Centre for Creative Learning (CCL) at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and the American India Foundation (AIF) have joined hands to start the ‘Sparkle Series’ to get young higher secondary girl students from remotest parts of India interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The online interactive education programme for Vigyan Jyoti scholars of class 11 from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs). The series is funded by IBM India. It is expected to reach about 10,000 Vigyan Jyoti girl students in 200 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in 200 districts of 34 states and union territories across the country.
It is a nine-episode series that is set to begin on January 22, 2022, and will be live-streamed every Saturday at 3 PM on the official CCL YouTube channel.
Prof Manish Jain, Head of CCL, IITGN, said, “Traditionally a career in STEM is not something that many women pursue and as a result as a society we lose out on the contributions from some of our brightest minds. We are very excited to collaborate with JNV, AIF and IBM to get school girls hooked to Science and Math primarily by making STEM subjects engaging and inspiring.”
“The focus will be on showcasing how Math/Science are related to our life. In this series, we will explore the inherent beauty of Mathematics and Science curriculum topics through engaging and interesting activities, hands-on projects, historical stories, and open-ended questions,” Jain added.
Sanyukta Chaturvedi, Director, Digital Equalizer, American India Foundation, said, “Classrooms should not just be a place for theoretical learning, but a collaborative and interactive learning space that prepares the students for a successful future in this rapidly changing 21st century.”
The online programme is set to help young girls build scientific temperaments beyond their curriculum. The interactive sessions in this series will be based on Science and Mathematics curriculum topics, but they will consist of various activities using simple materials like paper, vegetables, playing cards, musical instruments, different types of whistles, bicycles. The idea is to let them discover the inherent beauty of these subjects and develop a sense of wonder with various hands-on projects, activities, and open-ended questions.
