India’s National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) envisions an education system that aligns with the aspirations of 21st century learning. It highlights the importance of nurturing human potential, strengthening institutional capacity, and fostering regional ecosystems for education, research, and innovation. The policy also aims to promote inclusivity and equitable quality education while cultivating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC), which is one of the eight knowledge cluster initiatives in India, brings together stakeholders from academia, industry, and civic bodies to create and enable an environment that promotes inclusivity and quality education for all. Elaborating more upon its vision, Priya Nagaraj, CEO of Pune Knowledge Cluster says,
Our initiatives are aimed towards promoting digital literacy and 21st century skills among students and teachers. PKC’s projects focus on innovative pedagogy training for teachers and empowering women to pursue STEM education and careers.
Enhancing pedagogies through digital tools and gamified learning
1. Teach with Tech
Supported by Lenovo, India, the Teach with Tech programme was conceptualised with a vision to empower both teachers as well as students by integrating digital resources into their teaching-learning journey.
The programme commenced through a survey conducted by the PKC team, together with the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Pune to understand the usage of digital tools for teaching during the pandemic, and the findings revealed that over 90% of the 1,500 teachers who were surveyed had not used any digital tools or resources during the pandemic – this included open-access videos, simulations, games, puzzles, and quizzes. Surprisingly, despite having access to digital devices such as phones or computers, students were largely unaware of such resources.
To address this gap, the Teach with Tech programme was designed to equip teachers with digital pedagogy skills while also training students in the effective use of digital tools. In order to curate the relevant resources, PKC has collaborated with academic institutions such as the Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), as well as NGOs such as CS Pathshala and Meghshala. These partnerships have resulted in the development of digital resources that are mapped to the regular teaching curriculum of science and mathematics for grades 6th to 8th students. Phase I of the programme focused on developing digital content and on-ground training of teachers and students, while phase II of the programme focused on training teachers and providing tablets containing e‑lessons covering broad topics in science and mathematics. To ensure accessibility, training workshops and classroom sessions are conducted in a bilingual format.
Over the last four years, the programme has been implemented across 25 schools in Pune, benefitting over 700 teachers and 1800 students.
While the programme has created significant impact, implementing it has not been without challenges. Some schools lacked fundamental digital infrastructure, such as display screens, computers, and, in some cases, even a consistent power supply. By addressing these hurdles and expanding access to digital learning, the programme strives to create a more inclusive and technology-driven education platform for students and teachers alike.
Pratima Harite from Lenovo India, says,
It is Lenovo’s endeavour to inspire young students to pick up STEM Education and be able to make informed choices in STEM Careers in the long run. Hence, the Tech with Tech initiative is close to our heart as it engages young students in Maharashtra to build upon essential 21st century skills and empowers teachers to use digital pedagogy techniques, which in turn transforms STEM Education into an enjoyable and practical experience for young students.
2. ChemAmaze
Supported by BASF Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd., this initiative was conceptualised with a vision to improve the teaching-learning journey and outcomes for grades 6 – 8 students and school teachers. The programme uses gamification elements to help students improve their conceptual understanding of chemistry, thereby, creating an engaging and stimulating learning environment. Apart from the introduction of tools and techniques for game-based learning in classrooms, the programme also envisions the development of a national open-source repository of educational games that are mapped to the school curriculum.
As a cluster, PKC has the unique advantage of bringing together the best experts in implementing this project. For example, IIT Madras has been an important implementation partner for the programme and is also involved in designing the games. A team at PKC and IIT Madras works on developing the games which are tailored to align with either the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or state curricula of the beneficiary schools. To ensure quality and effectiveness, selected games are validated through in-person workshops where students from various schools play the games and provide their feedback.
Elaborating upon the development of games and the various underlying factors involved, Kartic Vaidyanathan (ex-faculty, IIT Madras) says,
The levels of teaching and infrastructure available in schools differ greatly. For example, the State Government and Zilla Parishad schools usually do not have the facilities that are available in Private Schools. Therefore, these aspects play an important role while deciding the mode of the games i.e. digital, printable, board games or card games.
