The vibrant ‘Teach to Learn’ team at IIT Madras aims to promote positive youth development using the mentoring approach. Our overarching goal is to provide mentoring to rural school students using well structured programs. A unique aspect of our programs is that: Mentoring is provided by the graduate and undergraduate students of premier Higher Education Institutions (HEI) like IIT Madras. Another important aspect is that these programs provide a platform for the mentors from HEI to develop social awareness and competencies that prepares them for the global market.

Youth is the biggest and strongest resource of India. Despite the phenomenal infrastructural development and economic growth, there is-

• Poor quality of rural learning experiences and low enrolment in professional courses
• Higher education is accessed predominantly by urban school students
• A large percentage of qualified youth are not employable

We build mentoring models using the peer-teaching peer-learning-mechanism. The activities, focus areas and systematic implementation strategies are well researched and have strong evidence for bearing positive outcomes.

• Develop scientific temper and make hands-on learning part of the rural school students’ educational learning experience
• Give rural youth an exposure and access to state-of-the-art technology and information
• Motivate the graduate/undergraduate students (Mentors) to understand the needs of the society and develop a sense of purpose and social responsibility in them
• Build a platform for dialogue between higher education and school level education

Faculty and Graduate Students are connected to rural schools. They provide mentoring, training and guidance at various capacities. Over time, as a result of our implementations besides the development of a culture of mentoring, we believe that the country will see an increased number of skilled employable youth from all sections of the society.