HamaraLabs - Enable experiential learning

We are addressing the need for skills in high school students to thrive in this complex world. 

The level of educated unemployment in India increases with higher education. While, at the primary level, youth unemployment is somewhere around 3.6%, it is 8% at the graduate level and 9.3% at the post-graduate level. Global youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24) was around 14% in 2022.

The lack of experiential learning during high school has prompted this to a major extent.

• Skill-job mismatch
  • Traditional education systems in India often focus on theoretical knowledge, without providing sufficient opportunities for hands-on experience.
  • This gap between classroom learning and real-world job requirements leads to a mismatch between the skills possessed and the skills demanded by employers.
• Lack of workplace readiness
  • Experiential learning, such as internships, apprenticeships, and project-based learning, helps develop essential skills like problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and critical thinking.
  • Without this practical exposure, many young people lack the workplace-ready skills and confidence to transition smoothly from academia to the professional world.
• Limited industry exposure
  • Experiential learning allows students to gain firsthand knowledge of the work culture, challenges, and expectations within different industries.
  • The absence of this industry exposure makes it difficult for youth to make informed career choices and develop the specific skills required for their desired jobs.
• Underdeveloped soft skills
  • Soft skills, such as adaptability, creativity, and emotional intelligence, are crucial for success in the modern workplace.
  • Experiential learning opportunities help nurture these soft skills, which are often overlooked in traditional classroom settings.
• Lack of entrepreneurial mindset
  • Experiential learning, particularly through initiatives like student-led startups or social enterprises, can foster an entrepreneurial mindset and the skills needed to thrive in a dynamic job market.
  • Without this exposure, many youth lack the confidence and skills to pursue entrepreneurial ventures or innovative solutions to address local and global challenges.

We started addressing problem first in India. Narrowed down to 10,000 Atal Tinkering labs(ATLs) setup by NITI-Aayog, Govt. of India. A $267 billion scheme to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.

ATL contain educational and learning ‘do it yourself’ kits and equipment on  science, electronics, robotics, open-source microcontroller boards, sensors, 3D printers and computers.

ATL is a workspace where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands-on do-it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills. Young children get a chance to work with tools and equipment to understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

ATLs where the infrastructure is already established, are not being utilised by students for experiential learning to the full capacity! 

With the vast amount of information available online, students today may have access to resources on how to perform various hands-on activities, but they often face the challenge of choosing what specific activity to pursue among the myriad options. This decision paralysis can lead to confusion and inaction, hindering their ability to engage in experiential learning.

We are developing HamaraLabs as a digital platform to generate customised and personalised tinkering activities at scale using generative artificial Intelligence and assign to students in their area of interest/aspiration.

HamaraLabs further assigns tinkering activities based on status of assigned tinkering activities. When they successfully complete, it assigns another tinkering activity that is more challenging(spiral curriculum). If they couldn't, a less challenging activity is assigned. This helps students in their experiential journey.

By presenting tinkering activities in a scaffolded manner, starting with simpler tasks and gradually increasing the complexity, students can develop the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle more challenging activities successfully.

Here is an example of series of customised tinkering activities generated :

Initial tinkering activity assigned: Use solar energy to light an LED.

Customised tinkering activities(learning pathway) generated by Artificial Intelligence in case of successful completion of assigned activities.

1. Use solar energy to run a DC motor 
2. Use solar energy to light an LED and run a DC motor 
3. Use solar energy to light an LED and run a DC motor controlled by a switch 
4. Use solar energy to light an LED and run a DC motor, connect two solar panels in series 
5. Use solar energy to light an LED and run a DC motor, connect two solar panels in parallel

Students progress doing such tinkering activities and take up real-world challenges like, "Use solar energy generated from 1 kW solar panels to run 3 computers, 2 tube lights and 2 fans". 

Students collaborate with partner organisations while solving these problems.

Salient features include:

• Forms and Reports - School/Student/Tinkering Activity / Mentor / Partner /Competitions/Courses/Team/Projects
• Student/Competition/tinkering activity dashboards
• Task tracking for lab incharges
• Chat functionality for students, in-charges and mentors

These features help incharges of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) to generate, assign, track tinkering activities for students. They could also manage various competitions, courses, and partner organisations This helps improve overall efficiency in managing the lab.

Here is the link to HamaraLabs product demo:

https://youtu.be/_LF2n5ImDQY

HamaraLabs can serve around 160 million high school students across India, who currently face significant challenges in accessing quality experiential learning opportunities. Many of these students don't have access to well-equipped labs, dedicated mentors or resources to perform hands-on activities. 

HamaraLabs will address this need by:

1. Providing a scalable platform for customised tinkering activities:The digital platform will generate tailored, curriculum-aligned tinkering activities that cater to the diverse needs and learning levels of high school students across India.
   
