In India, out of the many STEM initiatives that we support to ensure quality access to STEM education is through project Muskaan and mobile science labs. While inspiring the students to enhance their learnings in STEM subjects, we’re building a future pipeline of skilled STEM workers, scientists, innovators and engineers of tomorrow.
Among our partners are the Charities and Aids Foundation (Project Muskaan) and Agastya International Foundation (Lab-on-Bike and Science Vans), both of which work on the principles of 'learning by discovery', 'learning through activity' and 'learning from the environment' in contrast to text-book based 'learning by rote' methods.
Charities and Aids Foundation, through project Muskaan, creates science based activities and innovative teaching tools to enhance the level of interest and participation of children towards STEM thereby inspiring them to consider a STEM-based career choice.
We’ve had great results so far. Since 2015, Project Muskaan has reached over 4000 students from our partner schools across Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai. This programme also brought in sustainable changes in the educational methods through capacity building sessions for the teachers.
In order to really move the needle, we partnered with Agastya International Foundation in the year 2017.
Mobile science labs and lab-on-bikes, equipped with a collection of activity kits and innovative teaching tools, travel to rural parts of Pune and Ankola bringing STEM to government schools, parents and community. Through experiential science-based activities, these mobile vans & bikes spark curiosity while encouraging critical-thinking and problem-solving. These labs also train teachers at the schools in hands-on pedagogy and low-cost model making.
To date, the initiative has reached almost 40,000 students and over 50 teachers across government schools in Pune and Ankola.