By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, DEC 26, 2017: NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide in schools, universities and industry, has selected additional 1500 Schools for establishment of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). The addition of these schools will give a major boost to realize the vision of the mission to ‘Cultivate One Million children in India as the Innovators of tomorrow'. With this announcement of the new Atal Tinkering Labs, AIM, has selected 2441 Schools across India to establish ATLs to date since it began its operations over a year ago.

ATLs are innovation play workspaces for students between Grade VI to Grade XII, stimulating innovations combining science & technology. These open-ended innovation workspaces equipped with state of the art technologies like 3D printers, Robotics, Sensor Technology Kits, Internet of Things, miniaturized Electronics etc enable the students to learn and solve local community problems using emerging Technologies. Students are encouraged to explore and experience Design Thinking and Innovation, using a do-it-yourself approach, and develop innovative solutions to India's social, community or economic problems

The young students who have already got exposure to creative technology platforms to nurture their curiosity, creativity and imagination from ATLs in their schools, have already started designing prototype solutions and started creative projects such as better irrigation management, waste management, and sensor based solutions using IOT devices and Robotics in their Labs. ATLs will help our country to transform Young students to Young Innovators. This will be big opportunity for students to build the ‘New India' of their dreams by 2022. The active participation by Schools and their students in ATL will power the transformations of ‘New India' through their creativity and innovation. The labs are designed to spur the spark of creativity, and go beyond regular curriculum and text book learning. The labs will also enable students explore skills of future such as design and computational thinking, adaptive learning and artificial intelligence.

The 2441 schools have been selected from over 25000+ applications till date from two round of applications. It will enhance the coverage of ATLs to over 98% Smart cities, 93%+ of the districts (655+ districts). Its spread is evident from the fact that there will now be at least one or more ATLs in 34 States and Union Territories across the country.

Lauding the newly selected 1500 Schools, the Mission Director of ATL, Mr. R. Ramanan said, “As part of our mission to ‘Transform India into an Innovative Country' the active engagement of ATLs is extremely important and far reaching in its implications” He has also appealed the new schools to comply speedily with the requirements as per ATL Guidelines for getting the funds for establishment and also ensure commencement of regular ATL Operations from the coming new academic sessions.

The ATLs will touch upon the all sections of our society to make the vision of the Prime Minister to build a ‘Creative India, an Innovative India'.