The proliferation of digital technologies is bringing radical changes in the way education is being delivered and received. The outreach of educational programs is improving day by day with the digitalization of education. Digital education is providing both teachers and students new opportunities to teach and learn thereby ensuring greater participation in the overall learning process.
Elets Technomedia and digitalLEARNING Magazine organized webinar on “How Atal Innovation Mission is Driving Innovations Amid Corona Crisis” with Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship programme to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. The main objective is to develop new policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy. It also initiates platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, creates awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee innovations.
During the webinar, Ramanan Ramanathan said “Atal Innovation Mission was formed in 2016. The concept of innovation and entrepreneurship was in the mind of govt. The AIM was formed to create of innovation and entrepreneurship across all the sectors. We have launched over 100 Atal Tinkering Labs and identified over 15000 schools across the country. We have to create a paradigm shift in education in the schools across the country.”
He also said Atal Tinkering Labs were formed for creating problem-solving mindset across schools in India. Atal Incubation Centers used for fostering world-class startups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model. Atal New India Challenges was formed to foster product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors. Mentor India Campaign works for a national mentor network in collaboration with the public sector, corporates and institutions. It is also the largest network in mentoring in the country. Atal Community Innovation Center is used to stimulate community-centric innovation and ideas in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country.
He also said through AIM 102 incubators were launched and over 30,000 startups were funded. Not only that AIM provides a grant up to Rs 10 crore for a maximum period of 5 years to cover the capital and operational expenditures to establish the Atal Incubation Centre.
He also said through Atal New India Challenge the govt promotes innovative ideas for products and technologies and provide funds to startups and MSMEs to grow further.
When asked about the Corona crisis in India, he said “COVID-19 has paralyzed the country. There will be major impacts across the sectors due to lockdown. However, it has also created many opportunities in the country. We need to take many preventive measures in the epidemic. The crisis has shown us there are many more issues to tackle.”
Over infrastructure, he said we need to develop our infrastructure drastically. We need to add 100 more smart cities to fulfill the requirements of the population.
He also said the industry must emphasize on acquiring new skills for growth. The AIM has tied up with a large number of corporates to provide assistance to many.
In the last two years, the progress is good, AICET has launched various entrepreneurship programmes. The entire education is transforming now. Technology will be an essential part of the education. Every university has integrated innovation and entrepreneurship programmes for students, he added, when asked about the education system.
He also emphasized that innovations must reach the rural areas. Many rural areas get manpower from cities. We need to increase the supply chain, he added.
The Artificial Intelligence-Base Module will be implemented across 5,000 Atal Tinkering Labs, empowering 2.5 million students, he added.
We have initiated a game development module which consists of beginner, intermediate and advanced stages.
Lastly, he complimented and congratulated Elets Technomedia for its efforts during this crisis. He even went on to said Elets might join hands with Atal Innovation Mission for various projects. He even said Elets must launch challenges with partners as huge numbers of corporate houses are associated with the organization. He also said Elets to become the leader in leveraging digital medium for educational learning and skill development and can use technology to spread education especially in rural areas.
