Jugaad (Innovation) Lab for Disadvantaged Girls

Right after the girls completed their Level 1 curriculum at the Jugaad Lab, they got down to prepare for their final school exams, and the Jugaad lab team supported them through the process. The months of January and February were spent reading, practicing and revising - all with a tinge of anxiety and nervousness. But the perseverance of the participants and the team’s support paid off with the girls passing their classes with good grades. It was a very proud moment for all the parents, participants and the team members as each girl got better grades than previous years!

After that, starting from the month of March, the team planned, strategized and prepared for the 2017 mobilization drive. The mobilization drive, which took place in 6 neighboring communities in Lajpat Nagar, saw encouraging responses from the community, especially from young girls whose excitement exceeded our expectations. Students came in large numbers for admissions. To our surprise, there were even instances when young girls tried hiding their age in order to get into Jugaad Lab! By the end of the mobilization drive, we choose 26 girls for a new Level 1 batch and conducted the baseline process with them (which was designed by the Jugaad Lab team and a consultant).

As a starting point for the new batch, Jugaad Lab organized a ‘session break camp’ through which the students were introduced to the space and the team with the help of some bonding exercises and games. A couple of STEM related activities were also done to hint at what was coming. This camp set the base for both the participants and the team to connect with each other and build relationships. After the end of the camp, regular STEM classes that use the Jugaad Lab curriculum commenced. As we reached the end of our first month with Level 1, we decided to take the students for a field trip to Sweccha. There, the participants after interacting with Sweccha’s team, watched an animated documentary that explores the human’s relationship with the natural world. After that, through a game of treasure hunt, the participants identified and learned about upcycling and got a chance to see various upcycled products that Sweccha’s office makes.

As the Level 1 batch was getting familiarized with Jugaad Lab and its objectives, Jugaad Lab’s first Level 2 batch was ready to take up more complex tasks and activities to further advance their STEM learning. After undergoing Level Up Village (LUV)’s first course, Level 2 participants have enrolled again in another LUV course. This time, the participants took the initiative to learn how to record their own exchange videos, without taking any help from the team and showed interest in learning how to upload and translate videos as well. Soon our Level - 2 participants will get into Global Doctors Anatomy course of LUV. We are hoping that this will open new doors for them and add to their learning.

Apart from LUV’s course, which is yet to start, as a regular, weekly exercise, Level 2 participants have been engaging themselves with ‘self-initiated projects’. Ranging from a DIY popcorn machine to a small prototype of an ATM machine, all the eleven students in Level 2 came up with individual ideas on what projects they wanted to work on. In order to develop their problem-solving abilities, throughout the process, the students have been taking minimal guidance from the team. The students have also been trying to collect all the required materials by themselves.

Apart from these two activities, to help the Level-2 students explore engineering, Jugaad lab has entered a new partnership with Early Engineers. Early Engineers is an organization that teaches STEM courses like robotics, software engineering, electrical engineering and video game design to children aged 5-14 years. Every Thursday, at Jugaad lab, 8 participants learn coding and 3 learn electronics through this partnership. The girls thoroughly enjoy the classes and look forward to every Thursday!

Additionally, as part of bonding exercise, a carpentry workshop was organized for both Level 1 and Level 2. A local carpenter conducted the workshop and shared his carpentry knowledge and experience with the participants. As an end product, the participants built a three layered shelf and a tool-hanging stand for Jugaad Lab. All the participants were completely engaged during the workshop. The team was also happy to see glimpses of Level-1 and Level-2 students bonding and working well together!

Our mission to help more young women engage in STEM has taken one step ahead. We hope to see it expand and flourish with your constant support and contributions.