2. Democratising access to experiential learning resources:
   By offering a repository of tinkering activities(learning pathway), HamaraLabs will bridge the gap in access to practical learning resources, empowering students from all backgrounds to engage in hands-on exploration.
   
3. Fostering self-directed and personalised learning: The platform will allow students to explore tinkering activities at their own pace, catering to their individual interests and learning styles, promoting self-directed and personalised learning experiences.
   
4. Enhancing conceptual understanding and skill development:
   Through tinkering activities, students will have opportunities to apply theoretical concepts in practical settings, strengthening their understanding and developing valuable skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
   
5. Promoting inclusivity and equity in education:
   By providing a digitally accessible platform, HamaraLabs will democratise access to experiential learning resources, ensuring that students from diverse backgrounds and regions have equal opportunities to engage in tinkering activities.

Phase 1 of our solution started by catering to around 10 million students utilising Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). ATLs are present in 10,000 high schools across India.

Reference - https://aim.gov.in/atl.php

These ATL students already have infrastructure to support their experiential learning. HamaraLabs is making them use this infrastructure to its full potential.

HamaraLabs founding team has been volunteering as "Mentors of change" for the past 6 years with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) that handles 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs across India. Thus we have been part of the problem to understand the underlying problems in running these labs. 

Reference - Mentor India program - https://aim.gov.in/mentor-of-change.php

We are able to utilise high school students attending these labs to develop HamaraLabs digital solution. We convinced OpenGroup and its partner company IBM to take this problem statement for large scale implementation using Enterprise Architecture practices.

As a "Regional Mentor of Change" I have the visibility of ATLs across our state and the neighbouring states. Apart from mentoring students, I participate as Jury member in various hackathons. These opportunities gave me access to discuss problems with various stakeholders in ATL ecosystem like students, ATL in-charges, school management, district and state education authorities, parents, Industries etc. 

We have the privilege of access to this ATL ecosystem while iterating through design thinking process of building the solution. This definitely helped us to customise the solution to the specific stakeholder needs.

I worked as consultant with UNESCO MGIEP(Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) training teachers across the world on digital pedagogies and tools for teachers. This experience helped me to understand painpoints of teachers in implementing digital solutions.

We developed the key modules in HamaraLabs that can digitally handle generation/assignment/tracking/reporting of tinkering activities, courses and competitions.

We also tested the usage of generative artificial intelligence models( Microsoft Phi 2 / Llama 2 models) and found the generated tinkering activities to be fit for use by high school students. Using these generative AI models we are generating the tinkering activities but not automatically assigning to students. We are manually verifying the content before assigning them to students. 

HamaraLabs served 500+ students attending Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). These high school students worked on specific tinkering activities aligned to their aspiration, assigned and tracked which assisted their experiential learning journey. These students attended around 20 competitions, learn around 30 courses, competed with graduation level students and won prizes.

They got connected with companies like BIS(Bureau of Indian Standards), Zoho Inc, Hack Club, Dell Technologies, Andhra University, Andhra Medical Technology Zone etc. So, they now have the opportunity to discuss their problems/solutions with industries/corporates and collaborate while solving real-world problems. 

This is helping them to be better equip with relevant skills needed to be job-ready or to pursue higher studies.

We need support in reaching out to massive community of high school students across India first and eventually beyond our country. 

Any marketing effort that we are trying is consuming heavy resources in terms of time and money. We want support to understand doing marketing and also sustain financially during this journey. Hence we are looking to get mentorship from domain experts.

HamaraLabs generates personalised and customised tinkering activities at scale to serve millions of students to help in their experiential learning progression. 

It offers internships for high school students in Industries/corporates.

Majority of solutions in market address imparting Information Technology skills with step-by-step guidance. HamaraLabs addresses applied sciences discipline. 

In India, there is a perception on science subject as "theoretical" and abstract in nature due to insufficient exposure to practical applications and experimental aspects of these subjects, making them appear less appealing or "hands-on". Mass utilisation of HamaraLabs can demystify this perception.

Inputs:

• Develop a digital platform for generating personalised and customised tinkering activities.
• Facilitate partner between high school students and Industries/corporates

Activities:

• Provide personalised tinkering activities tailored to individual interests, learning styles, and academic backgrounds.
• Offer customised tinkering activities aligned with curriculum, available resources, and regional/cultural contexts.
• Facilitate peer learning and collaboration through project sharing.
• Establish partnerships and collaborations with Industries, corporates, educational institutions, NGOs, and government agencies.

Outputs:

• Increased access to hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for high school students.
• Enhanced conceptual understanding and practical application of theoretical concepts.
• Improved engagement, motivation, and interest in applied sciences subjects among students.
• Development of essential skills (problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, hands-on competencies).

Immediate outcomes:

• Narrowing the educational divide and promoting equity in access to practical learning opportunities.
• Reduced stress levels due to clarity in science concepts
• Fostering a generation of curious, skilled, and innovative individuals.
• Improved academic performance and knowledge retention in applied sciences.

