New technologies educator

AN ALUMNUS OF MODERN school, Delhi University, WLCI Business School, and CIMA, London, Rishi Khemka is chief executive and director of the Mumbai-based Ark Infosolutions Pvt. Ltd. He is also the promoter-CEO of Aditya Infotech Ltd (estb. 2001), a well-known name in the CCTV surveillance equipment, video graphics and software businesses. Newspeg. Last December, Ark Infosolutions launched its creative education programme branded Mindbox for class VI-XI students at the Modern School, Barakhamba, New Delhi by organising a three-day Access Carnival in which more than 100 schools of Delhi NCR (national capital region) participated. The outcome of the carnival is that Ark Infosolutions will be sending three-four student teams to participate in the VEX Robotics World Championship to be held in Anaheim, California in April. This is the first time Indian students will be competing at the event, where top robotic teams from 24 countries will exhibit their models. History. In 2012 Aditya Infotech promoted Ark Infosolutions, an education-focused subsidiary which signed a collaboration agreement with the US-based Autodesk Inc to jointly promote robotics education in schools. Currently the company™s Mindbox Education Programme offers project-based learning, workshops and regular weekly classes in eight disciplines ” robotics, 3D animation, game development, digital videography, digital photography, digital painting, graphic design and computer-aided design. An estimated 75-80 schools are expected to sign up for Mindbox programmes before the start of the next academic year (July/August). The company provides a dedicated trainer to tutor students, while the school and parents log in to monitor their progress online. Direct talk. œOur modules are mapped with school curriculums making them exciting and more than fun. Students™ response has been enthusiastic, says Khemka. Future plans. Khemka is positive about the future of Ark Infosolutions. œSchool boards are introducing courses in design, animation and other domains in which we are market leaders, so we see more collaboration opportunities in the coming years in the K-12 segment. Moreover, we have started installing robotics labs for schools. In the higher education segment, we offer Edulyst ” a learning programme ” for all streams of engineering in the form of modules and projects. We see an exciting future for both our companies in the emerging new education environment, says Khemka. Wind in your sails! Autar Nehru (Delhi) Teacher training missionary AN ALUMNA OF SEVERAL Army schools countrywide and a mechanical engineering graduate of SGSITS (Shri Govindram Seksaria Institute of Technology and Science), Indore after which she persevered to be awarded with an MBA in social entrepreneurship and finance by University of Oxford, Nikita Khosla (29) is the Delhi-based director of STIR Education, a non-profit engaged in empowering school teachers to lead change in their classrooms. Currently, she is focused on empowering teachers in affordable private, government and government-aided schools to improve student learning outcomes. Newspeg. Since commencing its mission in 2012, STIR has trained 5,200 teachers in 1,300 schools countrywide. Its latest drive is a concerted effort to build a movement of teacher changemakers who develop innovative micro-solutions (˜micro-innovations™), implement effective practices,…