IIT Gandhinagar launches 'Project Isaac' to engage students in critical thinking during Corona lockdown

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has launched 'Project Isaac' to engage its students in creative projects to enhance their critical skills while they are confined to their rooms or homes in the wake of Corona crisis.

The project is inspired by Sir Isaac Newton, who 350 years ago was similarly sent home by Trinity College, Cambridge, because of the Great Plague of London in 1665.

During this year, sometimes described as his "year of wonders", Newton, then a 22-year-old college student, developed some of his most profound discoveries, including early calculus, as well his theories of optics and gravity.

In a statement issued by the institute today Prof Sudhir K Jain, Director, IITGN said, ''Project Isaac takes inspiration from Isaac Newton's stellar example as a student during the Great Plague of London in 1665 to motivate our students, who are today similarly confined as Newton was 355 years ago, to undertake ambitious and wondrous things even in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

''We are proud that more than 40 per cent of our student body jumped into these voluntary projects right out of the gate and expect the proportion will continue to grow. We want to emerge from this difficult period stronger and better both as individuals and as a community."

Under Project Isaac, the Institute has introduced several exciting and fun contests with daily prizes and rewards for IITGN students around leadership, coding, creative expression and writing.

The Project Isaac Showcase will culminate in a massive talent contest once students return to campus to showcase their creative work-products developed during this period.

The project is a model for academic institutions worldwide to explore ways to engage students in the midst of the pandemic.

In fact, many IITGN alumni and people from academic institutions from all over the world have expressed enthusiasm about this inspirational project and are following some of the contests, such as the Quarantine Reviews.

IITGN have even created a contest on the Project Isaac Showcase for its alumni, the statement said.

The initial contests include: 1) 12 Days of Code, in which students work for 24 hours on new coding problems released daily, 2) Leadership Video Challenge, in which students watch handpicked Ted/TedX talks on leadership, 3) 'Don't Quarantine Your Cornea!', in which students write reviews of TV shows episode/movie/documentary/web series of their choice, 4) Project Isaac Showcase will celebrate and showcase the best and most creative work products generated by students during the extended break.