A key aspect of this programme is to build the capacity of the teachers and empower them to effectively utilise gamification as a pedagogical tool. In order to achieve this, the team conducts online pan-India teacher training workshops that not only introduce the teachers to the different games but also a range of game development resources, enabling them to create their own games tailored to their specific needs. Apart from tackling the challenges involved with limited infrastructure, the team also needs to address the language barriers faced in state board schools. The games are, therefore, translated into vernacular languages to ensure strong engagement and participation. In schools catering to students from extremely marginalised communities, the barrier towards low literacy levels is overcome by developing games that are more visual than text-heavy.
Over the last two years, the programme has enabled the development of 88 games, catering to students from 6 to 8 grade from government and private schools. The team has conducted 12 workshops pan-India, including offline game validation workshops with students; and online teacher training workshops, with over 1,200 beneficiaries.
However, the true success of the programme lies in the fact that it encompasses a variety of unique approaches to spread the joy of game-based learning, including the involvement of students in conducting workshops for their peers from different economic backgrounds, which not only enhances their conceptual understanding but also develops a sense of empathy and community spirit.
Talking about BASF’s commitment towards the programme, Sunita Sule from BASF Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd. says,
“As one of the global leaders in the chemical industry, we believe that in order to drive progress in the chemical industry, one needs to have a base of good manufacturing. Our CSR initiatives are aimed towards creating an ecosystem that can bring in more manufacturing by promoting the magic of chemistry at school levels. The ChemAmazeprogramme is a live example of how we can create chemistry not just with our products but through other means, too!”
Scholarship and Mentorship Programme for Women
Statistics reveal that very few women take up STEM subjects during their higher education studies, and even amongst those that do, there is a significant dropout rate in the workforce, especially at advanced career stages. PKC’s flagship scholarship and mentorship initiative – WEnyan, is designed to incentivise women to pursue careers in science, especially chemistry and to address the gender disparity by improving the enrollment and retention of women in the workforce. It is a first-of-its-kind programme in Maharashtra, supported by BASF Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd. The programme aims to empower women from tier 2 and tier 3 cities in Maharashtra and fuel their passion towards building a career in STEM. The programme provides financial support in the form of research scholarships given to Bachelors and Masters students and prototyping grants given to doctoral students with nascent business ideas in the fields of chemistry, sustainability, and allied areas.
The funding support provided within the programme allows awardees to work on their existing project ideas in the comfort of their college premises, and with the support and guidance from their mentors. Thus, the programme uniquely integrates and brings together faculty and mentors from different colleges, building a network of experts that the awardees can reach out to, during their professional journeys.
WEnyan is largely a “for women, by women” initiative, where women in leadership positions play an active and important role in selecting and mentoring candidates, making it a unique opportunity for women researchers, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs to give back to their community and nurture fresh talent.
Apart from funding support, the programme also provides the awardees with mentorship opportunities in topics such as-project management, fund management, intellectual property rights, and entrepreneurship. In order to help the awardees gain more knowledge and insights of the wider academic, research, and industry ecosystem in and around Pune, several field visits are also arranged. An online talk series- Conversations with Women Role Models in STEM is one of the highlights of this programme. In this programme, young girls get an opportunity to interact with women in leadership positions across different areas in STEM and gain inspiration from their personal and professional journeys. Over the last three years, the programme has benefitted 86 women, from 28 colleges and 19 districts across Maharashtra.
“For many awardees, the process of preparing and presenting in front of a highly accomplished jury itself is quite an experience and hence, WEnyan goes beyond being just a programme. It serves as a force to break barriers and we look forward to scaling it in the coming years to impact many more women in STEM”, concludes Ritika Ganguly from PKC who has been instrumental in implementing this programme over the last three years.
