Annual report 2012 13

ANNUAL REPORT 2012 - 2013

nd

No.79/26, 2 Cross, Ramya Reddy Layout, Benson Town, Bangalore – 560046 Phone: 41124132/23545054, E-mail: agastyaadmin@gmail.com Website: www.agastya.org

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. From The Chairman’s Desk 2. Agastya’s Mission, Vision, and Core Principles 3. On-going & New Programs a. Mobile Labs & Science Centres. b. Science And Innovation Fairs i. Jignyasa/Anveshana 2013 ii. Mega Science Fairs iii. Intel Vigyan Yatra c. Young Instructor Leader (YIL) Program i. Young Instructor Leader (YIL) ii. Intel-IRIS National Fair 2012 iii. Case Study on IRIS winners iv. Music and the Mind v. Design For Change (DFC) d. Lab in a Box (LIB) e. Teacher Training f.

Karnataka Ecosystem.

g. New Programs i. iMobile Lab ii. Lab on a Bike (LOB) iii. Tod-Fod-Jod iv. Make Your Own Lab

4. Knowledge Partnerships i. Dr Abdul Kalam’s Visit ii. HP Catalyst Initiative iii. Gifted Children Program iv. Franklin Olin Partnership v. Yale GSA Program with Agastya vi. London Business School Program with Agastya. vii. Fellowship Program viii. Impact Assessment by Best Practices Foundation. ix. Unveiling of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s Bust at IISc x. Agastya’s participation in other events.

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5. Agastya People a. Human Resources

6. Campus Activities a. On-going & New Programs i. Operation Vasantha ii. Ecology Program iii. Media Lab Program iv. Art Program v. Camps@Campus Program vi. Astronomy Program vii. TLM Program b. New Academic Programs i. Internal Capacity Building ii. Quizzing iii. Constructivism c. Infrastructure i. Guru Gruha Astronomy Centre ii. VisionWorks iii. Campus Network Infrastructure iv. In The Works 1. IT & Library, Chemistry Buildings & Butterfly Park 2. Auditorium , Arts Centre & Generator Room

7. Important Partners a. Donors b. Trustees & Advisors c. Foundations d. Government e. Educational Institutions

8. Plans for the Coming Year a. Scale Up & Replication i. Geographical ii. Programs b. Hard & Soft Infrastructure. c. Fund Raising

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Dear Friend, Agastya’s ambitious vision of a creative India can only be achieved if individuals, organizations and communities across the country embrace the creative spirit.

Agastya realized early on that to spark curiosity and nurture creativity in others we must become a creative and innovative organization. I am happy to report that the past year demonstrates a number of excellent examples of creative and innovative services and solutions delivered by Agastya to the children, teachers and communities that we serve. Agastya encourages discovery and experimentation without fear. The Lab-on-a-Bike, Make Your Own Lab and Tod Fod Jod (with support from the National Innovation Council) programs are only a few examples of the positive outcome of this process. The Operation Vasantha program has helped us to connect deeply with village communities at multiple levels and set the stage for the building of a new cadre of young change makers across India. The iMobileLab program is an exciting initiative to promote blended learning. The Music and the Mind program is a wonderful initiative to infuse and integrate sensibilities across disciplines through music. These initiatives have the potential to transform learning and education. While not all of our programs and experiments will succeed, our attempts ‘to push the envelope of innovation’ teach us valuable lessons, and inspire us to reach higher.

Year

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012 -13

Total Exposures

12,00,865

17,54,346

22,79,188

24,91,938

36,10,000

Children

10,43,608

14,38,963

19,64,546

19,31,011

29,66,406

Teachers

38,729

48,322

46,704

72,733

89,594

1,18,528

2,67,061

2,67,938

4,88,194

5,54,000

26,259

18,202

16,312

22,357

33,780

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28

28

28

30

Number of Mobile Labs

32

46

50

62

72

Number of Staff (Incl. Casual)

252

410

377

433

489

Community Number of Young Instructors Number of Science Centres

My colleagues and I are immensely grateful for the opportunity we have to serve our stakeholders of children, teachers, community members, governments, social investors and NGO partners, with passion, energy and conviction.

With Warm Regards, Ramji Raghavan.

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AGASTYA’S MISSION, VISION & CORE PRINCIPLES Agastya’s mission continues to focus on sparking curiosity and nurturing creativity.

This is done through experiential, hands-on science education and a force multiplier effect achieved through teacher education. The accent is on scalable learning methods which are sustainable and environment friendly as well as making learning fun, useful and accessible. We believe we run one of the world’s largest nongovernmental science programs in terms of reach and richness.

This year we have added an edge to our mission by including programs to ‘instil confidence’ besides curiosity and creativity among the children. We have also initiated programs which focus on ‘humanity’ which will be refined in the coming years and help us achieve our vision.

Agastya’s vision is a creative India of ‘tinkerers, creators, and solution-seekers, humane, anchored and connected’. This is being achieved through carrying out our mission among millions of disadvantaged children and teachers across 11 out of the 28 states in India, with plans to cover more states in the coming years.

The following diagram represents Agastya’s core working principles to achieve our mission and vision.

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ONGOING & NEW PROGRAMS

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MOBILE LABS Agastya’s most visible and far reaching program is the Mobile Lab outreach. This continued to grow in strength by launching 10 new Mobile Labs.

This year also saw the launch of the iMobile Lab, which also enables digital learning using the blended classroom approach. We also extended the Mobile Lab program to officially commence and implement the more widely reachable and extensive Lab in a Box (LIB) and the Lab on a Bike (LOB) Programs.

