Press Release

In a focused effort to get young higher secondary girl students from remotest parts of the country excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), the Centre for Creative Learning (CCL) at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and the American India Foundation (AIF) have joined hands to start ‘Sparkle Series’, an online interactive education programme for Vigyan Jyoti scholars of class 11 from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) across the country.

The nine-episode series, funded by IBM India, is expected to reach about 10,000 Vigyan Jyoti girl students in 200 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in 200 districts of 34 states and union territories across the country. Starting from January 22, 2022, the ‘Sparkle Series’ will be live-streamed every Saturday from 3 to 4:30 pm on CCL’s YouTube channel.

Aligned with the objectives of the Vigyan Jyoti scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, which aims to increase participation of women in STEM fields by making focused interventions during early years of education, ‘Sparkle Series’ intends to get the young girls excited about STEM by unlocking hidden mysteries, beauty, and magic of these subjects from everyday life.

The online programme will take the participants beyond routine curriculum-based science education and help them build scientific temperament and excitement.Theinteractive sessions in this series will bebased on Science and Mathematics curriculum topics, but they will consist of various activities using simple materials like paper, vegetables, playing cards, musical instruments, different types of whistles, bicycles etc. The idea is to let them discover the inherent beauty of these subjects and develop a sense of wonder with various hands-on projects, activities, and open-ended questions.

Source: Press Release, IIT Gandhinagar