The Odisha government has started work on establishing cutting-edge robotic laboratories in these schools to give young minds the skills necessary for navigating the challenges of a rapidly evolving technological landscape. This comes after the government transformed thousands of high schools under its ambitious “5T initiative.”
The School and Mass Education (SME) department claims that the new program would expose pupils to cutting-edge technology, encouraging creativity and equipping them for the needs of the workforce of the twenty-first century.
In fact, according to representatives of the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), which is under the SME department and has started the process of implementing the move through the Odisha Computer Application Centre (OCAC), Odisha will be among the first few states in the nation to have such fully functional robotic labs for the students.
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program includes the effort. The robotics laboratory provides students with opportunities to learn about robotics, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), and the internet of things (IOT). Four robots, many “do it yourself (DIY)” robotic kits, mechanical electronics components, computers, a fabrication/prototyping facility, and other essential infrastructure will be present in each lab. Additionally, a 3D printer will be available for students to turn their concepts into tangible products. Additionally, the lab will be available for the students to use to learn over 100 robots, IOT, and AI/ML projects. Authentic problem-solving and coding will be included in the robotics program.
The project will first be implemented in 500 schools that have been selected from among the secondary schools that have undergone 5T transformation. The selection of the schools was based on factors such as yearly enrollment, availability of a backup power source, and other amenities.
Approximately ~40 crore has been allocated for the initiative’s initial implementation, with each school receiving about `8 lakh for eight DIY robotic kits and four robots for demonstration purposes for each of the classes VI through X.
For the robotics education, different DIY kits will be given for every class. Class-VI kits will include fire-activated, light-activated, and object-following robots, while Class-VII kits will include touch-activated, clap-activated, and line-follower robots. There will be more sophisticated kits available for Classes VIII, IX, and X.
IIT-Bhubaneswar and other technical college students will be recruited by OSEPA authorities to participate in robotics education in classrooms. Students will be able to close the knowledge gap between important theoretical ideas and their practical implementations with the aid of robotics and interactive learning solutions. Anupam Saha, Project Director of OSEPA, stated, “These facilities will also allow the students to learn coding at an early stage.”
Robotics, according to Saha, will aid kids in their education regardless of the job route they select because it develops their critical-thinking, programming, analytical, and collaborative skills.
