of workshops and classes over the year, including the summers, the Council provides the students profuse platforms to pursue various cultural genres, train themselves, perform on stage or just appreciate various cultural arts. The students are also given a chance to hone their skills and compete with other prolific colleges in intercollegiate cultural festivals. The council gives ample opportunities to the students to cement them into the cultural scene at IIT Kanpur through events like FRESHERS' NIGHT, IMPRESSIONS, GALAXY (Inter-Hall Championship) and other club events.

Dance Club

"Dancing is like dreaming with your feet."

At Dance Club here, dance is just not our hobby or extracurricular activity. It is what defines us, it is our identity. We organize plethora of events throughout the year and the only pre-requisite for participating is your enthusiasm. We cover various styles such as Locking, Popping, Salsa, Jazz, Bollywood, Swag, Wacking and the most important part; all of them are taught from the scratch.

Dance Extravaganza: The annual showcase of Dance Club which brings forward the brimming talent of the institute. Dandiya Night , Yeh Shaam Mastani and much more !! We also participate in many intercollege festivals like Antaragni, Rendezvous, etc.

Dramatics Club

"Movies make you famous, television makes you rich and theater makes you good."

Have you really missed the stage you performed upon in your school and this dreaded JEE preparation came in way? Dramatics club a.k.a Fursat Mandali provides you the right opportunity to relive your passion once again. The team uses the art of expression with unmatched enthusiasm to help address the maladies of the society and to form an impetus for change.

We here at Fursat Mandali, IITK organise professional theater workshops, competitions and the Dramatics Eve (one per semester). We also participate in national level competitions like Antaragni and Rendezvous, etc. and have emerged as one of the best dramatics societies in the country. So come and join us to be a part of this change, this legacy.

English Literary Society

“Language is a virus from outer space.” - William S. Burroughs

If that is so, the ELS proudly claims to be infected. Symptoms include constant urges to celebrate the English language in all its forms: Queen's to urban slang, through JAMs, Creative Writing, Dumb Charades, Poetry Slam, Debates, Word Games,Open mic, and so much more . If you suffer from a similar affliction, your name's on the list; so lose your inhibitions and come on board for a fun-filled literary journey!

Hindi Sahitya Sabha

“ साहित्य आम लोगों के बारे में कुछ असाधारण की सोच, और साधारण शब्दों में कुछ असाधारण के साथ कहने की कला है। “

Committed to the cause of promotion of Hindi, we seek to provide a platform for students to experience and explore various avenues of Hindi literature and to realise its relevance in our lives. Fun activities like crosswords, dumb charades and JAM are juxtaposed with more 'solemn' events like poetry, debating, creative writing etc. to promote our belief that the beauty of literature lies not just in obscure seeming lines of poetry but is intertwined with our lives through its multifarious expressions. We also work on ‘Nirvaak’ - the campus newspaper, which is an unofficial part of our club, voicing the unspoken pressing issues of campus. We participate and have won many competitions including Inter-IIT Cultural meet and Cultural fests.

Fine Arts Club

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known" - Oscar Wilde

The Fine Arts Club brings together the great talents, new art manoeuvres & the funky tit-bits of creativity & vigour together into an exciting & colourful world of creation, talent and zeal. Here we conduct professional and hall level workshops on all aspects of fine arts, including graphic design and visual art. From Fresher's Night and Hall festivals to Inter-hall and Institute level festivals and competitions, we are involved heavily in all institute activities. Art Fest is the annual flagship event organised by us. Fine Arts Club inherits a legacy of hard work, dedication and team spirit from a heritage of great and inspiring seniors who remain a part of the club even after years of their passing out. So unleash your inner hidden artist, welcome to the club.

Music Club

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." ― Plato

Music club is a place where a variety of genres are appreciated and nurtured, be it rock, metal, blues, jazz or Hindustani. It is a place where people come to jam, learn and enjoy different flavours of music. The club conducts various activities throughout the year like grand musical shows and innovative workshops. Club members also participate in various musical competitions. Students here have won laurels at various platforms, with instances of people having pursued music as a career later on in their lives. Members have been constantly involved in creating new compositions which are recorded in the club’s recording studio. Some have even displayed their immense talent and have gone ahead to compose songs.

The flagship event organized by the Music club is Musical Extravaganza, which is held once each semester. It is an event in which members of the club perform covers of songs of varied genres, as well as some original compositions. We also organize the Acoustic Night once each year.

Debate & Discussions Society - DEBSOC

"Diversity and independence are important because the best collective decisions are the product of disagreement and contest, not consensus or compromise." ― James Surowiecki

The goal of the society is to provide a platform for IITK junta to hone their discussion and debating skills. Whether you are interested in just informal discussions, or structured Parliamentary Debating & MUN, as long as you like Debate & Discussion, this is the place for you. Our team also represents IITK in multiple reputed tournaments held across the country.

