IIT Madras connects rural school students to STEM through summer program

The Institute is planning to make this program available through online mode and make it available to rural students across India. The idea is to motivate students by imparting knowledge on fundamental principles and providing experiences that would enable them to think big.

IIT Madras connects rural school students to STEM through summer program

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has announced that it will be conducting an Outreach Program for Rural School Students through a Summer Program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from June 20 to June 25, 2022. The objective is to motivate young students and kindle their passion for creative and innovative thinking for scientific and technological advancements. The programs will be taught in English and Tamil.

The Institute is planning to make this program available through online mode and make it available to rural students across India. The idea is to motivate students by imparting knowledge on fundamental principles and providing experiences that would enable them to think big.

Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, inaugurated the IIT Madras Outreach Program Connecting Children in Rural Areas Through ‘Summer Program on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics’ (STEM) in the presence of Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, Prof. R. Sarathi and Prof. Anbarasu Manivannan, Professors in the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras.

Addressing the inaugural event at IIT Madras Research Park today, Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “These five days will create a major change in your (students) lives. This program will instill confidence in Government School Students. The Hon’ble Chief Minister Thiru. MK Stalin is keen that Government Schools become a place of pride for students. This program will help motivate students to become job generators instead of job seekers. The STEM Education will greatly improve ‘learning outcomes’.”

Thanking IIT Madras for taking up this initiative, Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said, “The Department has given importance to students from disadvantaged blocks while selecting students for this program. This 100 student is only a beginning and many more students will be brought in. This program has 70 per cent of hands-on component with the rest being theory.”

Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi added, “Students will also learn about copyrights, which are important. Tamil Nadu should become the leader in filing copy rights in the country.”

The Mission of this program is to provide knowledge to young children in Government Schools and connect to as many as One Lakh students from rural areas across the country per year. This program will have a Hands-on practical component of 70 per cent with the remaining 30 per cent comprising Motivational lectures by expert members from Industry and academics.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, said, “We have selected key topics such as electronics, which are important for the nation, to be taught during this five-day event. This is the first of its kind program being held by IIT Madras. Now, 100 students are attending this program but our target is to reach out to one lakh students.”

Further Prof. V. Kamakoti said, “We thank the School Education Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, for their kind cooperation with this initiative. Students learn a lot of theory in their classes but practical classes are also important and they need not be conducted only in institutions. We are providing kits during this workshop that will enable practicals to be done even at home. My wish is that I want all these 100 students to get degrees from IIT Madras.”

In the first batch, this program initially brings together 100 children studying in Class 10th in Government Schools from rural areas to IIT Madras to provide residential summer program. Topics in basic sciences will be covered including Environmental and Electronic aspects in Engineering, Technological growth in Renewable Energies and Applied Mathematics, among others.

The students are from districts such as Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Kallakurichi, Krishnagiri, Perambalur, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram. The Institute is arranging for travel to the campus besides food and accommodation for the students. A special kit has also been prepared for this program in which the students can carry out as many as 100 electronic experiments.

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