MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Our Organization

Makershala

What is the name of your solution?

Makershala

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

A project-based learning ecosystem enabling schools, teachers and parents in holistic development & interest/career exploration for their children

Film your elevator pitch.

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What specific problem are you solving?

Though we have seen a lot of advancements in education due to technology, especially during the COVID. But there still exist a lot of challenges for parents, schools, and the government to make K-12 education relevant to the times we are living in, which requires major changes in pedagogy and further changes in technology.

The emergence of the 4th industrial revolution has put an albatross around the necks of the current and future generations to keep pace with the future.

Schools have a big responsibility of preparing the children of today to succeed in a completely different world. The rapidly changing real-world demands continuous evolution in the school learning goals. And engaging learners in learning through the traditional teaching methods stands as another big problem.

It is very clear that just imparting & testing knowledge will fail us. It has become mandatory to take an integrated approach and create learning & teaching systems that focus equally on Gaining Knowledge; Developing Life & Career Skills; Exploring Careers.

What is your solution?

Makershala is a project-based learning platform for kids to develop skills, discover interests, and deepen their engagement in learning by working on authentic, real-life & personally meaningful projects.

Makershala is creating learning experiences and building technology to deliver them. Our learning experiences follow Project-Based Learning and are aligned with various national & international standards for skills & knowledge. Image shows Makershala Learning Framework:

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Makershala offers a library of projects which are hosted on its technology platform (Web & Mobile). The platform enables teachers & learners to work collaboratively in a team and build solutions. Teachers are provided with learning plans and necessary content to help them engage kids in a project. Learners use the platform to collate their research; record their designs & observations; collaborate with teammates; communicate with other learners & teams; publish their work to the public; reflect on their learning and build a portfolio. Image below shows the learning platform and learner dashboard.

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Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Though the solution is used by teachers and learners. But its schools, parents, and governments are the customers. The solution helps schools and governments in achieving their missions & goals.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

We are serving schools & parents for the last 8 years and understand their concerns & challenges. During these 8 years, we have worked directly with learners and understand their psychology. We have trained and enabled teachers in implementing STEM in their classrooms. We have worked with NITI Aayog on their flagship program Atal Tinkering Lab under the flagship scheme Atal innovation Mission.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Enable personalized learning and individualized instruction for learners who are most at risk for disengagement and school drop-out

Where our solution team is headquartered or located:

Faridabad, Haryana, India

Our solution's stage of development:

Pilot

How many people does your solution currently serve?

15000

Why are you applying to Solve?

Our Mission is to reach every kid on the planet and make project-based learning accessible & affordable in all educational settings (classroom, online & at home).

We realize that we are on a difficult and long journey that will require changing many status quos and building capacities. We see Solve as a platform to take our mission to people in positions of influence; who after seeing our solution and possible impact, help us scale by (re)building capacities and systems.

Also, since the solution itself is a community-driven & community-dependent solution that will require the building of a large network of teachers, technologists, engineers & experts across institutions & industries. We also seek to connect with experts & peers, through the community of Solve, who can come along or guide us on this journey.

Not to mention that the prize money will also help us sustain our endeavor.

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

Product / Service Distribution (e.g. expanding client base)

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Mohit Bahl