This is the text of a short speech I gave at the farewell event for Prof. Sudhir Jain as he left IITGN for BHU.
You can find out more about Prof. Jain’s own take on the cultural foundations of IIT Gandhinagar here, where he is in conversation with Achal Mehra.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has said that leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others’ success, and then standing back and letting them shine. If that sounds familiar, I think it’s because we have lived this experience at IIT Gandhinagar, thanks to Prof. Jain.
Our guiding principles have been often unconventional — whether it’s about having students first, or choosing to trade short-term gains for the long-term vision. They have sometimes led to decisions that would seem quite inexplicable to anyone who did not have the context. Some of you might remember how early we started the undergraduate program in Computer Science, for example. Ok, so for the record, we started it quite late, at least according to conventional wisdom.
Crucially, these core values have always been articulated in collaboration, with inputs from all stakeholders, which is what enables our shared conviction in them once they have been established.
Prof. Jain’s vision for IIT Gandhinagar is as precise as it’s bold – he knew exactly what needed to be done for this place to emerge as a model institution. He had recently shared with us his roadmap for IITGN from a dozen years ago. This roadmap committed not to vague ideas but concrete goals, complete with numbers for metrics that are fraught with uncertainty. It’s absolutely stunning how everything panned out almost exactly according to plan!
Our narrative has many collaborators, including our students, faculty, and staff. And while some of us are relatively inexperienced, Prof. Jain’s trust in everyone has been hugely empowering. It manifests in many concrete ways – starting from wanting for students to be recognized as adults, to turning young colleagues into decision-makers… and this is why all of us have a deep sense of ownership for IITGN.
An environment that gives all of us the freedom to experiment and the leeway to fail is extremely enabling. This has led to a wide spectrum of wins, many that are quantifiable and others that are less tangible. If you want to get a sense of how good the times have been, just look around – the sheer beauty and the attention to detail that the campus embodies is an excellent symbolism for the inclusive, thoughtful, and innovative leadership that we have experienced. When it comes to how far we have come, I could go on… pretty much forever, so I’ll defer you to the website for more details.
It is impossible to imagine IITGN without you. This is your brainchild through and through. Despite knowing that you’ll not be distancing in spirit, we will miss having you nurture the institution in the hands-on manner that you have always done. Your passion for the IITGN mission – of being a breakout university while operating within the limitations and strengths of the IIT system – is contagious. I am sure you plan to double down on this even though you may have a few distractions going forward.
I recently watched Maanaadu, a movie based on the idea of a time loop. In such stories, the plot involves the protagonist experiencing the same day over and over again, and their goal, typically, is to find an exit. If there is one day that we could put into a time loop, it would be today, and there would be no need to get out of it.
In the meantime – on behalf of all of us, thank you.
Thank you for your commitment, trust, and friendship; for listening patiently, for leading tirelessly, and for fighting the good fight through tough times, and for the good times through tough fights – ok, I’m going to be out of time, here, clearly – so let me just say, thank you for everything.
