Most of you must have seen kids or teens enjoying communicating with devices providing Cloud-based voice services by the likes of Amazon. But, apart from using the devices, how many of us teach children about the basics or foundation of such technologies? This is the first generation that is growing up with artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). With very few technological labs, insufficient resources, lack of skilled trainers for technological experiments, schools are also unable to impart this knowledge in their regular classes. Since most Indian schools and colleges are not adequately equipped to give a good foundation in these technologies to students, “Guruji AIR Education”, an education startup incubated at Symbiosis TBI, is bridging the gap by providing experiential learning of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and robotics (A.I.R. Education) to students. Founded by Pratap Pawar, the startup is on the mission of bringing AI, IoT, robotics to the school level as an integral part of mainstream education.
The first step
Pratap hails from a small town Bhigwan, situated around 100 kilometres from Pune city, and has now settled in Mumbai and Pune. Passionate about experiential learning and experimenting hands-on, Pratap did his high school diploma in electrical, electronics and communications engineering from Government Polytechnic Awasari Pune and Bachelor of Engineering from Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Pratap pursued his Master in Electronics Engineering from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Mumbai.
Pratap said, “India will be the next edtech investment hub after countries like the US, China, and Indian students and employees will be the best for the emerging frontiers of AI, IoT, AR (augmented reality), and robotics. The students of today are the first generation to grow up in a world with artificial intelligence. But unfortunately, the government and private institutions have failed to make this addition to the school curriculum, and hence still do not teach these technologies. To build an innovative India, it is necessary to teach these technologies at the school level. Guruji education teaches and provides the handling experience of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and robotics (A.I.R Education) to school students.”
“Rural schools have been proved to be underprivileged and deprived of all upcoming technologies. I was fortunate enough to get early exposure and hands-on experience on emerging technologies like embedded systems and IoT. I have spent almost 12 years on these technologies and hence I felt that all students should get such opportunities. Guruji Education hopes to provide these technologies to all and help build an innovative India. Technology is truly magical for schoolstudents, as it can change their lives,” he said.
Overhauling education system
Pratap said, “Western and other countries like China are providing early foundational education related to emerging technologies to schoolchildren. The sixth-grade students there are getting to experiment hands-on, which our engineering students in India are not getting. Best students from top colleges in our country are unaware of the technological concepts and practical knowledge. If this situation prevails in best institutes, what would be happening in rural areas?”
“After graduating, I started visiting schools and exhibitions to understand the ground reality. The scenario is not satisfactory and hence I realised this is a potential market to catch on. Beginning right from students of grade 5 and grade 6 to undergraduates should get at least some foundational education about emerging technologies and that’s where Guruji AIR Education was born. Guruji education gives free of cost A.I.R education to government primary and secondary school teachers and students. Similarly, these technologies are provided to private organisations at a bare minimum charge,” he said.
“Traditionally, the role of ‘guru’ was more than simply a teacher. A guru is one who takes their students towards the light dispelling the darkness. They are a reverential figure as well as role model, mentor, counsellor, and a source of inspiration. We educate the younger generations about technology and hence we thought of the word ‘Guruji’. Whereas, AIR stands for AI, IOT and robotics,” Pratap said.
MVP
Starting with visiting exhibitions and educating students through those channels, Pratap has reached out to more than eight thousand students so far. These students were initially from and around Mumbai city. These visits and workshops led to lot of learnings for Pratap.
Sharing his learnings, Pratap said, “We realised one-day workshops for students are not working well. Like science experiments in school, we thought students should also have technology experiments at schools. So, we approached schools to allow us to conduct such experiments in schools. There were many problems at school level too. Some schools did not have enough free space to conduct such experiments, while others said they lacked basic knowledge to carry out these activities. Some schools demanded a permanent infrastructure where students will learn to experiment with technologies.”
“With this feedback, we decided to make a toolkit – a box the size of a suitcase. We call it Guruji AIR box or kit. The box is unique in a way that students can conduct more than 100 experiments with the box apparatus. It box is equipped with IoT. Hence, whenever any student conducts an experiment using the box, the school administration as well as the Guruji database will receive a live update about it. We have applied for a patent for this IoT box too. We did this because, one of the execution problems is that, schools spend lakhs of rupees on purchasing machines, etc., but the utilisation of this apparatus reduces in subsequent years. We found out that only 20 per cent students use such machines while others, including teachers, neglect them. We did not want our box to become one of such kits and hence we connected it with IoT to get real-time updates.”
“We will now educate students through this AIR box instead of exhibitions. We launched the minimum viable product (MVP) in September 2022, almost 1.5 years after initiating the work. We had to take certain precautions like voltage issues considering kids will be using it. We are still in testing stage and would launch the final packaged and marketed product in February 2023. We have kept the cost of 1 box less than what a personal computer or laptop will cost. Schools can also afford our product because developing an AI lab costs around ₹5 lakh,” Pratap said.
Empowering schools for technological innovation
The Guruji AIR box kit helps students get hands-on experience on real life applications like home automation or agricultural automation models. While designing the kit, Pratap and his team met more than 100 school principals, teachers and conducted trials with them along with students.
Explaining about the box innovation, Pratap said, “We are encouraging students to solve societal problems using electronics and technology. We are on a mission to create such student innovators who will further file patents for their innovative products and solutions. Guruji AIR Education team will help these students to file the patents and completely handhold them during the entire process.”
“We are aiming to reach up to ten thousand schools till 2025 and keep the Guruji AIR boxes there for students to innovate. Further, we are aiming to have 1,000 patents to be filed by students from these schools. So far, we have been successful in helping 3 students in the patent filing process,” Pratap said.
Global expansion
After creating a ₹10-lakh ($1 million) company in just 10 months, Pratap is now planning to expand globally. He said, “We want to empower schools across the world and make them technologically innovative. We organise Guruji AIR event every year where students can witness metaverse, experience augmented reality and virtual reality. We want to share this experience with students across the globe. With this vision, Guruji AIR Education is launching its operations on January 26 in Nigeria. In this first global project of our company, we will be covering 65 schools from five states of Nigeria in next 2.5 months. We have already dispatched the AIR box kit and trained three students to host workshops with live experience of AI, IoT, robotics etc. and bring these technologies at school level as an integral part of mainstream education.”
At domestic level, Pratap said, “We have designed a special kit for students to use it at home. We want students to experiment at home too. Online courses costs around one lakh rupees, whereas our kit will be available at just ₹15,000. The kit will also have real-life applications like healthcare monitoring systems, video lectures and a personal assistant assigned for teaching technological aspects. We are aiming to reach up to 20,000 students with this private kit. Presently, the kits are being produced at the Symbiosis TBI facility.”
