Vodafone Idea Foundation to Set up Robotic Labs in Schools to Empower Underserved Students with Digital Learning Skills

Partners with Ericsson India to set up state-of-the-art Digital Labs in schools across 6 states in India

INDIA: Digital Skills are at the center of the fourth industrial revolution and a prerequisite for future employment opportunities for today’s children. With the objective of playing a role in building a future-ready talent force from the school level onwards, Vodafone Idea Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, and Ericsson India have partnered to set up state-of-the-art Robotic Labs in ten schools across the country to provide new-age learning experiences to children from underserved communities, preparing them to participate in future technological studies.

Digital Labs, an innovative education program, is designed to hand-hold school-going children aged 11-14 years, through their first experience with the world of programming and new technologies. By creating an open atmosphere for learning, Digital Labs aims to instill courage in these students to embrace technology and imbibe a problem-solving approach.

The partnership is aimed at improving the students’ education and employment prospects in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by providing an exciting learning experience and developing skills such as teamwork, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking.

Through this partnership, ten Digital Labs will be set up at Vodafone Idea Foundation schools in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

Commenting on this initiative, P Balaji, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer – Vodafone Idea Limited, and Director – Vodafone Idea Foundation said,

“Digital skills are a necessity for the holistic growth of the youth in the digital era. Exposing school-going children to coding and robotics helps spark creativity, stimulates critical thinking, imbues a collaborative mindset, and opens up a world of opportunities. Using our technology-based tools, we have been working with underprivileged children through various programs aimed at giving them an opportunity to learn, grow and compete. Taking our ‘Technology for Good’ mission forward, we are happy to partner with Ericsson, to expose the young minds to higher-level skills and development, as well as encourage underserved groups to pursue advanced ICT education and enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.”

States Sonia Aplin, Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility for Ericsson Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India,

“We are delighted to partner with Vodafone Idea foundation towards setting up Digital Labs in schools across several states in India, empowering teachers and schools to deliver their quality education and develop the digital skills of students. This introduction to ICT will set the foundation towards preparing these young students to be part of a digitally skilled workforce, aiding their economic and personal empowerment, and in turn creating a positive effect on India’s economy.”

The robotics course curriculum will focus on providing a basic understanding of programming logic in the context of robotics, application of design theory on how to construct a robot to solve basic tasks, and use of different data types such as string, Booleans, etc. through a mix of face-to-face and virtual training sessions. A comprehensive Train-the-Trainer program will help scale this up to benefit a larger segment of society in the future.

source https://nrinews24x7.com/vodafone-idea-foundation-to-set-up-robotic-labs-in-schools-to-empower-underserved-students-with-digital-learning-skills/

May 07, 2022