- Nihar Agarwal is diligently pursuing her dream to teach girl students the nitty-gritty of electrical production
- Nihar has fought biases and non-compliance to advance her career in the manufacturing industry
- Nihar has integrated her expertise and knowledge into the learning framework of Anwesha Composite Education Foundation
Anwesha Composite Education Foundation (ACEF) strives to impart skill development based on vocational education models and unique pedagogical styles that are designed in sync with industry requirements. 27-year-old Nihar Agarwal is the driving force behind the functioning of ACEF which she has restructured with her expertise and education. Nihar cherishes her goal of working towards sustainable social development through vocational education.
Nihar ventured out to explore a new area after doing honors in Psychology. and Master of Arts in Education, Nihar was intrinsically motivated to pursue sustainable development helping young people. Collaborating with the manufacturing sector from the beginning, as an experienced stakeholder, she discerned the industry functions along with its varying intricacies.
The students in her vocational centre have to essentially work from scratch and manufacture products for the industry. She believes in giving the students hands-on training with the help of the industry personnel who come together to design content and offer students placement opportunities at the last mile.
Stereotyped assumptions dampen the spirit of women
While executing the responsibilities at ACEF as a woman employee, Nihar has often confronted with language bias and stereotyped presumptions verging on the offensive in her workplace. She recounts with an air of honest ardour about receiving mails addressed to her as “Sir”. Even after years of association with the industry, people unabashedly suppose Nihar to be a man.
Initially, Nihar’s engagement and dealings with men involved with the manufacturing industry were woefully awkward “ Once I had to meet a man from the industry, and I was accompanied by a male peer. The man was hesitant to interact with me, and at some point, he inadvertently switched to address my colleague”. The bias has also seeped into physical gestures and communication Nihar comes across every day.
Nihar regrettably feels that men usually do not maintain eye contact while speaking to her. The gesture might be rooted in Nihar’s distinct identity of being a female employee belonging to an otherwise male-dominated fraternity. Nihar is not blind to the fact that her ideas of handling things in the manufacturing sector give her male colleagues shivers. “Maybe they are shy”, Nihar tries to reason why the strange behaviour is meted out to her daily. In retrospection, Nihar mentions how men assume that a woman hardly knows enough about the manufacturing industry and therefore, should never be taken seriously.
Nihar has worked with an array of batches over the past years which makes her concerned about the complete absence of girl students at the vocational training center. She is willing to encourage girls to join the skill development courses but is disheartened at the negative responses.
“It pains me to see that not a single girl has joined the center. I cannot understand why girls can be electrical engineers but not lead to electrical production.” Nihar wants to debunk myths and assure girls that electrical production requires mental activity and intellect than physical labour.
Aim at making ACEF, the hub of R&D in Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector can highly contribute to the development of society, feels Nihar. The products manufactured at ACEF are sold to the manufacturing sector and the revenue generated is used for sponsoring the students. Nihar hopes to turn ACEF into a self-sustainable learning unit while making it an active hub of R&D in manufacturing.
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