Quiz Club

For the knowledge buffs here in IIT Kanpur, Quiz Club organizes regular quizzes on every topic under the Sun and also in the dark. From Sports to Entertainment, Technology to Silver Screen and India to World we challenge you in all fields. Frequent quiz meets and few “quiz weeks” are organized. The culmination of all these are festivals(Antaragni & Techkriti) where quizzes are organized by quizmasters from all over the country. When even that is not enough, you get to test your mettle against the best in the country in Nihilanth(All IITs & IIMs), Mood Indigo(IITB), Rendezvous(IITD). For regular updates visit our Blog: qciitk.wordpress.com

Freshers Nite

Films & Media Council

“The World is nothing but a canvas to Imagination” – Henry David Thoreau

Films and Media Council intends to serve and cater the creativity, imagination and the joy of animating, film making, photography, radio jockeying, designing and watching movies among the campus junta. It also serves as a platform for campus journalism spreading awareness and making it a place where people can express themselves and voice their needs with freedom. It is a medium through which people can learn to express themselves differently in a manner that is subtle yet strong at the same time while growing throughout the process. We intend to empower people through a diversified media promoting an environment more involving in terms of both activities and reward.

Anime Society

Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/iitkanisoc

“Because they saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me for who I am. They’re my friends.” – Uzumaki Naruto

Yes, you read that right, for all the anime and manga lovers out there, we have an anime society which organizes anime screenings, anime discussion sessions at regular intervals. We hold quizzes, podcasts, anime reviews and Pokemon tournaments as well. Ever wished to discuss a theory you came up with after an episode or found a new treasure of Anime series. Come and share it with us and live the joy of watching anime.

Design and Animation Club (DnA)

Facebook Page : https://www.facebook.com/dnaiitk

“Good design is making something intelligible and memorable. Great design is making something memorable and meaningful.” - Dieter Rams

We think the whole idea of design and animation is quite intriguing in itself. This club helps students learn how to create their own designs, animations and animated films, dealing with all aspects of animation from the very basics to the most technical details involved in the process and aims at making them a better designer. Regular lectures and projects on the fundamental concepts of different domains of design such as graphic design, product, services etc. as well as on 3-D animation, special effects and 3-D game design and various software and tools used in these are taken.

Film Club

Youtube Channel : www.YouTube.com/FMCIITKanpur

“Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes.”- Robert Altman

With activities ranging from home movie making to video editing, from sizzling ads to catchy trailers, it is undoubtedly one of the most assiduous clubs. Apart from its own activities, Film Club strives to spread its art to the campus community through lecture series, Ad making competitions, movie making projects etc. It also provides a platform to acting enthusiasts to showcase and hone their skills. Insight 360 is a sister club to film club. It mainly deals with the videojournalism of all the activities at IITK and surroundings.

Photography Club

Flickr Photostream : www.flickr.com/fmciitk

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”- Dorothea Lange

Celebrating vibrance in multitude of eye pleasing sights and breathtaking instances, Photography club aims to capture them all. It strives to provide opportunities to the students to hone their creative skills and create the photographs that speak their own word. Photography club has high grade equipment in terms of digital SLRs and lenses. It has a studio with all professional level setup. More and more dimensions are being added to the club like night photography, portrait photography, photography in 'ivory and ebony' and what not. Photography club encourages budding photographers in the campus by conducting workshops, professional lectures, exhibitions and competitions.

Student Film Society

Screening Schedule : www.students.iitk.ac.in/sfs

This club caters the interest of the campus junta through screening of movies and sports throughout the year. Regular Film galas are organized where we watch foreign language movies and have a discussion about them. We have a diverse collection of movies, tutorials, software and archives of various activities happening over past years in the campus. We have discussion groups for everything. Ever want to discuss and overhaul anything from screenplay to cast, from plot to production, we are the ones you should check out!

Design and Animation Club

Film Club

Photography Club

Games and Sports Council

IIT Kanpur is not just about academics but also has world class sports facilities. It has two cricket fields, a 400 metres track, an Olympic sized swimming pool, separate floodlit football and hockey fields, floodlit basketball courts (2 synthetic, 1 cemented), volleyball and tennis (six synthetic) courts, indoor basketball and badminton stadiums, indoor arenas for weightlifting and squash, a skating rink, a taekwondo arena, table tennis rooms, a yoga room, two well­equipped gymnasiums and the list goes on and on.

