A group of 11 engineering students are bridging the gap between theory and practice for wannabe engineers through self-learning workshops
What do you do when you make it to engineering college and struggle to cope with complex engineering studies, especially when your education was very basic and textbook oriented? You realise how inadequate your school education has been and how difficult it becomes to grapple with engineering without strong fundamentals of basic science in place. While some might drop out, a group of youngsters decided to help themselves by forming a support group to self-learn. Only, after catching up themselves, they did not stop. They then thought of similar students coming to engineering colleges from schools of small towns and villages, deciding to make things easier for future batches.
The group of 11 youngsters?four girls and six boys?from Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering in Shimoga district of Karnataka aptly call themselves CREW, or Creation of Eternal Wings. The start-up focuses on bridging the gap between theoretical and practical education by conducting full-fledged workshops for high school students to complement their existing education and make learning more fun.
The group, comprising Sharvari BR, Karthik SV, Dhanyashree SV, Dhanya Manur, Madhuri U, Sapna VA, Chanakya SN, Syed Shah Saleem, Nikhil KB, Sumanth Prabhu MG and Hemanth Hegde, started with a kitty of R1,000 and have so far trained 4,000 students in 22 schools.
Hegde says they cover both government and private schools, and arrange technical activities for students who have indulged only in textbook learning so far. They put together modules on different subjects and go to schools with them. The package consists of easy-to-understand PowerPoint presentations and photographs, along with some working models and basic teaching aids so as to make it a rich visual, as well as a touch-and-feel experience on how things work, says Nikhil. For instance, students understand gears of a motorcycle by actually dismantling a motorcycle and handling the gears and the engine. They have designed small kits to teach these science concepts. Nikhil says they have found out that these students? score improves after going through such an exercise by 30%. CREW has created 25 such modules in mechanical, electrical concepts and electronics?things that will help students when they pursue engineering courses.
CREW now aims to scale up. ?Right now, we are well-known in Shimoga, but we want to expand into Chikmagalur, Davanagere, Mangalore and even Bangalore. Not all schools in cities are well-equipped and have high-quality teaching,? says Sharvari. To reach out to a larger universe of students, CREW will be holding science fairs and exhibitions. Also on the cards are a school magazine and regular newsletters to maintain link with students, besides covering other subjects.
The group is in their final year at college but no one wants to walk away after they finish. So they have decided to run the company between two groups?one that will work actively in the company, while the others will continue to be associated with the company but in a passive way. They are working on models to generate revenue and sustain the business, and the Tata First Dot contest win has made them think seriously about their business plans. A few of them will go on to pursue higher education and explore the world outside Shimoga, but their links to the place will remain forever with their commitment to reach students in every village and town through CREW.