Welcoming the YIF Class of 2026: Highlights from YIF Orientation Week 2025

YIF O-Week was structured in a way to facilitate a smooth transition into life at Ashoka. Through a series of informative sessions, panel discussions, master classes, interactive workshops, and fun community engagement activities, Fellows were introduced to the institution’s leadership, key support offices and systems, and one another, laying the foundation for a well-supported and connected year ahead.

DAY 1

Welcome Address | Pramath Raj Sinha, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Ashoka University
The YIF Orientation Week opened with the inaugural address by Pramath Raj Sinha, who took the Fellows through the story of how the Fellowship came to be, its legacy, its evolution, and the purpose it continues to serve today.

Faculty Session | Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Chancellor, Ashoka University
Professor Rudrangshu Mukherjee urged Fellows to read the Mahabharata as a reflection of moral ambiguity rather than a distant myth. Through the story of Yuyutsu, the illegitimate son of Dhritarashtra and a Shudra woman, who chose dharma over loyalty. The session explored how moral choices are often shaped by tensions around power, caste, and belonging.

Panel Discussion | Dean of Student Affairs, Vice President of Career Development Office, Senior Strategic Advisor to the YIF and the Centre for Well-Being
Fellows were introduced to the key offices to make sure they feel supported, challenged, and encouraged to grow. The panellists included Dheeraj Sanghi (Dean of Student Affairs), Priyanka Chandok (Vice President, Career Development Office), Anushka Siddiqui (Senior Strategic Advisor to the YIF), and Dr Arvinder Singh (Director, Ashoka Centre for Well-Being).

Workshop | Aagaaz
As part of the YIF Orientation, Aabshaar, Alia, Pranshu, and Subhadra facilitated a theatre and arts-based workshop that invited Fellows to connect through games and creative exercises. Using image theatre and visual expression, they opened up to one another, shared their journeys, and imagined the year ahead, laying the groundwork for a community rooted in inclusion, curiosity, and the co-existence of individual stories within a collective.

DAY 2

Session | Office of Learning Support
On July 22, the Office of Learning Support (OLS) conducted an engaging orientation session for the new cohort of Young India Fellows. Led by Ms. Reena Gupta, Senior Director of OLS, the session introduced the Fellows to the vision and work of the office, emphasising its role in fostering an inclusive and accessible learning environment at Ashoka University. Reena Gupta shared the key processes students can follow to avail support services offered by the OLS, including personalised learning plans, assistive technology support, and one-on-one appointments for students with learning challenges. The session also highlighted the range of events and engagement activities the office conducts throughout the academic year, from awareness campaigns and skill-building workshops to inclusion-focused initiatives and community-building events. The session provided Fellows with a meaningful introduction to the support ecosystem available on campus and encouraged them to reach out early and proactively, reinforcing the university’s commitment to inclusive education.

DAY 3

Session | Careers Team
The Careers session gave Fellows an overview of the opportunities that lie beyond the Fellowship. It introduced the Career Development Office (CDO), which supports students through campus placements, skill-building workshops, and its flagship Career Preparatory Program. The session also introduced the Office of Postgraduate Studies, which guides Fellows in exploring academic pathways both in India and abroad post-YIF.

Panel Discussion with Statutory Bodies
The panel with Statutory bodies: Office of Academic Integrity, CADI, CASH, and the Equal Opportunity Cell helped Fellows understand not just the rules, but the ethics of living and learning together at Ashoka

Open Mic Evening
The evening showcased the diverse talents of the YIF Class of 2026, as fellows took the stage to share shayaris, music, dance, theatre, stand-up comedy, and storytelling.

DAY 4

Workshop | Aaina
This workshop reflected on various social, interpersonal, and structural factors that shape educational experience. Using four analytic approaches: decoding scenarios, mapping emotions, reflecting on contradictions, and decoding structures, it explored concerns related to how students access, participate in, and position themselves within the complex (and often unequal) social dynamics of higher educational spaces. The discussions collectively acknowledged that educational realities are fraught with contradictions that must be sensitively navigated, and that there is much work to be done in the quest to build inclusive and socially just educational spaces. Sayan and Vrinda are founding members of Aaina, an initiative to make critical educational perspectives more accessible to a larger public.

Creative Workshops
Fellows danced, sang, inked letters, shaped clay, and tapped into their creative selves.
Facilitators: Nehal Agarwalla (YIF 2021) and Naman Sachdeva (YIF 2023) for the Dance Workshop, Aashna Anandani (YIF 2023) for the Music Workshop and Sona Solgy (YIF 2023) for the Calligraphy Workshop. The pottery workshop was facilitated by a local artisan from Asawarpur.

DAY 5

Masterclass | History of Haryana by Professor Nayanjot Lahiri
What is it about Sonipat and its surrounding areas that speaks of its history? And how does one sight the sites where this is inscribed?

Visit | Asawarpur
On the last day of Orientation Week, the Fellows visited Asawarpur, the village next to the University. Before the visit, Bhaskar Sir addressed why this visit mattered. Fellows visited the Community Health Centre, engaged with the Doctor, and then interacted with the Principals of the village’s primary and secondary schools. This visit was a chance to pause and reflect on a simple question: Where are you? While Ashoka can feel like a world of its own, it’s part of a larger community. This visit helped Fellows engage with the village community, notice, listen, and connect with the world beyond the university gates, acknowledging the histories that shape the land around them.

Session | The Year Ahead
A few recent alumni from the Class of 2025 joined the Fellows for an informal interaction. They shared insights from their Fellowship year about navigating YIF, both inside and outside the classroom.