E-Sports Society

Facebook Page: Facebook Page

Considering the rise of enormous participation and competitiveness standards in eSports at IIT Kanpur in past few years, the institute officially recognizes the E-Sports Society as an integral part of its Games & Sports Council. The Society envisions to provide a platform for all eSports enthusiasts, organizing tournaments, workshops, sessions and much more on eSports.

Science & Technology Council

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sntiitk

Web Page: students.iitk.ac.in/snt

Science and Technology Council aims to bring student activity in consonance with the broader technological forum. Our aim is to promote students from the grass root level bootstrapping them through Takneek, gradually improving skills, developing capabilities to plan and implement more involved, through cutting edge projects.

Aeromodelling Club

Youtube Video : Aeromodelling Club

Our main objective is to promote aeromodelling as hobby in our campus. We design, model and build our own aircrafts, multi-rotors and hovercrafts, introducing different categories of aeromodelling to campus junta. Members are exposed to new methods by collaborating projects and activities with experienced students and faculties as well. Weeklong aeromodelling events are held, fun filled open to all competitions are organised for the students.

Astronomy Club

Facebook Page : Facebook Page

We attempt to bring about an interest and awareness in the field of Astronomy and Space Research. We intend to promote amateur astronomy through talks, competitions and shows. Astronomy is fun, but it can be even more fun when you do it with other people. Through various observation sessions by telescope and at the The Observatory for Astronomical Research (OAAR), we impart hands on skills and knowledge to all those willing to learn. We also conduct events like astrophotography and planetarium shows. Aren't all these super cool!

Electronics Club

Electronics Club Projects

Electronics Club, earlier started as a hobby group has now expanded into a students’ organisation with the objective of inculcating a spirit of developing innovative, cutting edge technology solutions to real life problems. We provide a platform to the students’ body where any individual with an idea can approach the club freely to grasp the necessary technical skills required to turn that idea into a reality. This is a place where students get an opportunity to think outside the academic curriculum and get practical experience by implementing and applying concepts learnt in various theoretical courses. We conduct a plethora of lectures, workshops, projects as well as competitions throughout the year concerning both analog as well as digital electronics keep the calendar busy and the participant’s learning.

Finance & Analytics Club

Facebook Page : Facebook Page

The world has seen a boom in the field of finance and data analytics. And finance is an inseparable part of any firm. Our Vision is to provide a platform for the entire campus residents to learn and understand the nuances of finance and business management. We conduct a lot of workshops and guest lectures throughout the year to prepare the interested students for various offcampus and intercampus business competitions. We also provide adequate resources to them for the same in the form of webinars, courses, challenges, etc. Plus, the club offers several projects in the field of algo trading, machine learning for data analysis, algo trading etc.

Programming Club

Website : pclub.in

Programming is an art required in almost all spheres of life, and we inculcate that talent in the people who want to learn it. Our introductory lectures and workshops cater to the people who are willing to learn coding. We organize activities which cater to various fields including App Development, Hacking, Algorithms and Machine Learning. We also build projects that are widely used by the campus junta, and provide any equipment, resources or guidance to enthusiastic people for building their own projects.

Robotics Club

Robotics Club Website

We promote interest for Robotics among the people in the campus by conducting various funfilled activities among students. We are a community of students who derive pleasure in creating mechanical peers that may be potent to work without human intervention. We organise regular lectures and workshops and work on projects like Humanoid and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle.

Speedcubing Club

Speed Cubing Club Insta Handle

We popularize speedcubing as a sport on campus by introducing other puzzles like Pyraminx, megaminx, skewb, square1, etc. Here, learning the 3x3x3 cube is just the beginning and a plethora of puzzles awaits you. You will get aware about various workshops being organised throughout the year about learning more and more about cubing. So if you ever wanted to learn about cubing or are really good at it, do come to our workshops

Societies

  • Brain and Cognitive Society (BCS) - BCS WebPage Facebook Page

    The Brain and Cognitive Society (BCS) is a student society, aiming at studying Brain science to reverse engineer human intelligence into creating more general and intelligent AI's for the future world. We cover neuroscience, machine learning, cognitive psychology and several other things. Besides, we organize online workshops with video lectures and notebooks, journal events and summer projects for students of all years. For someone with the slightest knack in exploring brain sciences, BCS provides a wonderful platform in development of skills and interests.

  • IITK Consulting Group (ICG) - ICG WebPage Facebook Page

    We provide Machine Learning and Data Science driven consulting to Social organisations, Non-Profits and Government entities, to help them leverage better insights from their data.

