The Department of School Education, Government of Nagaland, and the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, concluded a two-day engagement under the AIM 2.0 Frontier Region Programme in Kohima on September 16 and 17.
Kohima, September 17 (MExN): The Department of School Education, Government of Nagaland, and the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, concluded a two-day engagement under the AIM 2.0 Frontier Region Programme, comprising a state-level consultation and visits to two existing Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs).
The State-level Frontier Program Consultation on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, held at De Oriental, Kohima, on September 16, brought together more than 70 participants from government departments, schools, higher and technical education institutions, industry, start-ups, incubation centres and civil-society organisations, a release said.
Lend A Hand India supported the engagement as the programme implementation partner.
The consultation was chaired by L Jamithung Lotha, IAS, State Mission Director, Samagra Shiksha, Nagaland, who encouraged participants to provide practical inputs based on the needs and operating conditions of Nagaland's schools. Shubham Gupta, Innovation Lead, AIM, NITI Aayog, presented the context and objectives of the Frontier Region Programme.
Asangla Imti, Commissioner and Secretary, Department of School Education and SCERT, delivered the keynote address, highlighting the importance of developing curiosity, practical skills and problem-solving abilities among students. She emphasised the need to connect Nagaland's existing knowledge in agriculture, bamboo, crafts and community life with scientific thinking and modern tools.
Prateek Deshmukh, Program Director, AIM, NITI Aayog, addressed the gathering on AIM's vision for strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship in frontier regions. Vineet Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary, Finance and IDAN, spoke about the importance of credit-linkage awareness and a supportive ecosystem for young entrepreneurs, and highlighted the increasing number of approvals being extended under the Chief Minister's Micro Finance Initiative (CMMFI).
Lend A Hand India presented an overview of its work in school-based skill education and its experience in supporting ATLs across the country. The presentation was made by Richard Asoso, Program Lead, and Arundhati Jadhav, ATL Program Lead.
The consultation included wide-ranging discussions on infrastructure, teacher capacity, locally relevant areas of innovation and the wider ecosystem required to sustain innovation in schools. Participants highlighted the importance of regular mentorship, internships and stronger linkages between schools, higher education institutions and the industry ecosystem.
The discussions explored possible pathways through which promising student innovators could progress from school-level tinkering to the State's existing and proposed incubation centres. Suggestions included developing a technical consortium of institutions and experts, strengthening mentorship networks and organising a Nagaland Innovation Hackathon around challenges relevant to the State.
Representatives from several government departments, including Industries and Commerce, Startup Nagaland, Science and Technology, Information Technology and Communication, IDAN, Agriculture, Planning, Higher Education and Technical Education contributed to the discussions. Incubation centres, higher education institutions, technical institutions and several start-ups also shared their perspectives.
Student exhibits displayed at the venue demonstrated the practical and innovative work already being undertaken in Nagaland's schools. These included a multipurpose agricultural tool developed by students of Loyola Higher Secondary School, Jakhama, and a smart-home system developed by students of PM SHRI Government High School, Kiruphema.
In his closing remarks, Shashank Pratap Singh, IAS, Principal Director, Directorate of School Education, urged participants to think beyond the establishment of infrastructure and focus innovation activities on local problems, including challenges in agriculture and disaster management. He called for stronger convergence between activities, curriculum and pedagogy, and emphasised linking practical activities with post-learning assessments.
Following the workshop, the AIM, NITI Aayog team also met the Advisor for School Education and discussed the opportunities presented by the Frontier Region Programme for Nagaland.
On September 17, the AIM NITI Aayog team visited the ATLs at PM SHRI Government High School, Kiruphema, Kohima, and Hollotoli School, Dimapur, to understand how the existing laboratories are functioning, interact with school leaders, teachers and students, and gather feedback on implementation, equipment use, mentoring, training and student participation.
The Frontier Region Programme seeks to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship in the country's border, remote and aspirational regions. Nationally, the programme proposes the establishment of 2,500 new ATLs.
For Nagaland, 93 additional ATLs and two Atal Incubation Centres have been proposed. The proposals are presently at the consultation stage. Inputs gathered through the State consultation and school visits will contribute to developing an approach suited to Nagaland's geography, schools, local knowledge and emerging innovation ecosystem.
