2500 new Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) are about to be rolled out in Jammu and Kashmir, a huge infusion of innovation that is likely to change the education landscape and the economies of the Union Territory.
Changing the landscape of innovation is not only about providing the infrastructure; it is about investing in the most valuable asset they have and stakeholders have: the brainpower of their youth. It is a huge investment in creating and sustaining a vibrant, locally grown culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is poised to be a centre for technology in the near future.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a significant part of India’s strategy to encourage creativity and promote a disposition of problem-finding/solving among school children.
By putting these labs in every school in the UT, we are literally handing the keys to the future to them.
The labs will give students access to cutting-edge technology that allows them to use, 3D printing, and robotics kits, and IoT based tools, but also to make connections between the learnings that are typically “siloed” in their textbooks and the practical work through experimentation and the learnings of failure and success. This is the space where ideas become a reality, are revised, and experienced – at least until the next iteration!
The most visionary part of this rollout is its strategic focus on the aspirational districts. The point being, innovation cannot be enabled in urban cities but must reach every rural and urban region, unlocking capacity in areas that are ready to innovate.
Interscope has allowed these districts to create purpose-built templates for their innovation ecosystems. This reflection recognizes variations, therefore using the one-size-fits-all recipe does not work.
The local-level impact of innovation means that the solutions built will be relevant, meaningful, and will easily access issues, ideas and opportunities of each community, allowing that community to visualize it.
The long-term implications are transformational. Changing the activities of young people in an ATL is more than a classroom so, the young people will learn the 21st Century Skills of critical thinking, design, and computational strength as they develop into an entrepreneur. The intervention in each ATL also plants the seeds for a flourishing startup ecosystem, swapping out historic reliance on static and job creating sectors for alternative approaches for generating economic growth and employment.
For the effort of established the 2,500 ATLs is huge, it also sends a terrific signal that the young people of J&K matter, their ideas matter and their creativity will make them possible.
