Code Mitra

Code Mitra What & Who? 

Education reports worldwide highlight alarming trends of poor learning outcomes and widening gaps between developed and developing nations, exacerbated by the global pandemic's impact on primary and secondary education. Marginalized children are disproportionately affected, with learning poverty worsening during the pandemic, as evidenced by UNICEF's Global Annual Reports 2022.

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2017), over 617 million children and adolescents worldwide are failing to achieve minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. This issue is particularly pronounced in lower-middle-income countries like India, where a significant portion of the school-going population faces challenges in attaining basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Millions of students are not only facing learning gaps in basic literacy and numeracy skills but are also deprived of quality Computer Science education and the acquisition of future skills.

In India, government schools serve 70% of the student population, but access to quality computer science education remains limited.  Only 37.7% of schools have computer access and a mere 10% have functional computers hindering the development of essential 21st-century skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking. This deficiency not only impacts employability rates and reduces opportunities but also perpetuates the underrepresentation of marginalized groups in STEM and technology fields.

The Performance Grading Index for Districts in India underscores the inadequacies of digital learning, with a dismal 27% performance in digital learning (2019). Moreover, traditional computer science education models suffer from outdated curricula, ineffective pedagogy, and high costs, making them non-scalable and inaccessible to many students.

Why? 

The current Computer Science education landscape lacks equitable and inclusive access to future skills education, widening digital literacy gaps among marginalized communities. The education system's current design fails to cater to the diverse needs of learners, including those with disabilities and neurodivergent learners.

Lack of culturally relevant and responsive curricula and inadequate resources for teacher training and support leads to poor absorption of 21st-century skills that are essential for thriving in a complex world, including social-emotional competencies and literacy around new technologies such as AI. 

The aim is to address the challenges in education to ensure equitable access, inclusive design, and the development of future-ready skills. 

Short Description

Code Mitra, an open-source, device-agnostic platform, imparts 21st-century skills like computational problem-solving and creative and critical thinking through creative programming. It empowers under-resourced students to gain access to tools that impart foundational 21st-century skills, and teachers to upskill and create while aiding system partners to launch initiatives and activate existing resources. The app aims to foster inclusivity by incorporating features for individuals with disabilities, particularly speech and hearing impairments, ensuring accessibility for all learners. 

What & How of the Solution

Its modular design allows it to act as a sandbox, integrate into existing Ed platforms and national tech tools/stacks, and launch initiatives that activate existing systems and meet resource constraints in the Indian landscape. 

Learners engage with culturally and linguistically relevant block-based programming lessons, employing the PRIMM (Predict, Run, Investigate, Modify, and Make) pedagogy. The platform's activity engine empowers educators to craft custom teaching modules. 

The application offers guided learning through Programming with Blocks and Hour of Code. The programming lessons are delivered in an interleaved format of micro-videos, quizzes and problem-solving activities for students to observe, predict, investigate and create solutions to familiar problems, such as navigating a route or fixing a traffic light. They also program solutions to SDG goals, including responsible consumption. Its design also includes block-based visual sign language for inclusion of speech and hearing-impaired learners.

Open learning is facilitated through Open Lab, a personalised learning space where students create projects of self-expression, stories, and animations or solve any open-ended problem of their choice using block-based programming.

Tech Aspect & Impact Measure 

CodeMitra revolutionizes learning by providing context-specific block-based programming lessons through its mobile application, catering to under-resourced communities in India. Built with Python Django for the backend and employing open-source technologies like Scratch, Blockly, React, and Angular for the front end, it capitalizes on India's mobile-first technology environment. This modular platform offers versatile use cases for organization partners, leveraging its open SaaS functionality.

Utilizing Mixpanel, a mobile and web analytics tool, CodeMitra tracks user-specific data to enhance the learning experience. For instance, in the NSPC program, the course completion rate was 59.7%, with users spending an average of 64 seconds per task and 0.4 hints used. The platform collects user information, analyzes gender-specific data, and identifies novices to tailor engagement strategies and understand cognitive loads.

We gather user information, identify novices and analyse gender-specific data to understand the cognitive load on beginners and encourage meaningful engagement. CodeMitra also endeavours to encourage more female students and gender minority intersectional populations to engage meaningfully with technology. Performance data on the visual sign language module aids in curriculum enhancement, ensuring inclusivity and effectiveness in learning.

