The Aditi Institute is an initiative of the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities. It is a platform for engaging with contemporary social, political, economic and environmental issues through dialogue, critical inquiry and interdisciplinary learning. Rooted in the school’s values of democracy, humanism and open-minded inquiry, it enriches classroom learning by connecting students with leading thinkers and practitioners.

Over the years, the Aditi Institute has hosted guest lectures, workshops, panel discussions and annual film festivals featuring distinguished academics, practitioners, writers, artists and policy experts. Some of the highlights in the past two years have included Prof. Pankaj Sekhsaria on The Climate Crisis, the Technology Question; Prof. Chandan Gowda on Practising Decolonization; Prof. Anuj Bhuwania on constitutionalism and the Indian Constitution; Prof. Satish Deshpande on caste, privilege and discrimination; Dr. Ashish Kulkarni on game theory and auctions; Prof. Srijan Mandal and Mr. Siddharth Raja on constitutional literacy; Dr. Atreyee Majumder and Dr. Samyak Ghosh on the Red Fort trials, Dr. Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi on What is History? Some Reflections on History, Past and Time; Dr. Shatarupa Bhattacharyya on Gender: The Script We Are Given – Theatre, Identity, and the Roles We Learn to Play; and Mr. Narendra Naik, whose live demonstrations challenged superstition through scientific inquiry.

Alongside these talks, the Institute has organised workshops on entrepreneurship and financial literacy, theatre and performance, heritage walks for teachers and hosts the annual Aditi Institute Film Festival, which encourages students to explore complex ideas through cinema.