Tech Tots: Shaping kids to build bots

India stood at an appalling 72nd out of 73 participating countries in a study carried out by the OECD under the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). To improve this situation, initiatives like Tech Tots are the need of the hour. Still in its infancy, Tech Tots is a venture by two students from D.J.Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai which conducts workshops in electronics for students from grade 7^th-10^th.

This venture which came into the spotlight at an event organized by the E-Cell at IIT Bombay,

The Need

Electronic gadgets are like an extension of the human body now but most of us are oblivious to what goes inside. All are engrossed in enjoying the utility and fun element in the gadgets but miss out on the incredulous yet simple logic used to develop it. The current school curriculum in India does not have provisions for the much required practical aspect and the PISA report reflects this very point.

How will Tech Tots do this?

Tech Tots has been conducting workshops at college level up till now but would be reaching out to schools now. “We’ve signed deals with a few schools and are in talks with the Bombay Scottish school chain for the next academic year. We’ve received overwhelming response from across the country including a few corporates who’re interested in acquiring our services for their employees” says Ankur Thakkar.

Projects

The idea seems great but how do they plan to do it?

"Our preliminary projects include a mini model of a piano, electronic dice, burglar alarms and many other projects on similar lines", informs Nikita.

TechTots being a student startup has a lot of momentum behind it with a strong of force of 50 volunteers behind them to help out. Talking to Ankur gives you a feeling that these young people want to make a difference. The exuberance he exudes will surely take TechTots a long way. Along with proper execution and a guiding hand, TechTots can make an impact.

It is very young days for TechTots yet with zero online presence as of now but we expect them to make a buzz as soon as they go online and start taking bigger strides.

- Jubin Mehta