The app also attempts to integrate a computational thinking learning analytics dashboard that moves beyond assessing computing concepts and skills, to assess the underlying behavioural and attitudinal traits associated with programming, like the ability to find mistakes, perseverance, creativity and collaboration, besides the role of culturally-responsive instruction, to broaden participation among low-income populations.

Who: Our target population comprises students attending government schools in India, representing 72.9% of the student demographic. These students face a digital divide highlighted by the UDISE 2021–2022 report, with only 10% of computer-equipped schools functional, leaving three-quarters of Indian students without access to quality computer science education. This scarcity directly affects their employability, as evidenced by the 46.2% youth employability rate (India Skills Report 2022). Considering India's young population, where 66% are under 35, bridging the 21st-century skills gap is imperative.

Additionally, our initiative intends to cater to the nearly 500,000 individuals aged 5-14 with hearing and speech impairments, as per the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21). We address their needs through inclusive design, ensuring that our Code Mitra modules and lessons are accessible and tailored to their requirements.

Impact: Code Mitra is designed to empower disadvantaged students by imparting essential 21st-century skills. Through culturally responsive, contextualized, and language-specific game-based programming lessons, we aim to foster a supportive learning environment that enhances technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and digital literacy among our target population. By engaging with Code Mitra, we anticipate observing increased confidence, creativity, and adaptability among students, leading to improved educational outcomes, expanded socio-economic opportunities, and greater participation in the digital ecosystem within marginalized communities.

Need/ Demand: Code Mitra is designed in response to compelling demands for higher-level thinking skills, life skills, and cultural relevance. Baseline data from 2022-2023, involving 900+ educators and parents, revealed a 65% demand for enhanced problem-solving and computational thinking skills. We also recognized a desire for broader life skills, 60% of students and teachers prioritize qualities like kindness and collaboration. It also meets economic constraints since it is designed with a focus on affordable Android phones. It also adopts a guided learning approach aligned with Indian preferences, lessons provide culturally relevant hints with regional language options. Extending beyond formal school hours, the mobile app offers offline access to the Open Lab, ensuring flexibility and accessibility. 

How we meet the demands:

Primarily we tackle access (open-source & cost-effective tool) and inclusivity (contextualised curriculum & game-based learning) barriers. We also 

• Form strategic partnerships with UNICEF, NitiAyog, Dept. of Science and Technology, and Diksha and reached 1 lakh+ students, supporting 2000+ teachers in problem-solving and computational thinking.

• Collaborate with under-resourced government schools using existing lab infrastructures via MoUs with the government.

• Extended after-school learning through Code Mitra’s Open Lab (Offline), promoting educational equity.

• Community programs like 'Code Mela' and the student-led initiative 'Gully Gully Code' amplify impact.

• Aligned with India's NEP 2020, emphasizing skills, attitudes, and cultural relevance.

• Contributes to teacher capacity building and captures learning data across dimensions.

• Promotes inclusive education through block-based visual sign language programming lessons. 

Right people to design and deliver 

Our team at Pi Jam is committed to equity, inclusion, and collaboration, with a unique blend of expertise and diversity from all regions of India.  With over 90% of team members, including the CEO and board, having taught in public schools, we bring a total of 100 years of teaching experience. With an average age of under 30, our team boasts a wealth of knowledge, fresh perspectives and skills. We prioritize geographical diversity, reflecting our belief that diverse perspectives aid in design, particularly in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) where we inculcate multiple means of engagement, representation and expression. While our implementation in special needs education is evolving, focused pilots demonstrate our dedication to inclusivity. With over 55% female representation and expertise in human-centred technology design, curriculum development, co-designing solutions with local communities and government collaborations amplifies our impact, and drives meaningful change for a more inclusive future in digital education.

Proximity to the Communities & Representation

Our CEO Founder hails from the Kashmir valley, where we've conducted extensive programs for rural students to acquire 21st-century skills. Nearly 70% of our on-ground staff, including instructors, come from these communities. Many of our staff members were educated in classrooms intervened by our organisation and now play vital roles in ensuring the success and sustainability of our projects. Their firsthand experience allows them to effectively utilize our tools to teach students and communities, bring invaluable insights from their shared backgrounds and enhance our impact within the community. This proximity and representation within the team ensure that our initiatives remain closely aligned with the needs and aspirations of the communities we serve.

Co-designed Solution 

We prioritize local engagement, involving teachers and community members in co-designing contextualized curriculums. Our government collaboration also amplifies the reach of initiatives, reflecting impactful advocacy efforts.

