Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is at the centre of ISA’s efforts to provide our students with 21st century skills. Critical thinking, discovery, innovation and problem solving are the keys to success in tomorrow’s economy and STEM related job opportunities are growing at a rapid rate.
STEM education is an approach to learning that removes the traditional barriers separating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and integrates them into real-world problem solving and relevant learning experiences for students.
STEM in itself is not a curriculum, but rather a way of organising and delivering instruction by weaving the four disciplines together in intentional ways. Rather than adding two new subjects to the curriculum, the engineering and technology practices are intentionally woven into existing math and science lessons in ways that engage students and help them master 21st century skills.
Individually, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math’s open so many doors; and when their collective powers join forces as STEM, they open entire new worlds, ignite infinite imagination, rewrite destinies across continents, empower communities and nourish minds…
ISA has STEM education at its core to empower students with 21st century skills which include critical thinking and creative innovative applications aligning with the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals 2030. ISA endeavors to take meaningful stem steps towards the more empowered, most self-reliant and a more inspiring India.
STEM education is more than simply teaching; it is about engaging.
STEM Step 1: STEM Sakhi
Challenging the prevailing perception that sub subjects are beyond the grasp of girls, ISA invests in the resilience and creative abilities of Indian Girl power by encouraging, engaging and empowering girls to pursue STEM studies and claim their rightful place in the ever growing STEM workforce. Since STEM becomes a partner, a confidante, an enabler and a friend, ISA rightly named this initiative STEM Sakhi. ISA enables girls to embrace technology through workshops and projects in robotics, coding, app building, programming and math’s through a series of interactive and hands on projects.
At ISA we envision a world where women feel confident to pursue STEM careers and are equally represented in the STEM workforce. And to get India girls to embrace technology wholeheartedly we initiated STEM Sakhi – a holistic program focusing on STEM Skills for girls
The major benefits for girls especially in rural India are:
- Girls gain confidence in their STEM skills and abilities
- Girls feel more comfortable working with computers and technology
- Girls can develop better problem-solving skills
- More girls can enroll in STEM Degrees in colleges
- Girls can have better career options
STEM Step 2: Lakh Shikshak. Ek Dashak
Our initiative, Lakh Shikshak Ek Dashak ( a million STEM teachers in a decade) aims to unite the nation’s top academic institutions, nonprofits, foundations, companies, and government agencies to address the nation’s STEM teacher shortage. Together, we are trying to tackle systemic challenges and getting 100,000 excellent STEM teachers into classrooms nationwide.
By giving STEM teachers the support they need, we are attempting to help educate the next generation of innovators and problem solvers.
ISA is acutely aware that for young minds to soar, question, innovate and become solution providers, an entire new generation of STEM teachers are required to be trained and deployed.
Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. We look to them to produce the next big ideas and solve our greatest challenges. But to thrive in the workforce and the world, students will need support, inspiration, and excellent skills in science, technology, engineering, and math. That’s why we are preparing and supporting 100,000 excellent, STEM teachers in India’s classrooms.
Lakh Shikshak Ek Dashak is an initiative of the India STEM Alliance to create a national network committed to solving one of our country’s most pressing challenges – giving kids a great STEM education – by adding 100,000 more, excellent STEM teachers to India’s classrooms by 2030.
Lakh Shikshak Ek Dashak will work with our network of best-in-class organizations to develop a unique networked impact model to solving social problems.
We are now charting a course to train and retain 100,000 excellent STEM teachers. But we’re not doing it alone. We aim to cultivate a network of best-in-class organizations to make ambitious commitments to our shared goal, foster trust between those organizations, and facilitate networked problem-solving to tackle the biggest challenges facing STEM education.
We’ve developed this unique approach over the past few years, and we’re committed to continually interrogating and refining how we best do our work, so we’re always improving our model.
STEM Step 3: STEM Suraj
Partnering with the world’s best, we created STEM Suraj. India’s first inflatable solar light, to empower billions of Indians who still live without reliable access to electricity. In many places, as soon as the sun goes down, children can’t study, entrepreneurs have to stop working, women are less safe walking outside and health clinics have to close… the list goes on. Kerosene lamps are the most common solution in these areas – but they are dangerous, toxic and expensive. Lightweight, easy to carry, and shining for hours on a single charge, our STEM Suraj is a clean, safe and affordable way to bring light to our world.
ISA understands the significance of renewable energy and has created SS. – am inflatable solar light that can fit into a handbag and can light up an entire room shining brightly by harnessing solar energy! Clumsy kerosene lamps and dangerous clay lamps should now be a thing of the past. ISA’s Scan stay lit up for hours on a single charge.
With millions of Indian’s living without access to clean, reliable, or affordable energy, everyday tasks are made more difficult (and dangerous) than they should be. Access to clean energy can improve health, create education equality, economic empowerment, all the while combating climate change.
Working with NGOs and non-profits, we provide clean energy to those who need it most. Through our partners we distribute clean energy options that provide a more economical and environmentally friendly approach to everyday tasks.
Renewable energy is the future, and we aim to create responsibly crafted, sustainable products that while addressing a particular need, have a positive impact on the environment. We at ISA are on a mission to empower the millions of Indians around the world living without access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
STEM Step 4: Prithvi Se Pyaar
ISA believes that our children must inherit a clean, green and a sustainable earth. Partnering with Global Green STEM, ISA brings the Project Hero initiative to India that strives to connect the kids to species and eco systems that need their protection and support. We want to empower the next generation to create a community of solutions for the planet. And we use STEM to search these solutions.
For years, our programs have been helping youth embrace and strengthen their power to create positive change in their schools, communities, and the natural world in which they live. These Heroes resolve to revive rivers, remove plastic from oceans, and help create/reclaim habitats where sparrows chirp and butterflies thrive.
Prithvi se Pyaar is a holistic way of life that supports and strengthens all initiatives of loving cherishing enriching and protecting mother earth. Hence the project name Prithvi se Pyaar. These young champions and heroes, rescue endangered species and realign them with their ecosystem experimenting with alternate modes of manufacturing, packaging, transporting and waste management, CP, and PSP Heroes are the real knights in STEM armours helping our plant, one classroom and one community at a time
Our Ecosystem program supports solution-oriented, youth-led projects that result in real environmental outcomes. Our Ecostem Kits are a set of kits to facilitate ecoSTEM learning and using the environment as a context for applying knowledge. And our Ecothech solutions engages children in inquiry-based, STEM-related projects that leverage technology and/or use nature-based design to address environmental problems in local communities.
ISA is a dedicated think tank and advocacy, Co-Founded by Raj Kapoor, Aman Bandvi and Harmeet Singh whose passion is taking constructive STEM Steps to make India the thriving ideation and innovation hub and bring back its glory days – on initiative at time.
Mr. Raj Kapoor, puts it “India is on the verge of tremendous growth and innovation. Now more than ever, a pressing need exists to develop a skilled talent pipeline in STEM fields, leveraging the tremendous human capital of India to fuel economic growth.
Nothing is more essential to India’s future than education. And STEM education is the only way to ensure innovation.”
Turning today’s big ideas to tomorrow’s bountiful and beautiful reality, each small STEM step is a giant leap for the nation and for mother earth.
