HONEYWELL INDIA AND AGASTYA INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION TO TRANSFORM SCIENCE EDUCATION IN PUNE
PUNE, September 15, 2017 – Agastya International Foundation (Agastya) and Honeywell India today announced the launch of Honeywell Science Experience – an integrated learning program for students and teachers in Pune. As part of the program, Honeywell India will support four unique experiential science centers, three mobile science labs, and 500 young instructor leaders, benefiting more than 15,000 students and 160 teachers in the city by 2019.
Designed to cultivate curiosity, nurture creativity, and instill confidence, the program is vastly different from the typical rote-based learning system that discourages questioning and student-teacher interaction. It aims to foster child and teacher participation in experiential learning, and boost science education through its uniquely scalable, hands-on teaching-learning methods.
Speaking at the launch, Prof. K. N. Ganesh, Director, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, said, “Experiential learning is a powerful way to encourage smart thinking and creative expression among students and teachers. It improves critical thinking and inculcates problem-solving skills in children, which is useful not just for their future careers but in all spheres of life. I congratulate Agastya and Honeywell for bringing this integrated learning program to Pune, helping provide quality science education to the bright young minds from vulnerable communities.”
Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairman, Agastya, said, “It is our privilege to launch this program in Pune, a city known as the “Oxford of the East”. We run one of the world’s largest hands-on science education programs, and believe that innovative, fun, and student-friendly solutions are needed to enable scientific
learning among children, especially those in rural and remote regions. With support from partners like Honeywell, it only helps us to make such a program sustainable and effective. Honeywell’s support and involvement is an excellent model of CSR in action, which benefits thousands of community members.”
Vikas Chadha, President, Honeywell India, added, “As a global technology leader and a top recruiter of technology talent with more than 8,000 engineers in India, Honeywell understands the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. We are pleased to partner with Agastya and bring the Honeywell Science Experience program to Pune, where we are deeply committed with three manufacturing facilities and more than 3,000 employees.”
Honeywell Science Experience was launched in 2016 in Bangalore, Delhi, and Gurgaon. With the Pune expansion, the program will reach 64,370 students and 360 teachers through 15 unique experiential science centres, 13 mobile labs, and 1,600 student mentors across these four centers.
About Agastya International Foundation (Agastya)
Founded in April 1999, Agastya International Foundation (Agastya) is a charitable education trust that runs one of the world’s largest mobile hands-on science education programs for economically disadvantaged children and teachers. Through all its programs, Agastya has reached more than ten million children and 250,000 teachers in 19 states in India. By making practical, hands-on science education accessible to rural government schools, Agastya aims to transform and stimulate the thinking of underprivileged children and teachers. Agastya is supported by scientists and educators from the Indian Institute of Science, DRDO, and TIFR. The Prime Minister’s National Knowledge Commission has recommended India-wide scale-up of the Agastya model. The Clinton Global Initiative has recognized Agastya for its commitment to action.