We also engage users in product development:

Initial UX Design Engagement:

• Closed sample of students crafted app design through hands-on activities. Their inputs shaped the UX, ensuring a customized tool aligned with user preferences. 

• MVP shared pre-launch with stakeholders, incorporating valuable insights.

• Contextualized the app based on user feedback, addressing language barriers.

Continuous Iteration Involvement:

• Collaboratively explored content and features with users.

• Added bite-size videos, sound effects, and simpler instructions based on user preferences.

• Introduced offline mode (Open-lab) to tackle network connectivity issues.

• Responded to user surveys by developing lessons on real-life activities, empathy promotion, and expanding features like quizzes and new blocks.

The visual sign language programming module stemmed from insights gained during our 2021 Pilot program, conducted in collaboration with Ashray Akruti, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, healthcare, and skill development of individuals with disabilities, particularly those with speech and hearing impairments. This six-month program involved two grades and over 30 children, where we utilized Scratch to teach creative programming. The launch of Code Mitra's visual sign language module integrated many learnings from this pilot, resulting in a co-designed solution with effective feedback incorporation.

Tool: Code Mitra fosters creativity and critical thinking through a constructivist approach, emphasizing local relevance and equitable access. Our contextualized learning platform offers customized support for disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering students to set their own goals and create block-based programming projects aligned with their passions. With a device-agnostic approach, Code Mitra ensures accessibility across low-cost Android devices, even in remote or low-income settings. Leveraging partnerships with government entities, we target India’s mobile-first market, promoting synergies among organizations. Utilizing Mixpanel for detailed user analytics, we track data such as time spent, errors, and hints used. We analyze gender-specific and visual sign language programming data to foster inclusivity and support gender minority students in community problem-solving and tech expression.

Beneficiaries: Code Mitra reached a scale of 350,000 to 4,00,000 users, primarily through teacher capacity-building programs and student boot camps. The integration into the National Students Paryavaran Competition (NSPC) across India, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment has also contributed to a national-level impact and the current scale. Moreover, the systemic nature of the tool is aiding its expansion through integration into various platforms, launching teacher training capacities and policy initiatives for 21st-century digital education shortly.

Partnerships: We have also partnered with Niti Ayog, Government of India across 14 states, including Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, where Codemitra will be used extensively for training teachers, content and learning dissemination. We have also signed MoUs with the Government of Maharashtra and other state Governments to enable 21st-century skills for over a million students. Through our MoU with the J and K government Code Mitra will be integrated into the state Samiksha platform impacting 500,000 students. 

Our contextualised and culturally responsive Let's Code video course created in partnership with UNICEF India has empowered students throughout the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and can be accessed for free using the Code Mitra app.  

Third-Party Evaluation and Recognitions: Codemitra is one of the innovations listed under the top 15 scalable solutions in India by YuWaah-UNICEF. The tool’s impact has been acknowledged globally, and selected for the HundrED Global Collection 2024. Over 85% of the 150+ stakeholders at the HundrEd Academy marked Code Mitra as High Impact and High Scalability. We represented India at the first G20 Education Working Group which was hosted at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. 

Our recent research, presented at international conferences like CTE-STEM, CSTA, and ISTE, has been nationally recognized for its contribution to culturally responsive future skills curricula.

Use Cases: Community-driven programs like 'Code Mela' and student-led initiatives such as 'Gully Gully Code' further amplify Code Mitra's impact by creating unconventional learning spaces and nurturing student leaders

Gully Gully Code is a student-led movement dedicated to equipping marginalized youth in India with vital 21st-century skills. This groundbreaking initiative challenges the notion of who has access to quality digital education and redefines traditional lab spaces by utilizing gullies, commonly known as slums, as innovative learning spaces. Through contextualised and gamified learning through open-source tools like Code Mitra, we not only impart essential skills but also cultivate community leadership. By nurturing future leaders from the streets of India, our initiative is rooted in empowerment and inclusion, breaking barriers and fostering sustainable change.

Our unconventional approach to high-velocity change, rooted in the mission to equip students for a rapidly evolving technological world, resonates deeply with Solve's ethos. 

Our primary goal isn't fundraising, we're seeking Solve's backing to bolster technical assistance, learning, and accessibility to creative computing, a domain pioneered by MIT Studio, to bridge these gaps and empower individuals from all backgrounds to thrive in the digital age.