KUPPAM

HIGHLIGHTS SOME NEW LAUNCHES    

BPCL DELL (iMobile Lab) L&T (Multiple Locations) SYNOPSYS

   

72 MOBILE LABS 11 STATES 30,000 Exposures per Mobile Lab P.A. iMobile Lab 7

SCIENCE CENTRES The Science Centre functions as a hub for outreach programs. Here larger and diverse interactive models and experiments than those carried in the Mobile Lab are available for students and teachers from nearby localities to experience and learn from. Besides higher level activities such as Teacher Training, Young Instructor Leader Program etc are carried out from the Science Centres.

At the end of this year we were operating 30 Science Centres and 7000 (approximately) exposure per month A Core Science Activity Centre being constructed

HIGHLIGHTS 

30 SCIENCE CENTRES

SOME NEW LAUNCHES   

BPCL RAMAKRISHNA MUTT SHRI RAM SCHOOLS 8

SCIENCE AND INNOVATION FAIRS

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JIGNYASA 2013 (www.jignyasa.org) Jignyasa, A state level model making competition to encourage scientific and creative temper among children, was held in Hubli, between Jan 9th – Jan 12th 2013.

It was a unique “Edubition” (Education Exhibition) with a host of Scientific Innovations to everybody’s delight. Apart from this, visitors also had the chance to look at other Agastya programs like Intel Iris Projects, Art Lab, Lab in a Box (LIB) and also a Creative Corner called “Make your Own Lab”.

Several more donors continued to pledge money towards Agastya’s venture even in the coming year. Like last year, in 2013 too, there was an extended Press and Media coverage of the event.

Summary   

2,560 synopses ,600 participants .18 districts 180 science models showcased at the event 15,163 visitors.

Some Noteworthy Projects      

Seed Quality Enhancement Generation of Electricity by Canal Eco Air Conditioner Making Plastic Bricks Lifting Water without Fuel Flying Man

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ANVESHANA 2013 (www.anveshana.org.)

Anveshana 2013 was bigger, better and followed the success of 2012. The participation and team spirit between the College students and the School students they worked with was very high. Continued sponsorship for the event by Synopsys and an enthusiastic team led by Agastya ensured resounding success of the unique collaborative program of scientific enquiry that Anveshana represents.

With the aim of bridging the knowledge gap between students, college seniors act as Mentors to school students as they work in teams to create science models. Agastya uses the new models produced to teach the rural community in the future.

Summary  

120 out of 180 Karnataka colleges participated 62 projects were submitted, with 36 projects being shortlisted for the finals held in Bangalore.

Noteworthy Projects    

Energy Management with Solar Tracking Intelligent Vote Booth Management.

Automatic Gear Shifting System Communicative Hand Glove for Deaf and Dumb

Testimonial “This is a marvellous event. This was an opportunity for me to learn something from this kind of a science fair. In fact we will be very happy in case if Agastya could take up the role of mentoring so that our science exhibitions could be made better. We want to see more innovations in coming years."

Sri MN Baig, Director,RMSA 11

MEGA SCIENCE FAIRS Mega Science Fairs are an important part of Agastya’s outreach program. Following the unique Hub-and-Spoke model, Science Centres serve as Hubs from where the Mobile Vans (Spokes) span the schools in the vicinity. Children from nearby schools also visit the Science Centre for a day full of Fun and Learning.

Across Karnataka in collaboration with Vision Group

Darbhanga, Bihar.

24th – 26th December, 2012.

 

 

Hassan (27th -28th November) Mandya (28th -29th November, Chikmagalur (29th -30th November), Shimoga (6th – 7th December), Hoskote (10th-12th December) Mangalore (12th-13th December

Inaugurated by: Former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Honourable CM of Bihar Mr Nitish Kumar 25,000 Students visited the Science Fair.

Barmer, Rajasthan 9th – 12th January, 2013. 

14,000 visitors to the Science Fair.



Inaugurated by the Collector and Block Education Officer of Barmer.

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INTEL VIGYAN YATRA In partnership with Intel, Agastya conducted a Vigyan Yatra ( procession of Knowledge) The Intel Vigyan Yatra took place during June 2012 for 45 days in Karnataka covering over 500+ teachers and 5000+ students in the 7 districts of Bangalore Urban, Chitradurga, Gulbarga, Jamkhandi, Belgaum, Sirsi, and Mysore.

Testimonial “The fair was - well organized. The students were very enthusiastic, clear and concise. It was nice that they began their explanation by greeting the spectators and identifying themselves.�

Prof.

Chandrashekhar, 13

YOUNG INSTRUCTOR LEADER PROGRAM

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YOUNG INSTRUCTOR LEADER (YIL) PROGRAM 2012 – 2013 was a year with many accolades for the YIL program. Apart from the regular programs that the students underwent through the year, many new projects were introduced to enhance their overall growth.

Highlights Municipal Solid Waste Mgt Program    Peer – Peer Teaching   

YIL’s trained to teach Class VII students.

Topics – Science Principles and application in daily life.

Evaluation activities conducted post lesson.



Conducted under guidance from HP Catalyst Initiative Connected students across the world Use of STEMx perspective to understand the problem.

Concept of Reuse! Recycle! Reduce!

Emphasised.

Clean & Green Program    

Launched in 1 Village of Gudipalli.

Roads cleared of all Litter, dry waste.

Saplings planted along pavement.

Villages oriented to keep premises clean

Community Radio   

Radio 90.4 MHz 27 YIL’s Trained Songs, Skits, Awareness Campaigns conducted.

80 SCHOLARSHIPS IN 2012 - 2013

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INTEL-IRIS NATIONAL FAIR 2012 It has indeed been Agastya’s privilege to support rural children in their unending quest for knowledge and improvement by presenting projects at the prestigious Intel - Iris National Fairs year after year. It has also been an achievement for Agastya Projects to continuously win top slots in the fair. .

