Children as Beacons of Change

Curiosity, imagination, innovation, problem-solving and critical thinking are crucial skills, commonly dubbed as 21st century skills, i.e. skills essential to succeed in this century. These skills must be honed as a necessity to survive in this dynamic and ambiguous world. 

The latest Indian National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 states that education must progress from pure academic excellence to developing these essential skills. The most recent India Skills Report 2020 found only 46% of students from varying higher education institutions to be ‘employable’ or ‘ready to take up jobs’. India has also observed a decline in the entrepreneurial intentions and rate of early stage entrepreneurship. 

All these evidences point to the fact that our educational institutions need to do better to incorporate essential skills into classrooms, to support the youth’s ability to ‘Think Beyond.’ We live in a competitive world with ever growing social, economic, environmental challenges. It is, therefore, of extreme importance that the youth can face these curveballs without hitches and build a better tomorrow.

Inqui-Lab Foundation is working towards bridging the skill and opportunity gap that our children and youth face to create an equitable world.

We have implemented our flagship program, Think & Make in partnership with State Governments in over 60 schools so far. This two-year, in-person program utilises peer-led, hands-on experiences and student-led showcases to push a culture of problem-solving within the learning space.

Through the program, we enable children to learn and apply their own textbook concepts to solve real world problems and engage in meaningful creation. Our approach not only bridges the gap in application skills but also helps build creativity, confidence & collaboration making our children 21st century ready.

With targeted funding, mentorship and encouragement, we have enabled students to bring their ideas into the real world and create products of social value. The program is currently being implemented in 45 schools impacting 3200 students. At the end of the first year of the program, students will develop 1600 ideas and prototypes with a potential to produce sustainable solutions for real world problems in their communities.

As more and more students are introduced to such problem solving processes, we believe it is also essential to create an ecosystem of support for student ideas. We have also opened up new opportunities like follow-up internships, scholarships and other educational benefits for participating public school students. Read about one such student, Roopa, who has discovered new interests and availed upskilling opportunities as a follow up from her participation in Think & Make.

Our 2019-20 pilot with 15 schools and 1200 children saw the generation of 1500 ideas and over 500 functional prototypes. We observed a growth in target skills, with further scope for mindset development.

Target Skills and Mindsets

Design Thinking

• A growth of about 15% points in the quality of ideas submitted from one unit to the other
• The program provided a platform for repeated exploration of thoughts and ideas 
• Students in observation showed an affinity to problem solve/brainstorm solutions for diverse domains

Prototyping

• A growth of 4% points in prototype completion from one unit to the other
• Program allowed for prototyping to be an ongoing practice rather than a one-off event
• Students were most participative and highly invested in ‘Prototyping’

Teamwork

• Program built a safe space within teams and class for students to share and work on ideas
• Varying forms of team management styles were adopted
• In all groups, members supported each other when discussing systemic and social issues

Risk Taking

• Program provided a space for academically weak and less vocal students to express themselves - giving them visibility and appreciation
• 80% sample students discussed about problems faced in school
• Academically weak students showed a growth in confidence and greater acceptance in classroom

Creative Confidence

• Students show greater willingness to identify problems they want to solve
• Courage to act on their ideas indicates deliberate creative confidence

Empathy

• Students want to solve diverse range of problems, showing concern for different sets of users

Collaboration

• Students engaged in a coordinated effort through the course of the program to solve problems together