Take part in national challenge programme, CBSE tells schools

Tribune News service

Jalandhar, December 29

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), in a recently issued circular, has asked all schools affiliated to the board to participate in an online National Challenge Programme, ‘Ideate for India – Creative Solutions using Technology’.

The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and IT, in collaboration with Intel India, has launched the programme to inculcate and sustain the spirit of innovation in youth.

All heads of schools have been advised to popularise and facilitate this challenge by encouraging students to take part in the programme.

The circular reads: “The aim of the programme is to provide students a platform and opportunity to become solution creators for problems they see around them and to enable them to transition from being ‘users’ of the technology to become ‘creators’ of new indigenous technologies to solve problems in their communities.

The challenge is open for students of Class VI to Class XII across the country and there are two categories — Junior (Classes VI to VIII) and Senior (Classes IX to XII).

The students, after participating in the programme, can share their ideas/solutions in the 11 themes, including healthcare, education and digital services, environment, women safety, traffic infrastructure, agriculture, social welfare, disability and tourism services.

The programme will be conducted in three phases.

In phase one, students will access curated online videos and understand how to identify problems and then submit a 90-second video explaining the issues and their proposed solution/ideas in an online format. Top 10 ideas will be shortlisted from each state and UTs, leading to as many as 360 students.

In phase two, from the submitted ideas in the form of videos, around 360 students (10 students per state and the UT) will be selected by a panel of experts to attend five regional tech-creation boot camps organised in North, South, East, West and North-Eastern regions of the country (one in each region). In the third phase, 50 students will be selected based on their tech creations being implemented in their community and be invited to New Delhi at a ‘national showcasing’ event and felicitated as ‘tech-creation champions’.

The students will also get mentoring from experts, hands-on working session on basic electronics, robotic and 3D printing during the challenge.

Rashmi Vig, principal, Police DAV Public School, said: “It’s an opportunity for students, having interest in learning technology-driven objects. The programme will enhance their practical approach by experimenting and taking lessons from experts.”

Students can share ideas in 11 themes

The students, after participating in the programme, can share their ideas/solutions in the 11 themes, including healthcare, education and digital services, environment, women safety, traffic infrastructure, agriculture, social welfare, disability and tourism services.