Telangana Innovation Campus To Nurture Alternative Pedagogy At school, Grassroots
As a step to fuel the Innovation in Telangana with a notion of decentralisation, Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC) takes a new leap by signing a Memorandum of Understanding with upcoming Navam Innovation Foundation in setting up one-of-its-kind Innovation Lab & Center of Excellence (ILCE). Proposed for 15-acre Navam campus in Kamareddy District, it is a collaborative effort between Agastya International Foundation & Pravaha Foundation, with an investment of 3000 crores in the next 10 years.
The ILCE will intend to create and foster the innovative spirit among the underprivileged, and underserved sections of society, that leads to fuelling the existing Grassroots Innovation Ecosystem in Telangana. The foundation will cater to students (11 to 18 years) and youth (19 to 25 years) in the Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Medak, and Sircilla districts.
The campus aims to create a sustainable ecosystem in the hinterlands of Telangana with Inclusivity, Eduvolution and Sector Neutrality as the driving factors. The campus upon completion will serve as a resource centre for mini science centres, door-to-door science labs, labs-on-bikes, immersive teacher training programs. It also intends to offer fellowship programs to youth who want to become grassroots entrepreneurs, with on-campus learning and internships in innovative organizations and nonprofits.
Speaking at MoU signing ceremony, Principal Secretary of ITE&C, Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, said, “Considering changing pedagogical dynamics at School-level, Immersive Learning can foster creativity in schools. We at Telangana are grateful to Agastya International Foundation for setting up one-of-its-kind Navam Innovation Foundation at Kamareddy district, which is a timely initiative along the New Education Policy. We are elated to bring in such expertise which transitions from rote-learning to practicality, by equitable development of students & teachers. Telangana State Innovation Cell (TSIC), which is already inculcating Design Thinking & Innovation at Schools & Grassroots, is going to institutionalise the same with such massive intervention.”
Speaking at the event, Mr. Viiveck Varma, Senior Advisor at TSIC, said “TSIC’s collaboration with Navam on the proposed ILCE will be a step forward on our mission to promote the culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the state. It underlines how essential it is to create space for innovation at every level, right from the school stage to youth who want to be innovators and change makers in society.”
Mr. Ravi Kailas, Chairman and Trustee, Pravaha Foundation said, “Our vision is to establish a creative and innovative Telangana and India, of grassroots tinkerers, creators, solution-seekers and innovators. Our dream is that the ILCE will synergize this vision by fostering an innovation ecosystem in Telangana, which will become a model for other states, and eventually, the whole of India.”
Mr Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairperson, Agastya International Foundation also spoke at the event: “We are delighted to collaborate with Pravaha and TSIC to promote grassroots innovators and innovation, including at the school level, in Telangana.”