Reflections on learnings from a recent book on Achievement Culture from an educator in India (on Teacher's Day 2023)

In a recent article highlighting Jennifer Breheny Wallace ’s excellent and timely book "Never Enough: “When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic—And What We Can Do About It” by Maryam Abdullah serves as an insightful read for educators. While discussing the key role of transformative college experiences, Jennifer refers to a study conducted by Gallup and Purdue University addressing better predictors of future well-being than attending a “good” college.

(Dr. Maryam Abdullah's article on Jennifer Wallace's book)

The study found six key types of college experiences that had an outsized positive influence on future success: Having a mentor who encouraged you to pursue personal goals - Working on a meaningful project across semesters - Participating in an internship - Being active in extracurricular activities - Taking a course with a professor who made learning exciting - Having a professor who cared about you personally.

As a Chemical Engineering faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar in India, I feel that the insights shared by Jennifer are extremely important, especially when we as educators are constantly thinking about developing learning and teaching environments that may help in maximizing performance and well-being for our students.

Whether it is our doctoral researchers working towards advancing the boundaries of our discipline, or students enrolling in an institution after a highly competitive examination, the culture of achievement is more than reinforced. The reason may be attribtued to the performance pressure associated with publishing in top-quality journals for doctoral candidates, or with the aim of increasing one's access to higher salaried employment opportunities in the case of undergraduates.

With this perspective, I would like to take an opportunity to showcase some examples of identifying educational experiences and designing them based on the points mentioned in the study, from my six years of serving as a faculty member at an emerging IIT. In my view, these stories in addition to many others from my faculty colleagues in different spheres need to be conveyed to emphasize that we are also concerned with the negative outcomes of the toxic culture of achievement. The news of students causing bodily harm to themselves is deeply concerning and disturbing as an academic, and we wish to do our best to motivate them to achieve to their potential. The ideas in Jennifer's forthcoming book are likely to prove valuable even in this part of the world. In this light, it may be instructive to share some experiences.

Insight 1: “Having a mentor who encouraged you to pursue personal goals”

The role of mentorship in helping identify personal goals is a vital one, in addressing performance issues that might arise owing to a culture centered on achievement alone. For instance, in 2019, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar was the first in the IIT system to have a dedicated Society of Women Engineers affiliate. From an institutional perspective, the establishment of the affiliate was timely with the Government of India’s decision of having 20% women candidates enrolled in each IIT from the 2020-21 Academic Year.

The growth of the SWE Affiliate at IIT Ropar is one of the prime exemplars of how women students may help in peer mentoring. Before 2019, the participation of IIT Ropar women in student leadership positions in the institute's student councils and leadership activities was minimal. Connecting through the Society of Women Engineers and creating a bridge between corporate leaders and students, has enabled students to seriously consider attaining and contributing to a “position of responsibility”. The students were talented with lots of amazing ideas however, they only needed an avenue and essentially an environment that enabled them to make mistakes and learn. An important accomplishment of this initiative was that in due course of time, women subsequently served as Academic Secretary, and led the institute's placement function multiple times, after learning leadership and team management skills through the Society of Women Engineers Affiliate. A cohort of mentorship has developed where newly admitted students are encouraged to work on their leadership and communication skills. Through regular interaction with accomplished members of Society of Women Engineers in India and volunteers worldwide we were able to build leadership pipelines which has contributed to our institution's growth.

Insight 2: “Participating in an internship”

Being part of a new academic institution, IIT Ropar was always in the pursuit of adding more corporate partners and focused on building better connectivity of industry with academia. Between 2017-21, serving as the first Head-Professional Development at IIT Ropar after having industry and USDOE National Lab experience; I felt that it is extremely important for me as an educator to work towards creating environments that can help our students excel. My contributions to the NREL's Postdoctoral Committee had prepared me well for the role offered as an incoming faculty member and that experience was extremely valuable at IIT Ropar (Dr. Sahir's NREL Postdoc Committee Work)

With the support of Prof. Harpreet Singh (Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research: 2017-21) and Prof. Dhiraj Kumar Mahajan (Head-Placement) and inputs from Dr. Srikant Padhee , I had the opportunity to contribute to the concept of a student-led and faculty-mentored Career Development & Placement Cell, IIT Ropar (erstwhile Career Development and Corporate Relations Centre). The center was a modest start with a student interaction space, classroom, student office, self-help, and professional development books, board games, and resources, and in essence by conceptualizing a space where students felt “belonged” and their efforts “recognized”. Another effect was students across the institution now take greater initiative toward organizing talks and webinars as compared to 2017 at IIT Ropar.

The development of such an academic space is important as the usual focus in an emerging academic institution is on having the latest and greatest research equipment, and perhaps better sports and library facilities as their next step. A student space where they feel a "sense of belonging" and may dream about their future careers is an important attribute where they may begin connecting with industrial organizations for internships. This visionary investment has served IIT Ropar very well. Though the focus is on achievement, however the conversations are essentially centered on helping students focus on their aspirations resulting in an enriched student experience.

Insight 3: "Working on a meaningful project across semesters"

In 2019 we were privileged to have the support of the 世界银行 , the encouragement of the MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA , and National Project Implementation Unit to perform an analysis concerning the success of an important aspect of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP). Through this we got the opportunity to interact with students across the nation and essentially sparked the beginning of involving students from Jammu and Kashmir towards participating in internships as an important start. While analyzing data, we immediately recognized that India is a powerhouse of talent that needs a connection with opportunity, and an emerging IIT like IIT Ropar which was carving its niche may easily play an important role.

