It was 9 am - 21st August, 2011, Sunday and I was pleased to see those impressive banners welcoming me inside the RC College compound. There were a lot of people gathered inside and I had literally no place to park my bike. I could somehow create some space for my bike and embraced the venue. The banners read 'Department of Higher Education and Karnataka Knowledge Commission - Jnana Fellowship - 2011'. Hundreds of people were waiting to enter the building and there was no space for me to walk through them. When I tried asking people to leave some space, they thought I am being rude enough to enter the building first. Some of them did block my way. But I somehow managed to enter the building and met the team inside.
I was pleased to be there on time (may be just in time) and entered the orientation session being conducted for all the volunteers and organizers. The program for the day was to verify the documents of all the shortlisted candidates and to conduct the written test for them. The activities were distributed to the representatives from several organizations. I was absolutely thrilled to see the high energy levels of all those who represented their respective organizations. The event started on time and all the candidates walked into their (allotted) rooms.
Candidates' profiles were a culmination of various professions. There were Doctors, Lawyers, Housewives, Software Engineers, Management Consultants, State Government Employees, Professors, Scientists, NGO workers, Artists, Entrepreneurs and more. It was delightful to see such diverse set of people from all walks of life.
While I enjoyed coordinating between several rooms for all the concerns and spontaneous issues, I also had set an objective for myself to talk to some candidates and understand their expectations.
All those who could satisfy all the criteria and produce the required documents were given hall tickets for the written test. All others who were unable to fulfill the requirements were rejected. Some of them raised genuine concerns and some tried to produce false claims. Some of them had taken the whole process for granted in the name of 'Change' they envisioned to bring into the Government systems. Some just lacked patience and got into arguments. All of us, who were coordinating between many rooms, tried our best to address their issues and could succeed in convincing a few of them.
Some of the candidates (say 12 to 15) volunteered themselves to speak to me and convey their feelings about the Fellowship program. They said this is a brilliant, first of its kind initiative and they are looking forward to contribute their best. Many of them had gone through the KKC website and the fellowship approach paper. They were curious to know more details on the final selection process and the mode of working for projects. Some of them were disappointed and they expressed that they had not expected the written test and the document verification processes. Some of them tried explaining their achievements in the past and how they can contribute to the system. I was just listening to all their talk and tried my best to nod my head.
I volunteered to speak to some of them. I asked what is their expectation from the Jnana Fellowship (JF)? and if given an opportunity what would they like to achieve? Most of them were excited to answer my questions and I was really pleased with a few answers. It was my effort to know how JF is positioned in their minds?
All of them had three things in common to share or rather these three topics were the key highlights during my conversation with them. Quality, Innovation and Change. Most of them said they are expecting to work with the government to make a difference.
I was ecstatic to hear that from those candidates and I said to myself - "I think we have set the right expectations". Hopefully the same momentum flows through the next 8 months to 1 year and hopefully there are some notable results at the end of the JF term. And hopefully JF will continue to work towards making a difference.
I shared this experience during the end of the day meeting. And I felt absolutely great to have volunteered with such a thoughtful initiative.
Srik
More details about the fellowships here.
