Department of School Education, Government of Nagaland and Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, concluded a two-day engagement under the AIM 2.0 Frontier Region Programme, comprising a State-level consultation in Kohima on September 16 and visited to two existing Atal Tinkering Labs on September 17.
Lend A Hand India supported the engagement as the programme implementation partner.
The State-level Frontier Program Consultation on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, held at De Oriental, Kohima, brought together more than 70 participants from government departments, schools, higher and technical education institutions, industry, start-ups, incubation centres and civil-society organisations.
The consultation was chaired by L Jamithung Lotha, IAS, State Mission Director, Samagra Shiksha, Nagaland. In his opening remarks, Lotha encouraged participants to provide practical inputs based on the needs and operating conditions of Nagaland’s schools.
Shubham Gupta, Innovation Lead, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, presented the context and objectives of the Frontier Region Programme.
Asangla Imti, Commissioner and Secretary, Department of School Education and SCERT, delivered the keynote address. She highlighted the importance of developing curiosity, practical skills and problem-solving abilities among students. She also emphasised the need to connect Nagaland’s existing knowledge in agriculture, bamboo, crafts and community life with scientific thinking and modern tools.
Prateek Deshmukh, Program Director, Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog addressed the gathering on AIM’s vision for strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship in frontier regions.
Vineet Kumar, IAS, Additional Secretary, Finance and IDAN spoke about the importance of credit-linkage awareness and a supportive ecosystem for young entrepreneurs. He also highlighted the increasing number of approvals being extended to young entrepreneurs under the Chief Minister’s Micro Finance Initiative (CMMFI).
Lend A Hand India presented an overview of its work in school-based skill education and its experience in supporting Atal Tinkering Labs across the country. The presentation was made by Richard Asoso, Program Lead and Arundhati Jadhav, ATL Program Lead.
The consultation included wide-ranging discussions on infrastructure, teacher capacity, locally relevant areas of innovation and the wider ecosystem required to sustain innovation in schools.
Participants highlighted the importance of regular mentorship, internships and stronger linkages between schools, higher education institutions and the industry ecosystem. They also discussed how industry, start-ups, technical institutions and government departments could support students in developing, testing and improving their ideas.
The discussions explored possible pathways through which promising student innovators could progress from school-level tinkering to the State’s existing and proposed incubation centres.
Suggestions included developing a technical consortium of institutions and experts, strengthening mentorship networks and organising a Nagaland Innovation Hackathon around challenges relevant to the State.
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Representatives from several government departments, including Industries and Commerce, Startup Nagaland, Science and Technology, Information Technology and Communication, IDAN, Agriculture, Planning, Higher Education and Technical Education contributed to the discussions. Incubation centres, higher education institutions, technical institutions and several start-ups also shared their perspectives on building a stronger innovation ecosystem for young people in Nagaland.
The discussions emphasised that innovation in schools should extend beyond infrastructure and equipment. Students should be encouraged to identify and address local challenges related to agriculture, disaster preparedness, water, waste, energy, livelihoods and other community needs.
Student exhibits displayed at the venue demonstrated the practical and innovative work already being undertaken in Nagaland’s schools. These included a multipurpose agricultural tool developed by students of Loyola Higher Secondary School, Jakhama, and a smart-home system developed by students of PM SHRI Government High School, Kiruphema.
In his closing remarks, Shashank Pratap Singh, IAS, Principal Director, Directorate of School Education, urged participants to think beyond the establishment of infrastructure. He highlighted the need to focus innovation activities on local problems, including challenges in agriculture and disaster management, and called for stronger convergence between activities, curriculum and pedagogy. He also emphasised linking practical activities with post-learning assessments so that innovation becomes part of the wider learning process.
Following the workshop, the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog team also met the Advisor for School Education and discussed the opportunities presented by the Frontier Region Programme for Nagaland.
On September 17, AIM NITI Aayog team visited the Atal Tinkering Labs at PM SHRI Government High School, Kiruphema, Kohima, and Hollotoli School, Dimapur. The visits were undertaken to understand how the existing laboratories are functioning, interact with school leaders, teachers and students, and gather feedback on implementation, equipment use, mentoring, training and student participation.
The Frontier Region Programme seeks to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship in the country’s border, remote and aspirational regions. Nationally, the programme proposes the establishment of 2,500 new Atal Tinkering Labs.
For Nagaland, 93 additional Atal Tinkering Labs and two Atal Incubation Centres have been proposed. The proposals are presently at the consultation stage. Inputs gathered through the State consultation and school visits will contribute to developing an approach suited to Nagaland’s geography, schools, local knowledge and emerging innovation ecosystem.