  • Design and Construction (DesCon) Society - Facebook Page

    If you are curious to know how beautiful monuments and infrastructures are created and want to implement some of your innovative ideas into projects then DesCon is the right place for you. Design And Construction (DesCon) society is a group of such design enthusiasts who uses their design and construction skills to build projects which are beneficial to all and create interest of the same in others. We perform different activities including designing popsicle bridge, Spaghetti Bridge, and other types of bridges. Along with that different structural analysis are performed practically. Students are encouraged to perform activities on their own ideas and use of different software like SAP, Autocad Inventor, etc for structural analysis and designing. By organizing a plethora of events ranging from lectures and workshops to different competitions, we hope to see more people understanding and fascinated by designs of beautiful infrastructures.

  • Science Coffee House - Facebook Page

    The Science Coffee House is a student society built around our love for science (and coffee). At the SCH, we provide the right platform for all those interested in a wide variety of topics such as Biology, Physics, Mathematics, Psychology or Philosophy to get together and discuss their ideas with one another. This platform enables people to explore and fully utilize the diversity in knowledge available throughout the campus. There are student hosted talks, which are informal lectures delivered openly to the campus community. In a classic setting these talks were delivered in a lecture hall, and recordings were made for anyone who couldn’t make it to a talk. The SCH group brings together blogs, books, videos, puzzles and much more!

Institute Teams

Aerial Robotics Official WebPage Facebook Page

We are a team of dedicated undergraduate students who aim to participate and represent IITK at various national as well as international aerial vehicle competitions and conferences. We also aim to positively contribute to the global open source robotics community and trying to spread knowledge & awareness of autonomy in aerial vehicles. We build our quadcopter frames, equipped with state-of-the-art hardware. We develop our software for almost all aspects - controls, navigation, vision, as well as state estimation.

Team AUV , IITK AUV WebPage Facebook Page

With aim of promoting Marine Robotics and providing robotics-enthusiasts a platform for exploring underwater possibilities and marine technology. Our team has successfully designed and manufactured two robust AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), which are capable of navigating in unknown environments, performing acoustic localization, and identifying objects using computer vision. We also participate in various Competitions like NIOT-SAVe(Chennai), SAUVC(Singapore) and Robosub(San Diego)

ERA IITK ERA WebPage Instagram Page

We are a team of undergraduates actively working with faculty and are dedicated to developing solutions to challenges in autonomous robotics and related domains. We develop cutting-edge robots aided by research and represent our university and nation in international competitions that see participants from prestigious colleges worldwide. In the past, we excelled in the RoboMaster AI Challenge in 2022 (2nd place) and DJI RoboMaster Challenge 2019 (3rd place). Currently, we are working towards our first participation in the upcoming (2024) edition of the RoboCup MSL.

Humanoid Facebook Page

IIT Kanpur is the first IIT having a group focusing especially on Humanoids. The team has made a 'fully working autonomous humanoid', and are planning to extend its functions. They are the first team from India ever to be selected for FIRA HuroCup 2019. Achievements:

  1. First Autonomous Walking Humanoid made by any undergraduate team.
  2. One of the 22 teams selected to participate in FIRA HuroCup 2019 and came 6th in Archery.

IITK Motorsports (SAE)Facebook Page

With the aim of promoting Automotive Culture in the campus and hands on Engineering experience, we design, manufacture and race Formula and BAJA student vehicles at National and International competitions. If the sound of screeching tires and roaring engines give you goosebumps, this is the team you should be in!

Team Vision IITK Website

IGVC is one of the biggest international competition of Intelligent Ground Vehicles. In our very first participation, we secured the 5th position in Design Category of IGVC 2018. Each year, some of the most brilliant, hard working, and sincere people of any institute interested in Autonomy, team up to build vehicles to participate in the competition.

Entrepreneurship Cell

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ecelliitk

I create.
I take risks.
I live my passion.
I am an entrepreneur

While ‘Entrepreneurship' is growing to be one of the business world's biggest buzz words, the E- Cell at IIT Kanpur envisions a time, when youth will look up to the new generation of CEO’s and entrepreneurs as their modern day rock stars.

Motivated by this vision, the students at E-Cell are working to induce an entrepreneurial mindset into the students and to air an innovative streak in them. We are here to water the ‘Ideas’ in the bud and help them bloom into impactful endeavors. We are here to support the aspiring entrepreneurs of the future and also to drive-in the real sense of ‘entrepreneurship’ in those, who are new to this entrancing word.

We are working towards building an inspired GenNext who has the inbuilt urge to innovate, take risks, shoulder social responsibility and indulge in creative execution of their vibrant ideas.

E-Cell effectively meets these objectives through networking student enterprises from campus to incubators, seeding funds and angel investors to transform the newly proposed ideas into successful start-ups.

