From Tradition To Innovation

By Prisha Dhawan

“Viksit Bharat 2047” is India’s ambitious roadmap to become a fully developed nation by the 100th year of Independence. It envisions a future where the country is not only economically strong and technologically advanced, but also socially inclusive, equitable, globally competitive and environmentally sustainable. As former president Dr ABJ Abdul Kalam rightly said “the ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful resource on the planet earth , above the Earth and under the Earth.” This vision cannot be realised without empowering young Indians with the tools to innovate and adapt to an ever changing global landscape .

Instead of teaching ‘Science, Technology ,Engineering and Mathematics’ separately STEM education integrates them into an applied and a practical approach.It encourages critical thinking, creativity , problem solving and decision making at a young age. In today’s growing competitive world a bridge between academics and the job sector is a growing necessity . Even the most brilliant student finds it difficult to adjust in the corporate world as the school curriculum only teaches us the theoretical parts , creating a gab of practical knowledge essential for the job sector. Stem emphasises interdisciplinary learning i.e. moving away from memorising concepts towards inquiry driven approaches and teaching them in form of practical problems . This form of education not only grooms the youth but helps them connect their studies with the surrounding ensuring students are prepared to face the outside world.For example- instead of learning the formulas in maths we must understand its uses and its derivations, resulting in better understanding . This enables us to remember all the concepts without memorising it and help us solve any problems related to the topic.If these skills are introduced from the elementary level children can become more comfortable with competency based questions and develop critical reasoning.Indian origin Sundar Pichai of google and Satya Nadela of Microsoft ,are inspirations for the coming generations, who teaches the youth to sharpen their skills in order to stand out in the crowd. Thus ,linking eduction with employment and promoting analytical thinking, creativity, collaboration, digital literacy is a major concern. Similarly experimental learning like  lab works , robotics ,coding ,model building helps the students learn 21st century skills. It has played a major role in the overall development of the children across both academic and personal domains  challenging them to think beyond the conventional ways  and teaching them collaboration, teamwork, perseverance and resilience. Group projects improves communication skills and alongside peers with diverse expertise can solve complex questions easily as it’s rightly said by Ratan Tata ,"If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk with others”. Practical skills has gained momentum in India over the past decade due to increase in global demand for the world’s fastest growing career from Artificial Intelligence ,data science, space research to renewable energy. Also the national education policy strongly promotes experimental learning and to encourage it many government initiatives were taken like ATL, RND, skill India mission etc. ATL is acronym of Atal tinkering labs, it promotes the young  budding scientists to research and innovate new products. To encourage space research,entrepreneurship , startup, debate ,environmental studies  ,robotics and many other  clubs have been established in schools . Also many online platforms now offer various courses of robotics and coding for students of all age groups  which has increased and inspired the youth towards these fields. Apart from these now national education policy encourages breaking traditional streams and allowed students to combine subjects of their choice in class 11 and 12. As rightly said by Swami Vivekananda, renowned for introducing Hinduism and his philosophies , “It’s best to work among the youth in whom lies our hope -patiently ,steadily without noise.”

Long held gender stereotypes often discourages girls from entering science field. Apart from that some students have limited knowledge and motivation due to which they don’t pursue such fields. The growth of technology and artificial intelligence has increased the demand for employees who can analyse, innovate and adapt to emerging challenges rather than employees with bookish knowledge. Both Women and men have equal potential to succeed in stem fields . Fostering curiosity from a young age can encourage students especially girls to see themselves as equally capable to pursue the field of their choice. For example - Sudha Murthy , the current chairperson of Infosys foundation and one of the first female engineers in Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company in 1974. Her journey demonstrates how when children are given the right exposure, guidance no matter the gender cannot only enter but lead stem -science technology engineering mathematics jobs no matter the gender and age. The policy recognises that this approach of learning that was earlier concentrated in only the elite schools and colleges should be made accessible to all the students in India . These problem solving abilities not only helps in stem but navigating and balancing academics with everyday issues. It also helps students accept failure  no matter how much we had worked hard for a goal if we do not succeed we must not get demotivated but view failure as a stepping stone as only patience and practice help us achieve perfection n our work. Even though the practical problems may seem difficult , as from our childhood we have been studying the bookish definitions  instead  of understanding it, we must not give up cultivating persistence and resilience. There should be a promotion of government initiatives like ATL in rural areas to bridge the gaps between the richer and the poorer section of the society. Thus, STEM is an essential part of our education.

By Prisha Dhawan