Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru. M.K. Stalin inaugurates IIT Madras initiative to connect 1 Lakh Govt. school students to Electronic Sciences

CHENNAI :   Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru. M.K. Stalin today (5th April 2023) inaugurated an initiative of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) to connect one lakh Government School students in Tamil Nadu studying in rural locations to electronic science.

As part of this endeavour, he also distributed electronic kits developed by IIT Madras to the Government school students in the presence of Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Hon’ble Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, and other dignitaries, at an event held on IITM Campus.

Part of the ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ (IITM for all) initiative, this outreach program on STEM aims to connect with one lakh students every year in Tamil Nadu studying in rural locations. It is intended to motivate them to take up a career in the domain of semiconductor technologies through the lectures and hands-on experience imparted to students of classes IX, X, XI, and XII.

Addressing the event, Thiru. M.K. Stalin, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, said, “I am happy to announce an important new scheme called ‘Thiranari Thervu Thittam’ during this event. The objective is to encourage and help Tamil Nadu Government schools students to continue their higher education without hurdles. As many as 1,000 students (500 male and 500 female) studying Standard X will be chosen for this scheme. Guidance will be provided to the students by connecting them to higher education insitutions such as IIT Madras. A stipend of Rs. 1,000 will be provided every month until they finish their Class XII. Students selected under this scheme will also get Rs. 12,000 as stipend annually during their under-graduation and post-graduation.”

Further, Thiru. M.K. Stalin said, “IIT Madras has the distinction of having been recognized as the #1 Technical Institute in the country. Lakhs of students have the life goal of joining IIT Madras and study towards it. Such a prestigious institute has come forward to help Government School students and encourage scientific thinking through the ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ initiative, which was developed jointly with the Department of School Education. A key goal of this initiative is to prepare Government School students to pursue higher education in leading institutions of the country. This initiative is a forerunner to my dream project of ‘Naan Mudhalvan’.”

Thiru. M.K. Stalin added, “If everyone gets education equally, then everyone will get subsequent opportunities equally as well. Since this Government took charge, we have undertaken many initiatives focused on developing the skills of Government School students and on creating a conducive environment in schools. Government schools are today being changing to become places to study for all students.”

The advancement of technology especially in Semiconductor Manufacturing and Information and Communication technology is essential to provide solutions to problems faced in several domains such as health care, clean energy, and the environment, among others. This project of IIT Madras is a humble effort to inculcate scientific and technological fervors amongst the young students studying in rural areas and kindle their passion for creative and innovative thinking in the various scientific and technological fields, relevant to societal issues.

Delivering the Keynote Address, Thiru. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Hon’ble Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “I thank the Hon’ble Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin for enabling Government School students to learn from a prestigious institute like IIT Madras…Each one of these kits will enable students to perform multiple experiments. The 252 teachers being trained as part of this initiative will train one lakh students. Electornics is the foundation for many industries now and this initiative will go a long way to enable Tamil Nadu to become a $ 1 Trillion economy.”

Anaivarukkum IITM is IIT Madras’ vision to address one of the urgent needs of the country, which is to inculcate scientific and technological fervour in young students studying in rural areas. This is also aimed at kindling their passion for creative and innovative thinking in the various scientific and technological fields, relevant to societal issues.

Presiding over the event, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “This initiative will greatly help the students of Government School students. It was formulated with the help of Department of School Education… We have covered all districts of Tamil Nadu under this initiative. Students clearing this program will get certificates from IIT Madras. Students can perform 100 experiments on the Electronic Kits, which were developed by IIT Madras and being given to students. We will also be giving videos prepared in Tamil and English. Students can also use the kits to work on projects…We assure everyone that we will work towards making Tamil Nadu the #1 State in Electronics.”

Through this initiative, 252 government schools in rural locations were identified for getting the electronic kits developed by IIT Madras. The Institute has already trained two teachers from each school to teach the children. To support the teachers, India Literacy Project (ILP India), a non-profit organization, has come forward to deploy teachers to support them in electronics teaching and provide science kits (at least 10 kits to each of the 252 schools) through IIT Madras. The teacher volunteers from ILP will also support the teachers in conducting science kit experiments from class 6th to 10th Standard.

Ms. Kakarla Usha, IAS, School Education Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, Prof. R. Sarathi and Prof. M. Anbarasu, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, spoke on the occasion

The students will get a complete hands-on experience in addition to theoretical knowledge. At the end of the modules of each section, a short test will be conducted. Eligible students would be provided with a certificate from IIT Madras. The set of experiments taught to students, at the school level, will enable children to think beyond and can design their own thought process to design circuits for any application, ranging from their day-to-day use / to entrepreneurs / startups.

In addition, students choosing electrical / electronic engineering as a branch of study could carry out experiments with confidence and read electrical/electronic subjects up to the second year, comfortably without any trouble.

IIT Madras has launched two highly flexible B.S. programmes – Data science and Electronic Design, which are largely offered in online mode. By inspiring children through the teaching of science and electronics with a due emphasis on experimental learning, would form a perfect platform and enable children to learn about various emerging educational and research programs at IIT Madras. It can fuel their passion to join IITM for regular programmes or to opt for the online programmes, irrespective of the course they pursue after XII standard.