The cell has various verticals to achieve its goal. The present structure of the cell comprises of following wings:

  • Startup Development: To address queries and assist campus startups
  • Corporate Relations: To build the industry relations of cell
  • Events: To plan and organize various entrepreneurial events
  • Design: To ideate and design the creative content for cell
  • Finance and Logistics: To manage and record cell finances, handle logistics
  • Marketing: To bring in funds through monetary deals for events
  • Media and Publicity: To publicise cell activities within campus and beyond
  • Startup Internship Program: To help students intern at startups

ESSENCE

ESSENCE stands for Empowering Start-up Scheme to Encourage and Nurture Campus Entrepreneurs. It is essentially an opportunity to spend the summers working on your own entrepreneurial idea under in a structured and mentored way, honing your skills alongside through various workshops and building a network in the entrepreneurial community.

E-Summit

E-Summit is an annual flagship event of IIT Kanpur effectuated with the intention to foster entrepreneurial initiatives and activities in the campus to accomplish IIT Kanpur's mandate of nurturing India's future technopreneurs. E-Summit promises to be one of India's biggest entrepreneurial platforms for the academic community, venture capitalists, new age entrepreneurs and all those passionate about entrepreneurship. It brings them all to a common ground to engage in plenary, strategic and tactical breakout sessions and facilitates sharing of entrepreneurship endeavours and experiences, discussion of ideas and opportunities to profuse learning experience for the active leaders of entrepreneurship in the savant community who can then disperse these ideas further.

Facilities

IIT Kanpur, backed by its highly elaborate, yet efficient E-Cell, is quickly cementing its status as a cradle for a multitude of start-ups. These ever growing ventures have their feet dug deep in areas ranging from core science to life smoothening apps. At E-Cell, the will to execute anything creative is valued more than anything else. If you have a bright idea, and you are ready to push the limits to breathe life into it, then you've knocked at the right door. Many state of the art facilities are served on the platter for the emerging entrepreneurs here. These facilities include the SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre, Motwani Ideation Accelerator and the Syndicate Bank Entrepreneurship Research and Training Centre. The E-Cell also provides for labs with state of the art facilities like the Tinkering Lab and 4i Lab.

StartUp101

A series of in house lectures on basics of entrepreneurship and business are organised to create awareness and answer questions of enthusiastic students. Founders of campus startups often grace the lectures with their presence, providing insight into the ground reality. This is essentially your introductory course to the entrepreneurial world.

TEDxIITKanpur

An independently organised TED event, TEDx IITKanpur is hosted by the E-Cell team every year to bring forth ideas and share them with the world. Distinguished speakers share their ideas from the fields of Technology, Media, Arts and Entertainment. The idea is to introduce attendees to an experience that shall invoke inquisitiveness and encourage free-flow discussion.

Campus Hangouts

Informal discussion sessions among the entrepreneurial community of campus where the startup cofounders share the problems they are facing, students share their ideas, and discuss the happenings of the startup world.

Startup Internship Programmes

SIP(Startup Internship Program) is a major part of E-Cell, IIT Kanpur. It provides the students of IIT Kanpur with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with young and upcoming companies who are set to become the power houses of NexGen India. Numerous companies are invited to recruit students for internship. There are companies from sectors of marketing, multimedia advertising, coding, on-line ventures and many more.

Community Welfare Cell

The Community Welfare Cell (CWC) aims to work for the community in and around the campus which includes students, faculty members, the staff members, the workers and their families and people living in small radius outside the campus boundary.

The Cell currently has six wings under it:

Pragati

Pragati was started in 2016 with a vision to bring some technological and innovational change in rural and social fields. They work to achieve equality in development. Currently, they are working on Solar Power Plant and Cell Project.

Prakriti

Prakriti Website

Prakriti is a students initiative which is working in the field of environmental awareness and impact assessment to achieve equality in terms of sustainability. Currently, we are working of Bio Gas and Waste Management Projects.

Prayas

Prayas was started in 2001 with a vision to help the kids in and around the campus, who do not have access to quality schools, in their studies. Centered on this theme, the vision has steadily evolved to encompass the idea of overall development of the kids which may not be possible in the environment which they come from.To realize this vision, in addition to regular teaching on 5 days a week , Prayas has various daily/weekly/yearly activities in its schedule, like daily assembly to inculcate speaking and listening skills in kids , ‘play day’ on Fridays, organizing in-house drawing competitions as well as encouraging and arranging their participation in various competitions in district.

Raktarpan

Raktarpan is a students initiative which aims to tackle the grim situation of blood shortage in Kanpur. It works to promote voluntary blood donation and to ensure that no person has to suffer due to shortage of blood. Several blood donation camps in IIT as well as outside with handling a large number of helpline requests is how it proceeds to eradicate the blood shortage problem in the city.

Unmukt

Unmukt is a students initiative working to address the gender and sexual diversity in the community and to achieve equality against discrimination. They function as an awareness group , which hold regular discussion sessions and spreads its message .

