Student Excellence Awards 2025: Celebrating the Spirit of Ashoka

The Student Excellence Awards Ceremony was hosted by the Office of Student Affairs on 22 April 2025, at Ashoka’s Dr Reddy’s Auditorium. These Awards are a part of a recurring tradition that takes place at the end of every academic year. The selection process for the awards begins with the Office of Student Affairs sending a call for nominations to the student body. Any individual, club or society can nominate themselves or others for the awards by providing adequate information and relevant award categories.

The Office of Student Affairs has a dedicated Student Excellence Awards Policy highlighting details about the same. “The Student Excellence Awards Policy is rooted in the philosophy of recognising the contribution of each student and student organisation that has contributed towards building a vibrant campus experience”, says the policy document. The award categories range from Residence Life to Student Life, including Sports & Exercise Awards and Student Affairs Awards.

The event began with an address by Ali Imran, who oversees the Office of Student Affairs and is the Vice President, External Engagement of Ashoka University. The ceremony was packed with students from various clubs, collectives, societies, resident assistants and sports teams. Multiple students performed between the award distributions, showcasing their diverse talents. Mihir Eshan, Shashvati Hariharan and Samriddh Gupta sang beautifully, and The Comic Relief had a surprise satirical play in store for the audience.

Special Olympics Bharat, Ashoka Chapter (SOBAC) won the Exceptional Sports Club of the Year award. SOBAC’s commitment to inclusive sports at Ashoka was highlighted at Ashoka’s first Inclusivity-focused sports fest – titled SAMARAS, which took place on 19th April. Sports awards were presented to the men’s and women’s Basketball, Football, Volleyball, Shooting, Table Tennis, Squash, Tennis, Cricket, and Chess teams.

The Sports Ministry won the award for Sports Service, while the Sports Enthusiast Club bagged the award for enriching campus engagement through Batch Championship and flagship sports-focused events like Student Of The Year. Additionally, Sarthak Gandhi won the Outstanding Sportsperson of the Year Award, while Aarya Toshniwal won the Breakout Sports Performance of the Year Award.

Ashoka Literature Festival won the award for the Most Popular Student Life Event of the year, voted highest by the student body. With 100+ external guests, speaker sessions with notable personalities from the world of literature and art like Chitra Banerjee and Deborah Smith, workshops with Rekhta Learning and a live performance by Indian Ocean, ALF 2025 won the hearts of students by packing three days of campus life with literature, art and music.

Jazbaa, the Cultural Ministry of Ashoka University, won the awards for Student Life Service, Partnership and Collaboration and Enriching Campus Engagement. Jazbaa hosted collaborations with 50+ clubs and societies on campus and organised key events like Haats, Garbaa, Winter Ball and many more.

Another club that won the Student Life Service award was the Tech Ministry. Their initiatives, like Mailroom Digitisation, Wifi Heatmaps, SG Compose and Cab Pool Portal, helped in enhancing the student life experience with digital access and services.

Pawsitive and Ashoka Debating Union won the awards for their fundraising initiatives. Ashoka Literature Fest and ACC Case Competition won the awards for Outstanding Inter-University Events. The ACC Case competition had over four thousand students across universities and 1,700+ teams, making it one of the most successful inter-university competitions.

Rotaract Club of AU Youth won the exemplary club of the year for the second time, and the women’s tennis team won exemplary sports team of the year.

The Office of Student Affairs (OSA) proudly announced the recipients of the 2025 OSA Awards, recognising students who have demonstrated exceptional initiative, responsibility, and leadership across diverse domains. Ibrahim Khalil was honoured for Creative and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, while Asish Singh received the award for Contributing to Sustainability. In the category of Social Responsibility and Community Outreach, Manya Mishra and Zenia Karanjia were acknowledged for their impactful work. The Dean’s Award for Excellence was presented to Anshika Chaudhry and Harsh Jha in recognition of their outstanding academic and extracurricular contributions. Sania Bhargava and Saransh Goel were awarded the Dean’s Award for Exemplary Leadership for their inspiring and dedicated leadership within the student community.

As the Office of Student Affairs highlights, these awards are not just about achievements or accolades, they are about recognising the passion, perseverance, creativity and community spirit every student brings to life at Ashoka. The vibrant events, the meaningful conversations, the quiet efforts behind the scenes – all have contributed to a year full of growth, learning and joy. This award ceremony was a grand celebration of the spirit of the University.

– Written by Atharva Salve (UG 2024)