Many of us have seen children and teens enjoying communicating with devices that offer cloud-based voice services such as Amazon. But how many of us are teaching our kids about the basics and foundations of such technology beyond using devices? This is growing with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). This is the first generation that has With few technical labs, scarce resources, and a lack of skilled trainers for technical experiments, schools are also unable to impart this knowledge in regular classes. Since most Indian schools and colleges are not well equipped to provide their students with a good foundation of these technologies, ‘Guruji AIR Education’, an educational startup founded in Symbiosis TBI, is Bridging the gap by providing experiential learning for intelligence, the Internet of Things. Robotics for students (AIR education). Founded by Pratap Pawar, the startup is on a mission to bring AI, IoT and robotics to the school level as an integral part of mainstream education.
first step
Pratap hails from Bhigwan, a small town about 100 kilometers from Pune city, and has now settled in Mumbai and Pune. Passionate about experiential learning and hands-on experimentation, Pratap is a graduate of Mumbai. bottom. Pratap has a master’s degree in electronic engineering from the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai.
Pratap says: Today’s students are the first generation to grow up in a world with artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, however, government and private institutions have failed to add this technology to school curricula, and so these skills are still not being taught. To build an innovative India, these skills must be taught at school level. Guruji Education teaches and provides school students with hands-on experience in Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and Robotics (AIR Education). ”
“Rural schools are proving to be underprivileged and deprived of all future technology. I have spent nearly 12 years working with these technologies and feel that every student should have such an opportunity.Guruji Education makes these technologies available to everyone and We want to help build an innovative India.Technology is truly magical because it can change the lives of our students,” he said.
Education system review
Pratap says: His 6th grade in India practices experiments, but his engineering students in India do not. The best students in our country’s top universities are unaware of technical concepts and practical knowledge. If this situation is prevalent in the best laboratories, what is happening in rural areas?”
“After graduating, I started to visit schools and exhibitions to understand the reality of the earth. Students from grades 5 and 6 to undergraduates should receive at least a basic education in emerging technologies, from which Guruji AIR Education was born. We provide free AIR education to teachers and students, and similarly these technologies are provided to private organizations for a minimal fee,” he said.
“Traditionally, the role of the ‘guru’ was more than just a teacher. A guru is one who leads a student towards the light that dispels darkness. Not only are they godly figures, they are also role models, mentors, counselors, and sources of inspiration. AIR, on the other hand, stands for his AI, IOT and Robotics,” said Pratap.
MVP
Starting by visiting exhibitions and educating students through these channels, Pratap has reached over 8,000 students to date. These students originally came from Mumbai city and its environs. These visits and workshops have taught Pratap a lot.
Sharing what he learned, Pratap said: I thought that students should experiment with technology in schools, just like science experiments in schools. So we lobbied the school to allow such an experiment to be conducted in the school. There were also many problems at the school level. Some schools did not have enough free space to conduct such experiments, while others said they lacked the basic knowledge to carry out these activities. Some schools demanded a permanent infrastructure for students to learn to experiment with technology. ”
“Based on this feedback, we decided to create a toolkit, a box the size of a suitcase. We call it the Guruji AIR Box or Kit. It is unique in that it allows you to conduct the above experiments.The itbox is equipped with IoT, so whenever a student conducts an experiment with the box, the school administrator and Guruji’s database are get update about it this iot box is also patent pending we did this because one of the implementation issues is the school spends hundreds of thousands of rupees on buying machines etc. However, the use of this device will decline in the years to come, as only 20% of students use such machines and other students, including teachers, ignore them. We didn’t want the box to be one of those kits, so we hooked it up to IoT to get real-time updates.”
“From now on, we will educate students through this AIR box, not through exhibitions. In September 2022, about a year and a half after we started working, we released a minimum viable product (MVP). Given that we had to take certain precautions such as voltage issues. We are still in the testing phase and plan to launch the final packaged and sold product in February 2023. We keep the cost of a box lower than the price of personal computers and laptops.It takes about ¥Rs 50,000,” Pratap said.
Empowering schools for innovation
The Guruji AIR Box Kit helps students get hands-on experience with real-world applications such as home automation and agricultural automation models. While designing the kit, Pratap and his team met with over 100 of his principals and teachers and conducted tests with their students.
Commenting on Box’s innovation, Pratap said: We are on a mission to create student innovators who will apply for more patents for their innovative products and solutions. The Guruji AIR Education team will help these students to apply for patents and get them in full possession throughout the process. ”
“We aim to reach up to 10,000 schools by 2025 and maintain the Guruji AIR box so that students can innovate. So far, we have successfully assisted three students in the patent application process,” said Pratap.
Global expansion
After creation ¥Pratap has grown into a $10 million ($1 million) company in just 10 months and is now planning global expansion. “We want to empower schools around the world to be technologically innovative. We host an annual Guruji AIR event where students can witness the Metaverse and experience augmented and virtual reality. We want to share this experience with students around the world.With this vision, Guruji AIR Education will start operations in Nigeria on January 26. In this first global project of our company, we will have 2.5 We will cover 65 schools from 5 states in Nigeria in a month.We have already dispatched AIR boxkits and sent 3 students to host workshops with hands-on experience such as AI, IoT, robotics, etc. trained and brought these skills to the school level as an integral part of mainstream education.”
At the national level, Mr Pratap said: I want my students to experiment at home too.An online course costs about Rs 100,000, but our kit is only ¥15,000. The kit also has real-world applications such as healthcare monitoring systems, video lectures, and personal assistants assigned to teach technical aspects. We aim to reach up to 20,000 students with this private kit. The kit is now manufactured at his Symbiosis TBI facility. ”
