Students' Grassroot Innovations and Social Projects Steal the Show at the AP Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program EXPO 2023

The EMDP (Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program) in Andhra Pradesh has been implemented across 4776 Schools, and on its completion, a state-wide expo was held wherein 53 teams of Class 9 students from Govt Schools of Andhra Pradesh showcased and competed their social innovation projects.

Suresh Kumar, Commissioner, School Education Department, Andhra Pradesh along with other key members paying attention to student pitches at the EMDP EXPO

The AP EMDP EXPO 2023 was held in collaboration with AP SCERT and the EMDP consortium comprising of: Udhyam Learning Foundation, Aflatoun International, Reap Benefit and Makerghat; and was supported by Amazon.

The EXPO showcased the students' learning journey from the EMDP program. The students were given a presentation platform to display their projects which were developed by identifying problems in and around their community as well as coming up with solutions for them. The students also displayed Entrepreneurial mindsets and 21st century skills like grit, critical thinking, problem solving and communication & collaboration skills.

The winning teams will be taken on an education trip to help the students get exposure to entrepreneurial processes that they can take up in the future.

The Top 3 teams were:

1st Prize: School Name: ZPHS Aganampudi, Visakhapatnam District.
Project Name: Water Level Controller & Food Supply to pets with Missed Call

2nd Prize: School Name: S.L.S.V.V.S.O.H.S PEDAMUTHEVI, Krishna District.
Project Name: Eco-Friendly Pens/seed paper pens.

3rd Prize: School Name: ZPHS Gutharallapalli, District: Chittoor
Project Name: Homegrown Tomato based Products

Speaking at the event, Mr. Suresh Kumar, IAS, Commissioner, School Education Department, Andhra Pradesh said that, "The Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program is a unique and innovative program that was started in Andhra Pradesh last year covering 326124 children across 5075 government schools. The training program aims to develop life skills and entrepreneurial mindsets and help children identify problems which are prevalent in their own neighbourhoods and come up with practical, innovative and implementable solutions for them, on their own. I am very happy to share that today we conducted the state-level with top teams from all the 26 districts represented at the exhibition, covering a wide range of technology solutions for varying problems across agriculture, solar power and renewable energy sources, recycle waste material, etc."

"These children have also made use of schools labs and various other vocational training components, to come up with integrative solutions. I am sure that these children will be, and are, an asset to our society. I wish all the best to the children who are part of this and I also thank the EMDP team and the organizers and sponsors of this program," he added.

"These students have demonstrated their ability to identify problems, develop creative solutions, and take action to make a positive impact on their communities. The EMDP consortium is incredibly proud of their achievements and look forward to supporting them as they continue to pursue their entrepreneurial goals," said Ms Nezrin M, EMDP State Lead, Udhyam Learning Foundation.

About Udhyam Learning Foundation (Udhyam)

Our vision is to "Co-create a caring world, where people fearlessly pursue their potential." We believe that entrepreneurship is a powerful way to channelize an individual's potential. Entrepreneurship enables agency and allows an individual to work on their strengths while creating value for the world. The goal for Udhyam is to build a thriving and supportive ecosystem, where every individual feels empowered to define their path.

About Entrepreneurial Mindset Development Program

Entrepreneurial education has emerged as a demanding subject to be mastered by young students for a sustainable future. The Andhra Pradesh state government recognized entrepreneurship education as the need of the hour and decided to introduce it as a part of the curriculum. The program was launched as an initiative by the Andhra Pradesh State Government by the Honourable Education Minister, Sri. Audimulapu Suresh on July 20th, 2021.

The program was fully conceptualized and designed by an alliance of non-profit organizations, brought together by Global Alliance For Mass Entrepreneurship: GAME. The non-profit partners include Lead Implementation partner Udhyam Learning Foundation and contributing partners Reap Benefit, MakerGhat, and Aflatoun International.

The biggest vision of the program is to cultivate the "entrepreneurial mindset" among children. Through the Entrepreneurial Mindset Development program, students get to activate and build on several 21st-century skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity that will help them massively to take leadership roles in their schools and classes, bringing innovation to whatever they do. All this is done through an activity based curriculum where students get opportunities to learn by solving problems of their own society. These transferable skills would also be critical and essential when students later join the workforce.

Objective:

1. Students will be able to build entrepreneurial mindsets and 21st century skills.

2. Students will be able to showcase their learning from the program through projects.

3. Students will be introduced to the basic financial literacy skills & concepts.

The focus of the curriculum is on developing the right mindsets and skill sets to make students entrepreneurial. The various projects that students go through during the program helps them to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, a mindset to plan, act, reflect, learn and improvise on their knowledge, skills and attitudes that makes them entrepreneurial in whatever career they choose.

The curriculum incorporates three major components:

• In - class activities, where students learn concepts and skills by doing activities

• Social Project, that the students do to apply their understanding by trying to solve a social problem

• An Expo, where the students showcase their learning and its application
  

These students can learn the required mindsets and skills to achieve their dream.