Highlights of IRIS 2012

  

111 Projects selected from 2036 submissions Pan India.

4 Research Projects submitted by Agastya, of which 3 Won Awards.

2 Projects from Kuppam, 1 from Bijapur, 1 from Bellary

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WINNERS OF INTEL-IRIS NATIONAL FAIR 2012 HERBAL SANITIZER FREE HANDS

FOR

GERM

S.Mani and H.Sivananda, Class 9 students from Z.P.H.S, Kodathanpalli conducted research on plant leaves that have traditional medicinal values. They identified leaves with higher medicinal value and thus developed a herbal sanitizer, with high efficiency and low cost. S.Mani aspires to be a Mechanical Engineer, enjoys playing cricket and often helps out his father who is a farmer. H.Sivananda is 14 years old and works with his father in cable connectivity during his free time. His father is a Class 8 dropout and currently a rickshaw driver while his mother is a mid-day meals cook at the local government school. These two boys were awarded a SILVER MEDAL for outstanding performance in the category – Microbiology.

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF SOLANUM VIARUM PLANT LEAF EXTRACT Pruthvi Sai and Balaji are Class 8 students from Z.P.H.S, R. Pet Kuppam. They impressed the judges with their research project that involved the study of anti-bacterial activity of Solanum Viarum plant leaf extract against Escherichia coli (E.Coli), Staphylococcus aureus, P.aeruginosa an B. subtilis. They found out that Solanum Viarum leaf extracted using organic solvent ethanol is more sensitive against P.aeruginosa bacteria followed by E.Coli. Pruthvi aspires to be a Doctor and enjoys watching educational TV shows on National Geographic and Animal Planet. Balaji’s father is a stonecutter and mother sells flowers for a living. Balaji wants to get a PhD in Biology some day and likes playing Cricket. They received a BRONZE MEDAL for their special performance in the Microbiology category.

INNOVATIVE SPRAYER -Rajesh Wade and Ameer Yadegeri from Govt.

H.S Ummarani, Bijapur district brought their engineering minds together to develop a sprayer which can ease the life of farmers – Pesticide is pre-filled into a tank which under pressure releases the pesticide. They won a SPECIAL AWARD from the Government of Karnataka for their performance in the Engineering category.

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MUSIC AND THE MIND Partnering with Rhapsody, a social enterprise created by The Madras Pianist Anil Srinivasan, Agastya started a new program at Agastya’s creativity lab called ‘Music and the Mind’.

Anil and his associates Dr. Sudha Raja and Shruthi Vishwanath made several trips to the Kuppam campus for understanding Agastya’s approach to teaching and creating a curriculum tailored to the children of Kuppam. As they went about recruiting and training a cohort of instructors to introduce learners to the joy of music, Dr. Baluragi, head of Agastya’s Teaching Learning Department also came forth to devise a set of physics experiments on sound and music. The team in future plans to explore ways to recruit village entertainers from the community to help teach music.

.

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DESIGN FOR CHANGE (http://dfcworld.com/dfc/india/default.aspx.)

With its inspirational roots at the Riverside School, Ahmedabad, TCI-DFC has now spread to over 35 countries around the world and has been inspiring a generation of change leaders who CAN and who WILL ‘Be the change they wish to see in this world’. Agastya’s partnership with DFC is going strong even this year and has seen success in a grand manner.

Through peer interactions, students gained greater awareness of themselves and others, gradually changing their thinking patterns from 'I’ to ‘We'. Students also learnt the importance of social responsibility and many have expressed wishes to become change makers in their schools and communities.

DFC Program was also initiated in Kuppam Campus with 7 projects from the Operation Vasantha villages submitted for the DFC Conference 2013.

Important Projects     

Call to Clean Hands-On Education Pustak Jolige National Schemes Sanitation for All

Highlights      

52 projects were submitted, of which 4 made it to the top 75.

DFC introduced to 400 schools across North Karnataka (NK) 3 ‘School Principals’ meet held in Hubli,Annigeri and Bijapur to increase awareness with over 328 Principals attending the meet.

8 DFC workshops were held for 256 teachers in NK Our NK YIL’s presented 2 stories of Change “Smile” and “Getting dropouts to Schools” at INK Talks. (www.inktalks,com) 2 Agastya North Karnataka members participated In “Be the Change” conference in Ahmedabad.

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LAB IN A BOX (LIB) Modular Themed and portable boxes covering Science experiments and models aligned to curricula for Class 5 – 10 which works on rotation principle between schools involving a trained teacher Following the successful piloting of the LIB program big scale-up efforts were made during the year with good traction.

Continuing the second successful year of the Lab in a Box (LIB) in Hubli and Dharwad Districts, the LIB was implemented In place of a Mobile Lab program, covering a total of 60 schools at any given time and 180 schools in a year.

Important Events held during the year.

1. Teacher Leader program 2. Operation Vasantha 3. Walkathon 4. Make your own lab.

8. Block wise quiz competition

LIB Introduced in - Tumkur - Chattisgarh - Ramanagara - Devadurga - Darbhanga - Hubli Dharwad

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TEACHER TRAINING Agastya hosts training for instructors from within Agastya as well as government schools in Karnataka State. Teachers are trained on hands-on learning models, lowcost model making, improving creativity in teaching and building an interactive atmosphere in the classroom while teaching science to students.

Agastya instructors are supported through a system of regular training for a minimum of 24 days of training per instructor per year. Instructors are trained by the training team with the support of external resource persons.

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KARNATAKA ECO SYSTEM Agastya has signed an MOU with the Government of Karnataka (GOK)/Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to create an integrated ecosystem for hands-on science education. Backed by a Government Order, the MOU was announced by Mr. SV Ranganath, Chief Secretary of Karnataka at the Agastya Creativity Conclave in the presence of the Former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. The MOU represents a significant public-private partnership commitment towards handson school science education and aims to be a systems-changing innovation in science education.

