Imran Mojib, Special Correspondent
Indian NGO Alig Educational and Welfare Society has tied up with Dubai-based international iSTEAM and technology company, Coded Minds, for the training of government school students from Class 5 to Class 10 spread across six cities in India.
The eight-week courses for animation and App development will start from July 1 and will be available in Jamshedpur, Lucknow, Aligarh, Moradabad, Barabanki and Kolkata in English Communication. As a pilot initiative, 70 students have been selected for the programme and more students will be added in the second phase of this initiative.
This innovative pedagogical approach is the first-of-its-kind, where students of government schools in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal will be receiving technology education, from an international company conducting online classes.
“We, at Alig and Coded Minds appreciate that closing the education-skill gap is extremely important for preparing the students according to the 21st Century trends. These new skill-sets would act as the base for future skills required to succeed in education and beyond. The time has come to train the students in skills which are directly relevant to the industries and careers of the future,” Dr Imran Ali, Executive Director, ALIG Society, said.
The 70 selected students are being provided with tablets by ALIG, for a two-month period. This two-month summer camp would develop a mindset amongst students to not only break down complex problems into more manageable solutions, but will also equip the learners with a developmental mindset, which will ultimately improve learning agility.
Omar Farooqui, founder & president of Coded Minds Global believes such a collaboration will go a long way in developing critical skills for young students. “Coded Minds feels proud that, with the support of ALIG, it will be empowering the children of India with the 21st technology skills.”
According to Farooqui, the education sector globally is facing lots of challenges and that the time has come to reinvent not just the curriculum but also the classrooms and teaching methods.