Five innovative projects developed by students of AP Social Welfare Schools are among the 100 models selected in the second round of the Atal Innovation Marathon, organised by Atal Innovation Mission in collaboration with Niti Aayog and The Better India, to nurture innovation in young minds.
The marathon started last year drawing participation of 5,000 schoolchildren from across the country, who submitted 1,400 projects divided in eight categories-Clean Energy, Water Conservation and Management, Smart Mobility, Waste Management, Health Tech, Sustainable Development Goals, Agri Tech and Architecture and Design.
In the first round, 200 projects were short-listed and the selected students were asked to further refine their work and submit a business plan for it. Nine of these 200 models were from Andhra Pradesh schools and of them, six were developed by social welfare school children.
The selected projects in the second list include a cattle-alert system (in Agri-Tech category) by I.V. Mrudula, Ch. Maheswari and Divya of AP Social Welfare School, Peddapavani in Prakasam district, a low-cost multi-level dust indication in dust-bins (Waste Management) by E. Avilasha and K. Chandu Priya of social welfare school, Kovvuru in West Godavari district, a multi-purpose agriculture robot (Agri Tech) by G. Mounika, K.L.S.P. Varshini and Bharathi of AP Social Welfare Residential School Centre of Excellence, Visakhapatnam, an agriculture kit for sensing soil parameters (Agri Tech) by B. Aswini and A. Jayalakshmi of the social welfare school, Komarada at Vizianagaram and an equipment to help the deaf hear (Sustainable Development Goals) by T. Priyanka, M. Sandhya Sri and D. Hemalatha of the Social Welfare Residential School, Tallapalem in Visakhapatnam.
Rewards galore
The young innovators comprising the top 100 teams have exciting time ahead. They are being rewarded with a 15-day internship programme designed specifically to allow the children to get real world and hands on experience.
This is in addition to a three-month-long module developed for them which will take them through an immersive journey to take their ideas forward. The selected team members will also get to visit the General Electric (GE) Innovation Centres and manufacturing units.
Besides cash awards, the students will get a prototype kit to further develop their innovation for the final event-Innovation Marathon Conclave, a one-day event where they will pitch their ideas to an esteemed panel of judges. The top three teams will receive a prize money of ₹6 lakh.
“The children are all excited and we are yet to receive communication about the commencement of the internship programme that is bound to further enrich their innovative streak,” said U. Vinay Babu, Social Empowerment Fellow and in-charge of the Atal Tinkering Labs in AP Social Welfare Residential Educational Institution Society (APSWREIS).
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – July 28th, 2019