Vivekananda Samiti

Vivekananda Samiti is one of the oldest student bodies functioning over 40 years, thus spreading the message of Swami Vivekananda among the campus residents. It has conducted several activities which include community service like literary camps and health camps for under-privileged children in the campus, weekly discussions on Swami Vivekananda’s life and teachings, Vedanta classes, meditation sessions, talks and workshops, on value education, personality development workshop, and distribution of Vivekananda literature among youth.

Public Policy and Opinion Cell (PPOC)

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sos.iitk

We are a group of like minded, dedicated and highly motivated peers passionate to dive deep into political, geopolitical, historical, geographical and economics related issues.

We provide the campus community a platform to explore the plethora of events ranging from national to international events from all possible diverse backgrounds with our regular debates and discussions, monthly newsletters and other articles. We have a student run blog Opine Matters, which provides a platform for young opinionated individuals to spread their knowledge related to Global events and a blog ‘Talking Points’ which covers the journey of IITK alumni who are pursuing their careers in Public Policy field and Civil Services. We also organise Policy Conclave, the annual policy summit of IITK where we call eminent speakers from different backgrounds and conduct competitions, hackathons, workshops related to Public Policy.

Outreach Cell

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/outreach.cell.iitk

Outreach Cell is the Students' Gymkhana body that works in collaboration with the Dean of Resources and Alumni, IIT Kanpur. We contribute to the crucial avenues of strengthening student-alumni relations, publicizing achievements of IIT Kanpur and organizing outreach programs in IIT Kanpur. We organize several talks, competitions, and student-alumni interaction sessions throughout the year - Tips from the Top, Legacy Hunt, Distinguished Alumni Interviews to name a few. We also assist the institute in organizing Convocation Ceremony, Alumni Reunions and Alumni Chapter Meets. We conceptualize and execute various campaigns such as #ThatsIITK, #AskIITK for prospective students. We have taken a few initiatives like Alumni Buddy Program and Mock-en-Joy to enhance the ties between campus students and IITK alumni.

The cell coordinates with the institute bodies like Information Cell, Media and Publicity Centre and the DoRA office for achieving its objectives. The work of the cell is mainly divided into the following wings:

Alumni Relations

The Alumni Relations wing is the direct point of contact with the outside world: maintaining relations with alumni by attending meetups and alumni chapters across the country, spreading awareness among potential students by visiting cities to organize info sessions and also getting in touch with the corporate world for collaborations. The team works hard towards connecting with the distinguished alumni of the institute in an attempt to make them feel connected to their alma mater so that a contribution can be seen from the alumni towards the development of the institute.

Campus

The Campus wing works actively on events for student-faculty relations. The team works hard to publicize student research and achievements of various cells/clubs leading to raise funding for student-led projects. The wing aims at coming up with the initiatives that give a good convocation experience to the graduating batch and is also responsible for successful execution of campaigns such as #ThatsIITK, #AskIITK for prospective students.

Creatives (Content)

This is basically the brain behind the cell. It works towards generating content that the outside world would find engaging to read while creating a positive image of the institute such as content for future students website and offline sessions, presentations at alumni meets, collating and pitching Students’ Gymkhana proposals to corporates, etc. The team is responsible for content with the widest reach when compared to the other content generated on campus.

Creatives (Design & Video)

Creating content in the form of engaging media is essential. The wing is responsible for acquiring and processing of content in the form of photos, posters and videos. The team focuses on delivering the required content in the simplest and most engaging form. This is the wing that adds the icing to our cake and makes the content presentable.

Creatives (Web)

The world today has moved online and to reach and convey information about the institute to the outside world, we need a strong online presence with a sublime website. The team works on building and maintaining one of the institutes most visited domains. This wing makes all the stunning content global.

Academics and Career Council

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ANCIITK

The Academics and Career Council (AnC) is a council under the umbrella of Student’s Gymkhana that aims to foster all executive activities related to academics and career of the campus dwellers.

AnC Council is dedicated to improve the current academic system of the institute by working on various policies and ensuring their implementation, conducting sessions to disseminate information about them and ensure that various opportunities are available to the students.

The council also acts as an interface between the Institute and the Students on matters related to academic and research affairs, so that not only the concerns of the students related to their academics and research work are addressed, but existing policies related to the same are improved while ensuring the development of new, favorable ones.