Important Highlights as on 31st March 2013. 

  

Good progress was made in land allocation at Raichur to get back the originally chosen site allotted for the campus but with a reduction in the acreage.

With respect to Hubli, two alternatives were still under exploration along with Deshpande Foundation.

Bidar land while identified and earmarked was yet to be allocated. Follow-up with the DC continued during the quarter.

Tender award for smaller centers at Shimoga, Bagalkot, Bijapur and Bidar were in the final stage. Final approval by the state cabinet expected in early 1st quarter of 2013.

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NEW PROGRAMS

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iMOBILE LAB Agastya in partnership with Dell Global Giving's Youth Connect arm launched a new initiative called the iMobile lab.

The blended classroom was introduced by balancing hands-on and computerenabled science learning. The program was launched in Noida and Coimbatore targeting 10 schools each and 600 children.

Agastya hosted its first Volunteering initiative with the Dell sponsored iMobile Lab at Coimbatore on 20th November 2012. This event saw 60 volunteers enthusiastically participating in the event.

Testimonial I’m really proud to be here as a part of the team. The class is really innovative. This enlightens the mind of the student. These classes help students to improve their knowledge to overcome forthcoming years and lead a successful life. So continue these activities for the goodness of Students.

Thanks, C. Lakshmipriya.

Dell Volunteer, Coimbatore 24

LAB ON A BIKE (LOB) Lab On a Bike represents an innovative new initiative, combining at once the compactness, portability and modularity of LIB with the mobility of a motor bike and the teacher who rides the motorbike. In a sense LOB is a mini Mobile Lab, more cost effective and yet more intensive. The added advantage of providing a sense of esteem to the teacher helps in retention and motivation of our resources.

The LOB pilot was launched in Kuppam in the first half of the year with very encouraging results. Now LOB represents a standard of Agastya Offering and will be scaled up substantially in the coming years. .

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TOD FOD JOD (TFJ) Tod Fod Jod is a project to inspire students to Discover, Experiment and Innovate. In collaboration with the National Innovation Council. Delhi and Karnataka State Innovation Council , the project was carried out in 50 schools spread over 10 districts. (Hassan, Shimoga, Chikkamangalur, Chitradurga, Bangalore, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagar, Gadag, Uttara Kannada and Bijapur).

Benefits of the program   

Through dismantling and reassembling of items such as Iron box, Ceiling fan, cycle etc, the Science behind the working of the same is taught.

This methodology provides better understanding and comprehension of various concepts.

Involves Hands-on approach to learning in a diversified environment.

Efforts are being made to make the TFJ Sessions a permanent feature henceforth in the Agastya Teaching Module.

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KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIPS

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DR ABDUL KALAM’S VISIT A day to remember for Agastya is 18th October 2012, when Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam visited the Creativity Lab - Kuppam, to inaugurate the Guru Gruha Astronomy Center and VisionWorks Model Making workshop. During his brief visit, Dr. Kalam also visited the Discovery Center and surveyed several of our Outreach programs such as Young Instructor Leader program, Mobile Science Lab program.

He also visited the recently launched iMobile Lab Program.

“

“The lesson we derive out of [the Agastya] experience is that innovative and student friendly solutions are needed to enable scientific learning in the youth, especially those in rural and remote regions of the nations of the world.”

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Former President of India

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HP CATALYST INITIATIVE (www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/social-innovation/catalyst.html) With respect to the New Learner Global Consortium under the Hewlett Packard (HP) Catalyst Initiative, Agastya made site visits to various organizations across the globe, exchanging views and expertise with like-minded resource personnel.

Highlights 

 

 

Agastya helped Longwood University and Chitkara University to apply for Catalyst Leadership fund in November 2012. Both the organizations included collaborative activities with Agastya in their proposal.

Chitkara University sought Agastya’s assistance to extend mobile lab activities in Haryana.

In 2012, Agastya was in the review panel for the HP Catalyst leadership fund along with 5 other organizations. Agastya reviewed 12 proposals which did not belong to New Learner Consortium.

Agastya attended webinars hosted by HP and New Media consortium in November and December.

YIL team extended the activities under Municipal Solid Waste management into more number of schools and association.

Agastya has been elected as the global leader of the New Learner Consortium of the HP Catalyst initiative. The 2012 Summit brought together more than 120 educators , education experts, and policy leaders from 15 countries for sharing emerging practices, professional networking, and collaboration, with a focus on how technology can enable innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and other key 21st century disciplines and skills – STEM(+).

DR MANO TALAIVER’S VISIT Dr. Manorama (Mano) Talaiver, Director of Longwood University's Institute for Teaching through Technology & Innovative Practices (ITTIP) visited Agastya's Kuppam Campus on 9/05/2012 and interacted with Agastya’s Young Instructional Leaders. This visit was a part of HP Innovation Fund -Visit Program. In her day long visit, Ms.Talaiver guided our YIL’s Kavya and Mahitashree to conduct sessions in SCRATCH Software to their peers.

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GIFTED CHILDREN PROGRAM The Government of India commissioned Agastya to identify gifted children in rural India with the view of providing them with the optimal environment for early childhood development. Agastya has been actively screening for bright sparkles among the gems.

Milestones achieved over the year include:  Covered 824 schools and 109,796 children in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka  Received 4,730 nominations from teachers  Had face-to-face interactions with 1,249 children  Shortlisted 247 children 14 students from different parts of Karnataka were bought to NIAS (National Institute of Advanced Studies) for validation on 7th Nov 2012. 5 students among 14 showed signs of giftedness.

