Kalinganagar : ‘Kaushalyan’ – digital mobile skill development lab, a joint initiative of Tata Steel Foundation and HP Inc was launched at Tomka High School, Danagadi in Jajpur district of Odisha on Wednesday. Er. Pritiranjan Gharai, Hon’ble Minister of Rural Development, Skill Development and Technical Education, Government of Odisha, officiated the event in the presence of officials from Tata Steel, Tata Steel Foundation, HP India and the ‘Society for All Round Development’ (SARD).
Kaushalyan is an initiative aimed at bringing computers on wheels, and extending the benefits of technology to students, teachers and local youth. It will also create linkage with Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnic institutions. Students benefiting from ‘Kaushalyan’ will also gain exposure to national portals like DIKSHA, SWAYAM, eSkill India, and more.
The mobile computer lab will revolutionize learning for students from class 6th to 12th and youth from underserved backgrounds by offering market-relevant digital skills, aligning with the vocational education agenda of the ‘National Education Policy’ of 2020.
Addressing the students, Er Pritiranjan Gharai focused on equal importance to skilling as schooling to be successful. He also appreciated the efforts of Tata Steel Foundation, HP and SARD for the initiative.
Expressing his thoughts on the collaboration, Captain Amitabh, Head, Skill Development, Tata Steel Foundation, said, “This partnership reflects our commitment to addressing the digital skill development gap in underserved areas. In Jharkhand, our Kaushalyan project currently trains over 600 school children and youth annually. The new initiative with HP World On Wheels aims to reach approximately 400 school children and youth annually from in and around Kalinganagar and Bamnipal, focusing on schools lacking computer labs or sufficient teaching staff for computer education. This expansion aligns with the vocationalization of education proposed by NEP 2020.”
‘HP World on Wheels’, is part of HP’s commitment towards digital education. Under this initiative, HP provides self-contained, Internet-enabled digital education and learning labs in PPP model to drive digital education, entrepreneurship training, and other citizen services in small towns and rural India. The Lab will allow individuals to gain access to IT literacy programs and connect to different government programs.
The ‘Kaushalyan’ initiative employs a sustainable and inclusive model of education using information technology. As part of the initiative, HP has provided ‘HP World On Wheels’, the high-tech bus as part of its CSR engagement, while Tata Steel Foundation will support the project’s operating expenses and SARD (Society for All Round Development), a reputed NGO, will implement the project on the ground, piloting it in Jajpur and Keonjhar districts of Odisha.
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