Takhatsinh Solanki, an ambulance driver at the Institute, was honoured with ‘Campus Development Award’ for his service during the pandemic. Source: IIT Gandhinagar
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar felicitated its essential services staff on Republic Day to express gratitude for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press communique from the institute, awards were handed over to various non-teaching staff, including ambulance driver, security supervisor, hostel caretaker, housekeeping staff, office attendant, student volunteer, counsellor, and bank staff for providing relentless services during the pandemic.
Takhatsinh Solanki, an ambulance driver at the Institute, was honoured with a ‘Campus Development Award’ for his service to the staff members, faculty and students of IIT Gandhinagar during the pandemic.
“I did everything that I could to ensure that COVID patients reach the right medical facility at the earliest. I feel fortunate to have got this opportunity to serve the community in the time of need. Today, I feel honoured to receive this award from IIT Gandhinagar,” said Solanki.
The Institute also conferred ‘Faculty Excellence Awards’ to four faculty members for excellence in teaching, research, institution building, and outreach activities.
Umashankar Singh, associate professor in Biological Engineering, received this award for his outreach activities during the pandemic. Along with a group of student volunteers, Singh had put in selfless efforts and voluntary contributions in developing and managing the COVID-19 RT-PCR testing facility on campus to help the Gujarat government in providing timely COVID-19 testing results for general public during the second wave of COVID-19 last year.
Sharing his thoughts on receiving the award, Singh said, “The pandemic necessitated the application of RT-PCR tests. I am grateful that my institute trusted me with this responsibility. Our student volunteers' efforts were pivotal to our success. It was an honour to serve the public and lead a team of dedicated volunteers in the process.”
Earlier, at the flag hoisting ceremony, Amit Prashant, officiating director of IIT Gandhinagar, said, “Although the recent surge in COVID cases has disrupted our plans to start offline classes, it has again proved that we can stand up to any challenge with our collective resilience. Our mission to make our students not only excellent professionals but also good citizens is reflected in the success and accomplishments of our students and alumni.”
The institute also felicitated students in an online event for their performance in semester I of 2021-22 for their academic performance. Besides, the sports council of IIT Gandhinagar conducted a ‘5K Run’ in online mode to encourage fitness and inculcate the habit of running in students.