Intermediate outcomes:

• Enhanced interest and pursuit of applied sciences fields among high school students.
• Increased collaboration and knowledge-sharing among educational institutions.
• Promoting a culture of innovation and practical learning.

Final outcomes:

• Empowering students with skills that are needed to thrive in both their community and a complex world, including social-emotional competencies, problem-solving, and literacy around new technologies such as AI.
• Empowering high school students to contribute to India's scientific and technological development.
• Fostering a more equitable and inclusive society through equal opportunities for practical learning and skill development.

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes experiential learning to reform the current Indian education pattern and align it more with the globally accepted educational standard which would help students apply their knowledge in real-world situations. But due to the large-scale heterogeneity in Indian classrooms and other factors, teachers face challenges to cater the needs of all learners together.

Reference - https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/NEP_Final_English_0.pdf

At HamaraLabs, our overarching impact goal is to empower high school students across India, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds, by providing equitable access to practical and experiential learning opportunities in applied sciences. We aim to bridge the gap in hands-on learning experiences, fostering a generation of curious, skilled, and innovative individuals who can contribute to India's scientific and technological advancement.

To measure our progress towards this transformational impact, we have identified the following key impact goals and indicators:

1. Increase access to experiential learning resources:
   • Number of high school students reached through the HamaraLabs platform
   • Geographic distribution of students accessing the platform (urban, semi-urban, rural areas)
   • Socioeconomic diversity of the student user base
2. Enhance conceptual understanding and skill development:
   • Student performance and assessment scores in applied science subjects
   • Self-reported improvement in conceptual understanding and practical skills
   • Completion rates and engagement metrics for tinkering activities
3. Foster interest and pursuit in science fields:
   • Percentage of students expressing increased interest in science subjects and careers
   • Enrollment rates in science-related higher education programs or vocational training
   • Number of students participating in science fairs, competitions, or research projects
4. Promote educational equity and inclusion:
   • Representation of marginalized and underserved communities among platform users
   • Reduction in achievement gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds
   • Feedback from educators and stakeholders on the platform's impact on educational equity

To measure our progress, we employ a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including user analytics, assessment data. We also collaborated with educational institutions to conduct impact assessments.

By continuously monitoring these impact indicators and adjusting our strategies accordingly, we aim to ensure that HamaraLabs is making a tangible and transformative impact on the lives of high school students in India, empowering them with practical skills, fostering innovation, and contributing to the nation's scientific and technological growth.

HamaraLabs uses generative AI technology to generate personalised and customised tinkering activities as per student area of interest/aspiration.

We performed A/B testing using Microsoft Phi 2 and Llama 2 generative AI models. 

The web application is developed using React.JS, HTML & CSS for frontend development and Node.JS for backend development. It uses Firestore database from Google. Web app is hosted in Google Firebase.

Founding team - Full time - 2

Employees - Full time - 2

Employees - Part time - 3

Student Interns - Part time - 3

Raja Sekhar (me) - Volunteering with Atal Tinkering Labs for the past 6 years to understand the problem and solve manually.

Anupama Rani - Volunteering with Atal Tinkering Labs for past 2 yers. 

And working on developing and implementing HamaraLabs solution for the past 2 years.

We have an Interdisciplinary team of 6 employees. % out of these 6 employees are female. Along with them we have 3 high school student Interns who are key in developing the web application and incorporating the generative Artificial Intelligence.

80% of the team has direct access to Atal Tinkering Labs where we are deploying HamaraLabs. 

Apart from these, we have another 15 students from respective Atal Tinkering Labs helping to deploy HamaraLabs in their Labs.

Founding team(full time) along with student Interns spent more than 2 years in developing the solution.

HamaraLabs digital product primarily serves the students attending Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across India. 

Students and ATL In-charges are the consumers. Students get Internships in Industries/corporates by engaging in HamaraLabs. ATL incharges improve their productivity by using our solution.

School hosting the ATL is the customer.

Stakeholders holders access HamaraLabs product as a web application.

Key resources include AI developers and marketers. 

Key activities include generating tinkering activities, development & maintenance of web application, marketing&sales and adding more partners. 

Key partners are Atal Innovation Mission, Industries/Corporates offering internships to high school students.

We offer HamaraLabs product in open source using MIT License. Labs pay for maintaining the product on their behalf and for loading tinkering activity, courses and competitions data. We charge them monthly / annual subscription for the same.

Key costs include salaries to employees, customer acquisition and cloud services costs.

As of now we don't have paying customers. We are still in the process of connecting with Atal Innovation Mission to recommend our product to 10,000 Labs they funded across the country.

If we can convince labs to pay INR 500  i.e around $6 /month, our yearly revenue would be $6 * 10,000 * 12 = $ 720,000.

We want to sell individual tinkering activities with micro payments from parents of high school students to generate revenue in next 6 months.