We recognize that traditional approaches to education are inadequate in addressing the needs of marginalized communities, displaced individuals, and those with disabilities. Recognizing that challenges persistently advance, we are drawn to the program's emphasis on creating a sustainable and equitable future to meet the demand.

We understand that real progress requires more than just financial resources; it demands expertise in technology, human-centred solutions, program management, and collaboration with established institutions like MIT. By joining Solve's network of social impact leaders, we gain access to a community of like-minded individuals who share our passion for driving positive change and tackling the world's most pressing issues.

Through collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to social impact, we believe that together with Solve, we can make meaningful strides towards creating a more inclusive and equitable world where everyone has access to the opportunities they need to succeed.

Uniqueness 

Equitable Tool

Existing global platforms lack optimization for India's mobile-centric landscape. Code Mitra, tailored for public school users (70% of students in India), addresses this by focusing on affordable Android phones. The app also extends learning beyond school hours with offline access to the Open Lab, ensuring flexibility. It's an inclusive educational companion, catering to our community's unique needs.

Cultural Relevance

Existing tools lack cultural relevance, alienating Indian students and hindering their confidence and adaptability. The Indian digital education system lacks equity and contextuality, resulting in low outcomes, especially for marginalized communities. We address this with culturally and linguistically responsive lessons, fostering 21st-century skills through guided learning tailored to Indian students' needs. We prioritize relatable content with culturally relevant characters and objects.  

Modular 

Existing tools lack integration with national digital infra, excluding low-income market individuals and limiting their participation in the digital space. Code Mitra's design serves as a sandbox, integrating with existing Ed platforms, and national tech stacks, and launching initiatives to activate systems and address resource constraints in India. Our strategy aligns with NEP and enables us to close opportunity gaps at scale.

How could it catalyze broader positive impacts from others in this space? 

Code Mitra utilizes block-based programming akin to Scratch Junior, building upon Scratch and Blockly's groundwork. Our tool prioritizes accessibility by being device-agnostic, ensuring compatibility with mobile phones, while emphasizing cultural relevance. As members of the Scratch Education Collective, we gain from the collaborative ecosystem, fostering shared innovations.

Drawing from Code.org's guided learning approach we have tailored learning experiences to the Indian context. Leveraging our partnership as National Partners with Code.org, we enhance our offerings.

Our curriculum, based on the CAPS framework, focuses on Computational Thinking, nurturing creativity and agency. Additionally, we incorporate research on digital equity, constructivism, creative computing, and civic engagement, tailoring our approach to our context's unique needs. This comprehensive strategy aims to empower students with coding skills while fostering critical thinking, expression, and civic participation, catalyzing positive impacts in education.

How could it change the market/landscape? 

Code Mitra is at the forefront of transforming education in response to the rapid integration of technology into the job market, as highlighted by the World Economic Forum's 2023 Future of Jobs Report. Aligned with India's National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020, our platform delivers high-quality education in future skills to students nationwide, aiming to reduce educational disparities. Through our contextualized curriculum, we prioritize equitable and inclusive computing education, fostering community acceptance and student confidence. Our focus on digital citizenship and well-being cultivates essential problem-solving skills in each child, with the ultimate goal of increasing representation in STEM and tech fields, especially among marginalized communities. By offering a culturally relevant and responsive alternative, we challenge the status quo of computational thinking, emphasizing skill-oriented approaches like problem-solving and creative expression. Despite the limited adoption of existing frameworks like the NDEAR, Code Mitra democratizes education by providing accessible tools for public use, empowering students to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

Theory of Change 

Using CodeMitra, we are trying to tackle the lack of affordable, contextualised and equitable access to 21st-century literacies like problem-solving, computational thinking and programming to India's under-served and low-income communities. In addition to access barriers, Code Mitra is also aiming to address the global challenge of defining and assessing 21st-century literacies, emphasizing computational thinking. It evaluates progress across cognitive, behavioural, socio-emotional, and cultural dimensions. 

Immediate Outputs 

Equitable CT Learning: In the short term, Code Mitra aims to democratize the CT-CAPS framework, involving Concepts, Attitudes, Practices, and Skills. Key activities include validating the framework, aligning content, and training teachers.

How? 

1. Open-source and mobile-based platform 

2. The app features offline learning.

3. Supportive learning environment provided through culturally

responsive, contextualized, and language-specific game-based programming lessons.

This approach will enhance students' technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and digital literacy. Through engagement with the platform, we anticipate boosting confidence, creativity, and adaptability, resulting in improved educational outcomes, increased opportunities for socio-economic advancement, and greater participation in the digital ecosystem among marginalized communities.