The outcome of the study is as follows:   

247 children were identified as ‘Mildly Gifted” 106 children were identified as ‘Moderately Gifted’ 9 children were identified as ‘Highly Gifted’ or Noticeably Unique.

FRANKLIN OLIN PARTNERSHIP We embarked on a partnership with Franklin Olin College, Massachusetts involving their undergraduate engineering students mentored by their professors to substantially improve a ‘Ray Projector Optics Kit’ developed at Agastya. The project involved redesign and proto typing of this kit to enable mass production. The team managed to achieve very good results with miniaturisation, enhancement of functionality and safety for children handling the kit through change of materials and components. In the coming year this kit may be produced in substantial numbers and be used not only by Agastya in India but also in countries like Ghana etc.

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YALE VISIT 2012 -13 The Yale Global Social Entrepreneurship course is designed to introduce students to practical issues faced by mission-driven social entrepreneurs, linking teams of Yale students with social enterprises (SEs) based in India.

Student/SE teams work together to address specific management challenges faced by the SEs, culminating with the development of a set of recommendations (operational, financial or otherwise) to meet the identified challenges.

The team from Yale and Agastya representatives this year agreed to work together on human capital as a priority in the success of Agastya’s growth.

The report and findings by the team has been well received by Agastya’s management and stands to be incorporated into our HR policies in the coming Financial year.

LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL VISIT 2012 A team from the London Business School worked with Agastya to develop a score card system to drive Agastya’s vision of reaching 50 million children and 1 million teachers by 2020 and outlined opportunities around governance, fund raising and donor relationship management.

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FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM The Agastya Fellowship program – A highly entrepreneurial experience in nature, which challenges the fellows to come up with innovative solutions in teaching learning methods and also provides them with an opportunity to network with eminent thought leaders, social entrepreneurs and development experts.

Our current Agastya Fellow Harshavardhan, joined us in Nov 2012 and has been actively working in the Kuppam campus managing various projects.

Highlights 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Campus Library Program Community Library Project Content Development ( with Senior Resource Persons) Camps on Campus Volunteer Management System Campus Administration

Testimonial “This platform has given me options to decide how I can continue in Education sector in a better way. This fellowship has gone a long way in making me understand myself and building my character.” Harshavardhan

IMPACT STUDY BY BEST PRACTICES FOUNDATION An impact assessment study was conducted by the Best Practices Foundation organization to assess the foundation’s five primary objectives: awareness about its teaching method, curiosity, creativity, problem-solving ability and leadership. A pilot phase was carried out at Hubli and Mandya and the final study was conducted at Bijapur and Hubli.

Findings, case stories and recommendations are being finalised and the study is expected to be published in the first quarter of the next financial year.

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UNVEILING OF SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN’S BUST In celebration of ‘The National Year of Mathematics’, remembering the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, Agastya donated a bust of Ramanujan which was unveiled at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore by Shri N.R Narayana Murthy (Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Limited, Bangalore) on October 11th , 2012.

The event was hosted by Prof. Balaram, Director IISc. A bust of Srinivasa Ramanujan, gifted by Agastya International Foundation to Cambridge University is also on display at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai and The Tata Institute for Applicable Mathematics, Bangalore.

AGASTYA’S PARTICIPATION IN DIFFERENT EVENTS 1. K Thiagarajan was invited for a talk at London Business School on the April 10th, 2012 to address students in the Masters of Management Program.

2. Ramji Raghavan was invited to speak at NIT Warangal on April 12th, 2012.

3. Ramji Raghavan was a keynote speaker at The National College for School Leadership’s Annual Conference in Birmingham, UK on June 14th, 2012.

4. Ramji Raghavan was invited to speak at Global Education Leaders' Program at Helsinki, Finland on June 16th, 2012.

5. K Thiagarajan was invited as a speaker at “MET” Conference (Movement for bringing Efficiency and Transparency) organized by SAIL Bhillai on June 20th, 2012.

6. Ramji Raghavan spoke at the OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris) about Agastya's path-breaking work to spark creativity in children from disadvantaged rural areas of India on July 11th, 2012.

7. Ramji Raghavan was invited as Chief Guest to Inaugurate Eximius, the annual Entrepreneurship Summit, IIM Bangalore on August 11th, 2012.

8. Mr. K Thiagarajan addressed a group of 52 delegates from South Africa, at IIM Bangalore on August 25th, 2012.

9. Mr Thiagarajan was invited to the Yale University GSE program in New Haven, CT, USA. He was accompanied by our North Karnataka Operations Head, Mr Nitin.

10. Ramji Raghavan was interviewed by Vallabh Bhanshali on CNBC Awaaz’s ‘Kaun Hai Bharat Bhagya Vidhata’ 11. Ramji Raghavan joined Education Fast Forward (EFF)’s esteemed group of ‘Foundation Fellows’.

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12. Ramji Raghavan was invited to speak at the 4th International Insect Science Conference in Bangalore on February 15th 2013.

13. Our advisor MG Subramanian accompanied 3 of our senior people, Suresh, Balaram and Manju on a fortnight visit to several Science Centers and programs in USA 14. Ajith Basu and Nitin visited Assam to advise SSA there on Mobile Lab and Science Center programs operated by Agastya 15. Ajith Basu and Janani Subramanian represented Agastya at the “Innovative practices in Education” on 9th and 10th of November at Vishakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh 16. Yashveer Singh represented Agastya at an International Youth Conference at Turkey.

17. Ajith Basu represented Agastya in a 3 day conference held by Mentor Conclave: Questioning and Co-Creating Education, during November 2012 at J.N. Tata Auditorium, IISc Campus. Agastya’s Media head along with interns at the time participated in the event.

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AGASTYA PEOPLE

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HUMAN RESOURCES We have grown from 438 to over 489 people (excluding Operation Vasantha Volunteers) in the last year. Of this 275 were instructors, representing 53 % of total human resource capital.    





