School heads told to send applications of students

Jalandhar, October 20

The state government has written to heads of the schools having Atal Tinkering Labs to send applications of students on Government Citizen Engagement Portal at the earliest as Atal Innovation Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog, Government of India, will be organising contests to commemorate the 150th Gandhi Jayanti, which started on October 2 this year.

The circular forwarded to the schools with Atal Tinkering Labs, reads, “As this year marks the 150th anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, and NICEF have joined hands to launch an innovation challenge — The Gandhian Challenge. Children from nearly 8,000 Atal Tinkering Lab (ATLs) schools will make Mahatma Gandhi’s values — truth, non-violence, service and leadership — come alive by designing and innovating for a new world built on these powerful guiding principles.

The circular further reads, “The aim is to enable children to read, understand and envision a new world inspired by the beloved ‘Bapu’ and seek solutions to address the challenges being faced by the planet. Also, the winners of the challenge will be invited to New Delhi and will interact with heads of the NITI Aayog, and UNICEF and spend a day in their offices.”

The call for the application had opened on October 2 and would go on for three weeks. The challenge is open to all students from Class VI onwards. The circular states the application can be submitted only by the schools affiliated to the Atal Tinkering Labs. However, students from other schools can reach out to ATLs in their vicinity to apply.

There are two themes for this challenge. The first one is Art and Innovation, which would involve letters, poems, videos, photos and painting. The second one is science, technology and innovation, which will have robotics, sensors, 3D printers, etc. — TNS