Data and information can be unidimensional and precise but knowledge and learning cannot. They’re about ‘connecting the dots’ — making sense and seeing things that others don’t quite see as easily. We cannot emphasise this enough because this is what sets everyone and everything apart.
Steve Jobs said it quite simply while speaking at Stanford in 2005. Among other things he said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
A large part of life itself is about connecting the dots effectively in an attempt to complete a picture. This is also true of the Young India Fellowship, right from its vision, its curriculum, its faculty and its mentors, the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science and all the Fellows of the batch of 2011. Every single one of these dots epitomises the Young India Fellowship picture. We looked backwards to connect these dots to a very plausible and promising future — your future and consequently that of India.
It’s said that an educational system isn’t worth too much if it teaches you how to make a living but doesn’t teach you how to make a life. And that’s why the YIF is limited to those who have insisted on learning more about making a life. With your education, every one of you can make a very comfortable living but you’re here to make a life and our multidisciplinary programme, guided by eminent leaders and scholars, will do exactly that. These are just two of the dots we connected — the best and brightest students and teachers from diverse fields. The subjects you will be exposed to in this year, such as anthropology, ethics, life sciences, philosophy, climate change, art appreciation, entrepreneurship, etc., are not just mere dots on your lifescape but are connected to who you were, are and will become.
Every one of you has come from diverse personal backgrounds and from every part of India — small towns and big cities. More dots have connected. For besides your distinct educational backgrounds, every one of you brings with you a unique story. And that’s the reason you’re here. And that’s what you have to build on.
There is little doubt that you’ll are achievers and once you complete this year at the Young India Fellowship the road ahead will be open, and you already know that it’s a challenging steeplechase, but that’s life. What you do and how you do it, will tell the world just how much you allowed yourself to be inspired in your year at the Young India Fellowship.
Every one of you wants to make a difference to the world you live in, especially to India and its people. Connect the dots on your individual canvas successfully and well, believe in and love what you do, because it’ll show up clearly in the shape, character and form your picture takes.
We welcome you the founding batch of the Young India Fellowship and wish you the best.
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