We strengthened the middle and senior management at Agastya, through elevation from within the ranks as well as fresh recruitment.

Program Management Talent was augmented substantially besides Operations Management, particularly in the growing ‘Rest of India’ region.

Agastya Fellowship program was initiated and the first Fellow was recruited.

He has been involved in various core programs at the Kuppam Campus.

Volunteer work became a little more emphatic through Operation Vasantha volunteers reaching 53 Villages every day and through the Dell iMobile Lab Program, HP, IBM, Cognizant volunteers engagement, a French volunteer from Alliance Business School and a volunteer intern from the National University of Singapore.

Our dedicated team of Senior Scientists and Engineers notably, Dr Aatre, Dr Krishnan, Dr MA Ramaswamy, Mr Shivakumar, Dr KG Narayanan, Mr MG Subramanian, Dr Leela, Dr Parthan, Dr Manohar Reddy and others continued to provide substantial and invaluable help in multiple areas such as visualising, designing and creating various models, teaching learning materials as well as training, creating and editing content as well as helping Agastya with their wide network and reach.

Yale University’s work has resulted in a talent management strategy and blueprint for better recruiting, retention and motivation of human resources particularly our instructors. This involves group recruiting; cohorts based networks, alumni association of teachers and non-monetary incentives.

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CAMPUS ACTIVITIES Summary Page

a. On-going & New Programs i. Operation Vasantha ii. Ecology Program iii. Media Lab Program iv. Art Program v. Camps@Campus Program vi. Astronomy Program vii. TLM Program b. New Academic Programs viii. Internal Capacity Building ix. Quizzing x. Constructivism c. Infrastructure xi. Guru Gruha Astronomy Centre xii. VisionWorks xiii. Campus Network Infrastructure xiv. In The Works 1. IT & Library, Chemistry Buildings & Butterfly Park 2. Auditorium , Arts Centre & Generator Room

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ONGOING & NEW PROGRAMS

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ECOLOGY Green initiatives continue to be an important focus at Agastya. Land Scaping of the Campus and conservation took a prime seat this year.

In terms of new conservation projects,    

Saplings were planted along the playground and tall trees on approach ways of most of the Creativity labs.

Phase 2 of landscaping was started, with work successfully completed at the Astronomy Centre and Vision Works.

18 different rare plant species indigenous to the Western Ghats were introduced Phase 1 of drip irrigation was started.

In continuation of previously conducted activities,     

1,844 saplings given to the community under the Ecocommunity program.

205 saplings planted in different schools under the Eco-club program.

2,010 saplings planted in the campus.

467 saplings distributed to the visitors.

12,795 Saplings propagated in the campus nursery.

HP Family Day was held in Kuppam in Oct 2013, where employees and their families participated in Vertical gardening, Landscaping, Planting Saplings and also helped us build a ‘Check Dam’.

Participants of LEAD Prayana 2013, a sponsored program of Deshpande Foundation, built Gazebos (Nice open places to sit and gaze at the beauty of Kuppam) out of Scrap materials, landscaped some areas of the campus and planted trees to contribute their part to the afforestation of Kuppam.

ECO Walks were conducted for over 10 Private Schools as a part of the Camps on Campus Program, including prominent schools like Bangalore International School (BIS) and International Management Schools like London Business School (LBS), Yale University etc.

Agastya also presented the Campus Ecology Initiatives at the International Insect Conference in Feb, 2013 at the Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra, Bangalore.

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ECOLOGY PHOTOS

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OPERATION VASANTHA One evening in a village in July 2009, Ramji Raghavan spotted a young girl Vasantha teaching her friends using Agastya Science models. Vasantha’s example inspired Agastya to launch a Night School education program. Since then, Operation Vasantha has been functioning successfully in villages around Kuppam with the support of local college students, who act as instructors and resource persons for interactive activities which include counselling, health and hygiene camps, education on ecology etc.

On a monthly average, Operation Vasantha reaches out to roughly  4,000 children, out of which 47% are girls  175 school dropouts  1,150 adults

New Milestones achieved by Operation Vasantha.    

Lab in a Bag implemented in 20 villages covering topics in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

Community Library Programme initiated.

Science at Home.

7 DFC Projects initiated in the Operation Vasantha villages.

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MEDIA ARTS PROGRAM As digital media becomes the primary tool for communication worldwide, the Media Lab Program was expanded this year with a vision to enhance progress and achievement of program goals, generate public awareness, reach out to donors and decision makers, and disseminate information to new audiences using the power of low-cost technology. The support provided by Mr Vasant Nayak and his team to help us with the Media Arts Program and with various other digital media is irreplaceable and extremely valuable.

Highlights

 

   

Vigyan Maidan – Launch of a dedicated Channel on ‘You Tube’ for Science Experiments in two vernacular languages, Telugu and Kannada.

‘InterACT’ - Art, Communication & Technology Media Sessions was organized by Agastya International Foundation and MurthyNAYAK Foundation from 3rd – 10th February’13 at Agastya’s Kuppam campus.

The Media Lab was renamed as ‘MediaArts Lab’ to expand its scope.

Plans were made to start a dedicated community radio channel for the Kuppam Campus.

The MediaArts Lab started in-house production of videos for showcasing various Agastya Programs for Outreach, Fundraising etc.

Our existing website was upgraded to a more content based management system which makes it easy and quicker to upload new content internally.

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ART PROGRAM Employing our highly successful Hub-and-Spoke model, Art@Agastya reaches out to rural children through the Art and Creativity Centre at Kuppam campus (the Hub), as well as the ‘Art on Wheels’ mobile vans and assorted Arts programs – dance classes, puppetry workshops, digital media lessons – at centres in various states (the Spokes).