UG/PG Academics Wing

This wing is responsible for the academic related work of the AnC. It’s major works involve:

  • Gathering of student opinion on matters of critical importance
  • Spreading awareness about the academic policies, rules and regulations and changes in them (if any) and conducting academic orientation sessions
  • Helping students out with their templates, semester and course planning, to contact Institute bodies for academics and related purposes
  • Assisting and coordinating with students senate nominees to Academic committees of the Institute

Research Wing

This wing is responsible for the research related work of the AnC. It’s majors works involve:

  • Organizing sessions to help and guide students in all aspects of research (career options, better publicity for their work etc.)
  • Working to promote and streamline activities related to research on campus.
Several events like the Student research Convention and Revival of POWER are organized to promote the research work across all domains of life.

International Relations Wing

The International Relations(IR) wing is a student body dedicated to work in close association with the Dean of International Relations(DoIR) and the Office of International Relations(OIR) to improve collaborations of the Institute with its foreign counterparts . It also acts as a complementary link between the student community and the office. The major areas of its work are:

  • Increasing the opportunities for semester exchanges and internships (sponsored and exchanges) available for the students of IITK.
  • Increasing the awareness amongst students of the career opportunities available and the complete procedure of application for different students to pursue further studies or work in academia.
  • Being the primary student point of contact for all foreign students on campus for all their programme related queries/clarifications.

Career Development Wing

The Career Development Wing works towards providing students with proper guidance and helping them develop a career in fields that align with the professional interests they have in their hearts. The major areas of its work include:

  • Contacting alumni and other professionals in diverse career fields to share experiences and offer guidance to students through talks, online media and live sessions
  • Organizing tests, courses and workshops to help students prepare themselves for the industrial world
  • Bringing internship opportunities by government, public, private, national/international agencies/autonomous bodies for freshmen and sophomores of IITK
  • Coordinating with professional organisations to bolster career development of students both directly and indirectly, by establishing their centre on-campus or collaborating off-campus

Festivals

They are glittery & glamourous, big & lots of fun.

Antaragni

Annual Inter-College Cultural Festival : www.antaragni.in

Unleash the Fire Within. Antaragni, started way back in 1966 known as the Cultfest (the generic name signifying it was the first and only such event back then), the festival is in its 51st edition now and has become a permanent fixture in the cultural calendars of all the premier colleges of India, Antaragni’s varied and multi­hued competitions are hotly contested by leading teams of these colleges. Along with mind blowing professional shows and glamorous lifestyle events, socially relevant burning issues of the day find a strong voice in the discussions and panel talks which form an integral part of the four day long festival.

The four days of Antaragni is, amidst the academic rigour of IITK life, among the most awaited events in a student's life. The range of cultural competitions, the various social causes and the high­quality, crowd­pulling professional shows (which have included Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, KK, Atif Aslam and Sonu Nigam) are the hallmarks of this centrepiece in a student's stay in the Institute. Each year it grows in scope to reflect the changing cultural landscape of society, but the only constant is that it remains the four best days of the year for everyone who is part of it.

Techkriti

Annual Inter-College Tech Festival : techkriti.org

IITK being a technical college, has a unique brain mash up. Begin in 1995, IIT Kanpur's annual Technical & Entrepreneurial Festival, Techkriti today stands one of the largest of its kind in Asia, including competitors from all corners of India as well as from various places around the world.

4 days of mesmerising experience where the diverse genres from all over the world come together under one roof is simply mind blowing. Apart from the throat cutting competition of exotic softwares, erudite electronic gizmos and robust robots, we have guest lectures that even include Nobel laureates. Some of our past guests include names such as Marshall Strabala (Architect - Burj Khalifa), Jeff Lieberman (Host-Time Warp), Dr. Richard Stallman (Founder, FSF and GNU Project), Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (Former President and Founder of India’s missile program), Dr. Alvin E. Roth (Nobel Laureate, Economics), Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma (First Indian Astronaut to go in Space), Hamid Karzai(former Afghan president). Techkriti has been inspiring the best talents of the nation and has been constantly unleashing creativity. Together we have some crowd pulling professional shows by the best talents like Parikrama, KK, Andy McKee, WALT's 3D animation shows etc, which make it one of the most awaited events of the IITK community. This year, Techkriti enters its 26'th edition with a moral to crossover every limit of creativity and awesomeness.

IIT Kanpur's annual Inter ­collegiate Science and Technology festival Techkriti , renowned for the use of intellectual proficiency as ammunition. Competitions reveal one's true mettle and at the end of it all, only the best is the last man standing. The diversity of competitions gives all a chance to prove their potential ­ from innovative business plans to exotic software solutions to erudite electronic gizmos to robust robots. Techkriti provides an exuberant platform for technical and business excellence through competitions, and is widely awaited by the IITK community for its high­quality workshops, group discussions and talks which have included Nobel Laureates and Fields Medallists in the past.

