In a new partnership that was formalised on November 19, 2018, IISER Pune and Tata Technologies will come together to train school teachers towards improving the quality of science and mathematics education in schools, with a key focus on children from lower income groups.

Under this partnership, teachers of schools in and around the Pune area will be trained to use activity-based teaching tools. As an extension to Padmashri awardee Mr. Arvind Gupta’s efforts of using low-cost material to convey concepts in science and maths, this collaboration aims to systematically train teachers in applying activity-based tools, as per the school curriculum and also develop video lesson plans for a wider reach.

A MoU was signed between IISER Pune and Tata Technologies to formally start the project with immediate effect. Under this MoU, Tata Technologies will fund, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment, Rs 1.69 crores over two years to IISER Pune for this activity.

The MoU between IISER Pune and Tata Technologies was signed by Col (Retd.) Raja Sekhar (Registrar, IISER Pune) and Mr. Vikrant Gandhe (Company Secretary, Tata Technologies). Members present at this occasion were Dr. Harinath Chakrapani, Dr. V.S. Rao, Ms. Shubhangi Wankhede, Mr. Chaitanya Mungi, Mr. Ashok Rupner, Dr. Apurva Barve, Prof. L.S. Shashidhara, and Prof. Sunil Mukhi from IISER Pune; and Mr. Shriprabhat Pradhan and  Mr. Ajit Habbu from Tata Technologies.

It is expected that by the end of two years, as many as 200 teachers and 1000 students would directly benefit from the training on activity-based STEM learning by the team led by Prof. L.S. Shashidhara, Mr. Ashok Rupner and Mr. Chaitanya Mungi, at IISER Pune. From the same pool, a minimum of 40 teachers will get advanced training to become trainers themselves. Thus, several more students will benefit indirectly through the teachers trained via this initiative.

On this occasion, Mr.  Vikrant Gandhe, Company Secretary, Tata Technologies said that he looks forward to this notable collaboration with IISER Pune and wishes to mutually work towards achieving an important social goal. Prof. Sunil Mukhi, head of IISER Pune's Endowment Cell, reiterated IISER Pune's commitment to help improve the quality of science and mathematics education in schools and colleges across India.