This year a group of 16 Dropouts from the nearby villages underwent an exhaustive ‘Art Program’ (equivalent to a Certified Degree Course) for 3 months. The program was highly successful and the team conducted various activities in and around the campus.

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CAMPS@CAMPUS Over the past year, Agastya’s Kuppam campus has played host to several schools and organizations. Programmes were specially tailored in accordance to the interests of each group. These activities range from campus tours to ecology walks and from night community visits on board the mobile van to planting of plants along the streets of Kuppam town.

Total 19 schools and 1174 students visited Kuppam Campus last year.

Schools that Agastya hosted over the past year include:  

Bangalore International School (BIS) Shishuvan International School, Mumbai

   

Parikrama, Bangalore The International School, Bangalore (TISB) Valley School, Bangalore.

KLE School, Bangalore

   

Deccan International School, Bangalore Twinklers School, Bangalore Cambridge School, Bangalore Emeralds Valley Public School, Bangalore

Organizations / Institutions that Agastya hosted over the past year include:         

LEAD Prayana - 2013 (A Sponsored Program of Deshpande Foundation) Parikrama Humanity Foundation, Bangalore Aurobindo School Teachers Bangalore Yuva Seva Bangalore Arohi Foundation, Uttarakhand IISER Students, Pune Rotary Club, Bangalore HP (Hewlett Packard), Bangalore Synopsis , Bangalore.

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ASTRONOMY PROGRAM As part of the growing Science Program at Agastya, the Astronomy Program is the latest addition to the ever growing list of programs. Agastya has found a unique way to bring Astronomy and the world of Space Science to the 500+ rural children that visit the Kuppam campus daily.

Named ‘Guru Gruha’ this planetarium will bring to us a first – of – its – kind solar system suspended 12 Feet from the Floor which can be used for live demonstration of various aspects of the Solar System. The Planetarium also has a spectacular Space Show lined up exclusively for the children.

TLM PROGRAM Under the leadership of Prof D R Baluragi, the TLM Team is involved in making various teaching aids which are the key tools in all Agastya Programs like prototypes of models, low-cost scientific kits and various learning modules.

In addition to developing new models, the team also takes lead in improving the efficiency, accuracy and durability of existing and old models.

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NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

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INTERNAL CAPACITY BUILDING (IMT PROGRAM) The Instructor Master Trainer (IMT) Program led by Ms Revathy Narayanan, Phd in Molecular Biology, IISc was launched as a program for building skills of the Instructors in a robust and consistent way. This is based on building a group of well trained and highly skilled Master trainers from among the instructors, who would, in turn, be responsible for building capacities of all Instructors and ensuring quality output in the Mobile labs, Science Centres and Science Fairs.

Working in a two phased approach, Phase 1 which was to train11 instructors as Master Trainers and 3 Team leaders was completed in the last quarter of 2012.

In its Phase 2, a month-long IMT (Instructor Master Trainer) course was held at Kuppam, training IMTs on content (physics, chemistry, biology, and math) and child friendly learning pedagogies through a panel of guests and expert-resource persons.

With the Phase 2, the IMT team formally took on the responsibility of teaching other Instructors. The first IMT lead program was conducted in Hubli for 47 instructors over 10 days with a lot of success.

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'QUIZZING' We also explored ‘Quizzing’ as a methodology to teach the children with the help of volunteer Mr Sumeer Kumar who conducted informal brainstorming sessions in Kuppam for the instructors.

An interactive workshop quiz session was held for some of the instructors to introduce them to the various aspects involved while making quizzes for different groups.

A highly successful session, it gave the team a new perspective towards teaching.

'MAKE YOUR OWN LAB' ‘Make you own Lab’ is an initiative launched this year to help schools continue to teach students using Hands-on methods. The Agastya instructor with the help of the respective school’s students makes low cost science models with respect to the syllabus and requirement. These are handed over to the School for future use.

This truly makes our model a scalable, replicable one where schools can continue to provide Hands-on education to the students.

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'CONSTRUCTIVISM' The revised National Curriculum Framework (NCF) proposed five important guiding principles for curriculum development, one of which is ensuring that learning shifts away from rote methods and connects knowledge to life outside the school. The NCF emphasizes the constructivist perspective, where learning is a process of the construction of knowledge. Learners actively construct their own knowledge.

Agastya’s hands-on approach to science education from the very beginning has emphasized the need to move away from rote-based learning. The Government of Karnataka (SSA) proposed collaboration with Agastya and their team of expert resources to organize a pilot workshop on constructivist approach in science education to government school teachers.

An official kick-off meeting was held in November 2012 along with expert resources like Dr. Ganesh Bhatta, Dr. Vijaya Kumari, Dr. N.S.Leela, Dr. Niranjan Das, Mr.MG Subramanian and others and the workshop was scheduled for the next quarter.

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INFRASTRUCTURE

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GURU GRUHA ASTRONOMY CENTRE Supported by the IVFA (India Value Fund Association) and Mr Hemant Kanakia, the “Guru Gruha Astronomy Center” was inaugurated by Former President of India Dr Abdul Kalam in October 2012.

It brings to life a first-of-its-kind Suspended solar system along with numerous other small exhibits and models that teach various Astro-physics related theories. With a split level structure, it is designed to be a 2 Phase planetarium.

The next level has a Full HD digital projector which will project colored images /videos on the inner roof of the dome with high resolution, 180 degrees field of view and high quality surround sound system.

The children are exposed to a Hands-On working model of the Solar System which they can see and feel as they learn. The Guru Gruha also has a Space Show which is projected on to the Dome of the planetarium. While taking the children on an exciting journey, the space show also teaches them the value of the earth’s resources.

