IIT-Madras extends training labs to 20 rural schools
CHENNAI: An electric iron, a calling bell, a vacuum cleaner - who would have thought these everyday applications would educate one? That is exactly what “1 Lab - 1 School”, a rural mentorship programme from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), does by letting high school students dismantle and reassemble the appliances on their own.
A statement from the institute on Thursday stated that the program has been extended to 20 schools in Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Vellore districts, funded by Verizon India. The program connects top graduate laboratories of premier institutes to high schools in rural areas, and aims to empower rural communities by addressing barriers to digital inclusion, the statement said.
Lab’s anatomy
Several mentor groups from IIT-M research labs adopt rural Government Higher Secondary Schools, and each lab visits their respective adopted school to train and mentor students for a period of two to three years. The release stated that the training pans through topics like experiential learning, device engineering, skill development and career guidance. Q&A sessions, demonstration-based lectures, etc. are some of the other learning activities in the training. Expansion to 15 more schools is aimed for next year.