Udghosh

Annual Inter-College Sports Festival : www.udghosh.org

Udghosh, the three-day annual sports event of the institute witnesses participation from students from over 200 top colleges from all over India. Students participate in about 22 events in different fields of sports, including athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, football, handball, hockey, kabaddi, kho-kho, powerlifting, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, weightlifting, cricket and ultimate frisbee with great gusto. Over 60,000 footfalls are witnessed during the festival. It comprises the highest level of competition, unusual performances by professionals and as well as unique activities for those who just wish to cool off and have a good time with their friends. With its slogan of “Morior Invictus”, it revitalizes the spirit and energy inherent in students of the Institute through sports competitions, games and other fun events. Udghosh also promotes social causes like Udaan, a sports extravaganza for specially-abled students and many more.

Residence

City Life

The appeal of Metro cities is alluring but is specious. Truth be told, at the end of four years, you won't remember whether you got that obligatory GPL on your birthday in a posh nightclub or in your dainty room, at the end of the day, it would be the people kicking your ass and their sadistic laughter that'll haunt you for the rest of your mortal life. But that being said, Kanpur fulfills my checklist of all the must haves for any decent city: all major motion pictures being released on time, good restaurants, a disco and a mall where you can see a couple of Carrera S's parked as if it's no big deal!

I'm sure that you'd all be wondering what do we do in our free time if we don't have recourse to the simple pleasures of a metro city. The answer is quite simple - we don't have free time. IIT Kanpur is always bustling with activity, be it live screening of major matches or movie screenings in our badass Open Air Theater (or OAT in IITK parlance), inter hall competitions, club activities, preparations for college festivals (Antaragni, Techkriti, Udghosh), open mics, karaokes, acoustic nights, musical extravaganzas, dance performances, dramatics events and what not. The campus has a plethora of activities to cater to all kinds of people, from the adrenaline junkie to the lazy couch potato.

Food

If you are one of those who has qualified after studying in Kota or some other remote corner of the country, where you had really bad food, your troubles are now over. Having lived in a Kota hostel, the food in my hostel was surprisingly better. What distinguishes IITK, however, is the fact that we have food available 22.5 hours of the day. Yes, there is only a short 1.5 hour period from 4AM to 5:30AM when you wouldn't be able to get any food. Until 2 AM, you would be able to get food in any of the hostel canteens and until 4AM, you would be able to get food at the food court, which serves fast food ranging from burgers, chats etc. to south indian food. We also have a CCD in our campus, right besides the library as well as a Dominoes in the OAT. You are completely spoilt for choice.

Halls of Residence

IIT Kanpur offer the most spacious hostels and largest rooms for the students along with 22 hours of eating facilities available in the campus ranging from some well known food chains to hostel canteens which are well-stocked and offer anyone a let out after a stressful day.Every hostel has a basketball court, few badminton courts, a volleyball court, table tennis room, a television room, a computer room, a reading room for newspaper, magazines, journals, etc, and a hall office to handle hostel affairs. The basketball and volleyball courts in the hostels are floodlit, enabling students to play even at night as the day is more or less jam packed with other activities.

Homely Environment

The halls of residences were built keeping in mind that they were to house the brightest. These weren't just the buildings that were laid brick by brick but, were supposed to be the homes of the students away from their home. They were meant to be witnesses to life long friendships, to be onlookers for ingenious ideas and to be the secure spot for the tired student to rest and re-energise for the upcoming days. All halls from I to XI have been named 'Halls of Residences' precisely with this motive in mind and are not just hostels for students. They provide 24*7 electricity , clean sanitation facilities and good quality food for the nourishment of its beloved residents. Long after one graduates, he/she fondly recollects the memories spent in these rooms which are a treasure for them.

Journalism Cell: Vox Populi

Web Page: voxiitk.com

Journalism is an integral part of any active community and Vox Populi, the journalist society of the campus comes under its aegis. It caters to all the print and video journalism in the campus. We cover all that goes on inside the alive and kicking IIT Kanpur campus, ranging from festivals like Antaragni to discussions happening in students’ senate, from faculties to alumni; we thrive to engage them all with campus junta. We also release our own set of comics called the Vox comics, along with a lot of initiatives like Senate Samachar, Unorthodox Career Choices, Vox Walks, which ends up influencing a lot of people at campus. With a viewership of over 16k on Facebook and correspondingly increasing numbers on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, Vox Populi is one of the fastest growing community in India.

Election Commission

The Students' Gymkhana, IIT Kanpur works through a system of democracy upheld through Gymkhana elections. These elections are conducted by the Election Commission, led by the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Students' Gymkhana. Normally, elections are conducted twice in a Gymkhana year: the By-elections are conducted in August and the General elections are conducted in January. The Election Commission conducts elections for various posts of Students' Senate including the President of the Students' Gymkhana, General Secretaries and Senators of each batch.