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‘VISIONWORKS’ - MODEL MAKING WORKSHOP Supported by Axis bank, the Model making workshop is a key element in easy and effective functioning of the entire Agastya core programs namely Mobile Labs, Science Centers, Lab in a Box programs, Community visits and so on.

Models such as Illusion Mirror, Hand rotation wave motion, same Phase of the moon, 11 images (wooden), Hot air – Movement in Air, and many other such models in physics, chemistry, biology and maths and several other models are designed and manufactured during the year.

Highlights    

Designing and manufacture of new models for On-going Programs throughout the year.

Repair / Repaint of Old Models.

Low cost model making for teachers and students (Pilot run) Producing teacher training material.

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CAMPUS NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE The campus network infrastructure was strengthened using durable fibre optic cable network in order to provide better connectivity to the users in campus.

IN THE WORKS Chemistry Block

Mantap for Agastya Statue

Auditorium

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IT & Library Building

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IMPORTANT PARTNERS DONORS - CORPORATE Agilent Technologies

Intel

Avantha Group

IVFA

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)

Korba Power Corporation

Bharti Airtel

L&T

BPCL

Jain Irrigation Systems

Cairn Energy Corporation

Milk Route

CPCL

Mphasis

DELL

State Bank of India – Bangalore

Franklin Templeton Assets

Synopsys

Management Pvt Ltd.

United Way

HP

Vasavi Mahal

IBM iGate

DONORS – FOUNDATIONS (UNTIL 2013) Akshaya Patra Foundation

Oberoi Family Foundation

AXIS Bank Foundation

R Jhunjhunwala Foundation Ramakrishna Mutt

Cognizant Foundation Deshpande Foundation Dream A Dream Give2Asia Global Fund for Children L&T Charitable Trust MurthyNayak Foundation Naik Charitable Trust

Ramky Foundation Rotary Club Bangalore Solid Waste Management Roundtable Bangalore TK Foundation United Way Viksit Bharat Foundation

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GOVERNMENT (UNTIL 2013) Defence Research Development Organization Hubli/Dharwad Municipal Corporation Institution of Engineers Karnataka State Innovation Council Prime Minister's National Knowledge Commission Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan , GOI State Governments of A.P., Karnataka, T. Nadu, Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bihar

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS (UNTIL 2013) Azim Premji University Bangalore University Cambridge University Chennai Mathematical Institute Exploratorium, SFO Indian Association of Physics Teachers Indian Institute of Science Institute of Physics, London Institute of Social and Economic Change IISER Pune London Business School Mallya Aditi International School National Institute of Advanced Studies National University of Singapore Franklin Olin College of Engineering TIFR/HomiBhabha Center for Science Education Trinity School (New York) The International School, Bangalore (TISB) University of Denmark Vellore Institute of Technology Yale School of Management

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES V.K. Aatre, Former Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence, Government of India M. Gupta, RARE Enterprises R. Jhunjhunwala, Stock Market Investor and Philanthropist M. Kumar, Managing Trustee A. Oberoi, Co-founder, ACP Partners R. Raghavan, Chairman P. Rao, Private Investor A. Sethi, Managing Director, Polyfloro Limited H.N. Srihari, Consultant and former General Manager, ICI Limited

ADVISORY COUNCIL Sridhar Jagannathan, California.

R. Krishnan, Distinguished Scientist (Former), Ministry of Defence Venky Krishnakumar, Chairman, Oracle Fin Services Software, Singapore.

Ms. N.S. Leela, Former Professor, MES College K.G. Narayanan, Former Director, Aeronautical Development Establishment Ms. Revathi Narayanan, Former Director, Mahila Samakhya Karnataka S. Parthan, Former Professor, IIT Kharagpur Guru Ramakrishnan, President,Meru Capital M.A. Ramaswamy, Former Scientist, NAL and Professor, Indian Institute of Science D. Singh, Ex-Union Home Secretary, Government of India M. Shivkumar, Former Chief Designer, Hindustan Machine Tools M.G. Subramanian, Former VP, Hewlett Packard Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner, Indusage Global Advisors

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PLANS FOR THE NEXT YEAR Scale up & Replication (Geographies)    

To create and operate Science Centres in Mumbai, Haryana, Gujarat; Deeply engage with Haryana Government to draw up a ‘Science Ecosystem’ plan and execute a part of the same.

Expedite building of Science Centre Campuses at Bijapur, Bagalkot, Bidar, Shimoga, Raichur and Hubli as a part of the Karnataka Ecosystem project.

Engage Punjab and Bihar governments for larger initiatives.

Scale up & Replication (New Programs) 

   

To continue working on the HP Catalyst initiative and apply for further mentorship. To include Teacher training as well as a critical component of the academy’s research and knowledge building exercise.

Expand Operation Vasantha Program to other parts of the country.

Focus on the IMT Program to include and expand PAN India.

To achieve LIB Scale up and replication in line with targets of about 85 operational sets by the end of the year.

Start on scale up of LOB programs after successful pilots.

Hard & Soft Infrastructure  

   

Expand Operation Vasantha Program to other parts of the country.

To complete 100% of current buildings in progress at the Kuppam campus namely, IT & Library Building, Auditorium and Arts Centre, New Chemistry Block and Generator back up infrastructure Strengthen our Senior and Middle Level Management for enhancement of effectiveness.

Plans to continue assessment of impact and effectiveness of Agastya’s Programs in Kuppam as well To focus on Volunteer Management and channelize availability towards need in the organization To launch the Butterfly park nearing completion.

Fund Raising      

Focus on corporate CSR as a large source of funding by setting up dedicated small team.

Enhance retail reach and fund raising.

Apply for grants / recognition to global funding organizations.

Optimize use of Social Media / other On-line tools to create awareness and raise funds.

Explore on-line Crowdsourcing options.

Expand Camps @Campus program.

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