With the support of my erstwhile Chemical Engineering University of Utah doctoral colleague, Dr. Dan Sweeney , a research scientist at MIT D-Lab we had our first workshop involving students from Jammu and Kashmir. (MIT D-Lab IIT Ropar workshop) Subsequent engagement of students led to research on exploring traditional architecture in Kashmir through involvement by remote meetings in the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in research contributions (Kashmiri Hamam Research Paper). The very fact that we connected with talented students, identified a research problem important for their region, and essentially prepared them for success through a meaningful project in this period gave us immense satisfaction.

Once the pilot idea was proven, another important opportunity which reinforced this insight was with Prof. Dhiraj Mahajan (conceptualized over our Midnight Meal and Coffee at IIT Ropar), Prof. Pushpendra P. Singh (and his awesome iHub - AWaDH @ IIT Ropar Team) and Mr. Don Victory towards contribute in an international effort on partnering for an Energy Mentors Internship addressing students in South Asia was initiated in May 2023.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge that 90+ students from many countries worked in five-member teams in collaboration with resources provided through MathWorks and Dassault Systèmes to develop energy solutions for their local communities. Jennifer's observation is again reiterated by the internship testimonials from Energy Mentors (Internship Testimonials) that meaningful projects transform student lives.

Insight 4: "Being active in extracurricular activities"

In my view, an extra step taken by an educator to showcase that there is life beyond the research lab or the academic classroom, may serve as a motivator. For instance, a simple activity of participating in a literature festival may encourage students to appreciate the importance of oral and written communication. I was privileged to have amazing doctoral thesis advisors Prof. JoAnn Slama Lighty and Prof. Adel Sarofim (deceased) during my PhD, who helped me evolve as a writer in addition to the opportunity offered to contribute to carbon capture research. Their corrections on my drafts and emphasizing on storytelling helped me evolve as a better thinker. I thought to extend this idea to a literature fest, which was appreciated. The informal interactions between professors and their students on the playground create the opportunity to build teams. Whether it is sports, an effort to provide researchers an out-of -laboratory experience energizes the group.

Another fascinating extracurricular experience worthy of mention is that in March 2023 IIT Ropar had the honor of hosting the 2nd Educational Working Group Meeting where 40 of our students participated as Liaison Officers. The Liaison Officers leveraged this opportunity as an experience of a lifetime to help G20 Foreign Delegates experience our country. This BBC Punjabi Video is a testament to the energy that a group of students and professional dancers can bring to a G20 Event (Event Video).

An important outcome of this exercise has been that research scholars at IIT Ropar have enriched their Global Citizenship skills, and are succeeding in prestigious competitions in their efforts. Sukriti Sharma (Achievement at IEA Meeting) and Bhawna Chauhan (Achievement at SAGE Conference) from my research team have leveraged global experiences to achieve greater heights, and have evolved as a result of this experience and many others. Perhaps it would have been difficult to achieve this while being confined to an institutional setting.

Insight 5: “Having a professor who cared about you personally”

As an educator, giving a message that they are being cared for is extremely important. To develop these skills, my participation as a multi-cultural mentor with the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation (AGF) which aims to empower Emirati and Arab youth to thrive and contribute to sustainable development has been extremely beneficial. These mentorship communities through organizations like AGF enable an educator to learn about students beyond one’s culture. It helps to build empathy as an educator. I have worked with students who have transcended from a refugee status and are working towards exploring the next career opportunity, or students who require encouragement to seek a higher education degree and strategies to overcome challenges as a new immigrant in an academic or professional environment.

Another important learning experience was connecting in Bangladesh through the Shoktikonna initiative, and collaborating with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) . The experience of working in multicultural environments is valuable in reinforcing the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and of Global Citizenship. I feel that it is a continuation of my experience of studying and working in the United States as a student at the University of Utah and as a researcher with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory : both transformative learning experiences. The role of a caring mentor is crucial in shaping a career.

Insight 6: “Taking a course with a professor who made learning exciting”

Project Kartikeya Video (Stadium Design for MPCA)

This is an important goal that a faculty member aspires for within the classroom and beyond. Beyond the curriculum, my participation with the Solar Decathlon India and the Solar Decathlon (U.S. Department of Energy) as a chemical engineering educator has been extremely valuable. The competition has enabled me to serve as a focal point where I have been able to learn from various disciplines especially architecture, mechanical engineering, civil engineering.? I have been privileged to learn from luminaries responsible for organizing the competition like Prasad Vaidya , Satish Kumar and their team which I have attempted to bring back to the classroom.

Working with organizations like SEEDS to develop community resilient shelters in flood-prone Assam and innovations in cricket stadia with the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association through the collaboration of Shri Raman Singh Saluja have been some of the fascinating projects where students have contributed significantly.

Most essentially reflecting upon the journey this Teacher’s Day in 2023 beyond my formal role as a Chemical Engineering faculty member; I wish to emphasize that the experiences of seeking learning beyond the classroom through mentoring, volunteering, and engaging with students and community have given a lot of joy and satisfaction.

We all are motivated by achievement but at the end of the day, perhaps the opportunity to reflect and smile upon oneself is an important attribute that will help us as educators and reinforce the importance of Jennifer’s view on building positive learning experiences for our students.

Acknowledgments - The author is indebted to many professionals and students who have helped him during his professional journey. Prof. Raj Chhabra, Prof. Sarit K Das , and Prof. Rajeev Ahuja who have given the author valuable opportunities to explore, dream and discover in the role as an educator deserve a special mention.

?

?