Ten students of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) were thrilled to meet former Indian cricketer and National Cricket Academy (NCA) Director VVS Laxman in Ahmedabad on May 31, 2023, wherein he directly interacted with them and listened to the stories of challenges faced by them and their journey to reach IITGN by clearing one of the world’s toughest entrance exams.

The students who met the cricket legend are from humble background and are recipients of the ‘Satyaram Scholarships’ at IITGN and ‘Yuva Scholarships’ through the NGO Yuva Unstoppable. The ‘Satyaram Scholarship’ was instituted at IITGN by the former Indian cricketer and philanthropist VVS Laxman in the year 2016 and is being facilitated through the NGO Yuva Unstoppable. It is awarded to the needy and deserving students of IITGN, and they continue to get scholarship support till the completion of their BTech programme at the Institute. Apart from two recipient students of the ‘Satyaram Scholarships’, ten more first year BTech students of IITGN were awarded ‘Yuva Scholarships’ by the legendary cricketer through Yuva Unstoppable.

During the interaction, VVS Laxman also shared his own experiences of ups and downs in life and the amount of efforts he needs to put in to achieve the set targets. While conversing with students, he stressed upon the need to focus on goals without getting distracted. He encouraged the students to focus and work hard as their next few years at IITGN are going to be very crucial that will decide their career path and future.

Sharing his experience of meeting the former right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Aakash Kushwah, a first-year student of Civil Engineering at IITGN and one of the recipients of the ‘Satyaram Scholarship’ said, “Sir VVS Laxman was so humble and instilled a deep respect for the value of life; enlightening and motivating us to strive for greater achievements. We were pleased to meet him, and it was truly an honour to be motivated by him.”

Remembering the memorable meeting, Ravi Kumawat, a first-year student of Civil Engineering at IITGN and one of the recipients of the ‘Yuva Scholarships’ through Yuva Unstoppable, said, “Sir VVS Laxman was very down to earth. He interacted with us like a parent. He told us that hard work would make you confident and lead you to success. It was a great honour for us to meet him.”

Prof Sivapriya Kirubakaran, Dean of Student Affairs, and Prof Abhijit Mishra, Head of Sports, IITGN, who were accompanying the students, thanked VVS Laxman and the Yuva Unstoppable for their continuous support to IITGN and its students through award of scholarships and extended an invitation to the legendary cricketer to visit IIT Gandhinagar during his next visit to Ahmedabad, to which he agreed.