Longer-term Outcomes 

Global CT Research Community: The strategy involves creating a CT dashboard with learning indicators and correlations to CT-CAPS scores. Activities encompass data cleaning, analysis, and collaboration with CT researchers. 

Nationwide Integration: For broad integration, Code Mitra plans systemic collaborations with governments, modular platform design, and community support, targeting 5 million learners and 25k educators by 2028.

How? 

1. Capture a spectrum of learning dimensions, empowering teachers, and researchers and enriching user experiences. 

2. Cultural relevance ensures platform adoption across complex and low-access markets and diverse contexts.

3. Platform modularity allows for integration with various Learning Management Systems, providing diverse implementation pathways. 

4. State and National education policy aligned approach.

5. Affordability and cultural relevance showcase proven success and leverage past collaborations with government entities to ensure feasibility and impact. 

6. Integration with the National Digital Education Architecture Framework enhances broader ecosystem alignment. Strong partnerships with government bodies like NITI Aayog, DST, and MoE boost credibility, and an ecosystem-based strategy fosters scalability. 

Evidence to support the TOA (e.g third-party evaluation, impact evaluation) 

Codemitra has earned recognition as one of India's top 15 scalable solutions by YuWaah-UNICEF and has been included in the prestigious HundrED Global Collection 2024, highlighting its global impact. At the HundrEd Academy, over 85% of stakeholders marked Code Mitra as having high impact and scalability. Additionally, we had the honour of representing India at the inaugural G20 Education Working Group hosted at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Our recent research, presented at esteemed international conferences such as CTE-STEM, CSTA, and ISTE, has garnered national acclaim for its contributions to culturally responsive future skills curricula

Student 

Impact Goal 

• Impact 10 million learners by 2027

• Reach 10,000 kids with special needs by 2025

Measuring Impact 

Currently, we measure: 

• Analyzing user performance data including completion, time utilization, error rates, and hint usage across courses, modules, tasks, gender, and grades.

• Computational Thinking (CT) Concepts, Attitudes, Practices & Skills: Proficiency in fundamental CT principles like algorithmic thinking, decomposition, and analysis.  

We also aim to measure: 

• Attitudes such as curiosity and tackling open-ended problems, alongside assessing the relationship between cultural/civic engagement and CT proficiency to enhance inclusive design.

• Performance Assessment: Analyzing user performance data on completion, time utilization, error rates, and hint usage across specific courses, modules, tasks, gender and grades, 

• Attitudes like Curiosity, handling ambiguity, tackling open-ended problems

• Cultural and Civic Dimensions: Assessing correlations between cultural and civic engagement and CT proficiency to further inform inclusive design.

Specific Indicator 

• No. of Users 

• User Performance Data 

• No. of Users with hearing & speech impairments

• Learning Outcomes based on CAPS Framework 

Teachers 

Impact Goal 

• 1000 Model Teachers creating content on Code Mitra 

• 10,000 Teachers leverage Code Mitra by 2025 

Measuring Impact & Specific Indicators 

An interactive multi-level CT-CAPS dashboard for teachers, students and researchers that aggregates analyzes and visualizes user learning patterns of:

● Computational thinking Concepts, Attitudes, Practices & Skills

● Users’ Module and task-wise CT-CAPS mapping

● Key learner indicators like gender, grades and context and how it affects

CT-CAPS scores

● Key learning indicators like culture, civic and critical dimensions and their

correlations to CT-CAPS scores

System 

Impact Goal 

• Create a Nationwide Code Mitra Instance and integrate with Diksha in collaboration with the Education Ministry

• 5 states integrate Code Mitra by 2025 

• Implement open learning and measurement tools to evaluate 21st-century skill literacies

• Incorporate AI, including Large Language Models, to enhance the coding experience

• Prioritize student safety and privacy

Measuring Impact & Specific Indicators 

• Systemic Inclusion of Code Mitra and Open Tools

• Policy Alignment and Curriculum Shifts

• District and State Digital Equity and Access Indicators like PGID (Performace Grade Index- Digital)

CodeMitra's backend is constructed using Python Django. On the front end, the platform employs a combination of open-source technologies such as Scratch, Blockly, React, and Angular. While Scratch and Blockly are traditionally utilized on computers and laptops, CodeMitra pioneers a groundbreaking approach by being the first mobile application to offer context-specific block-based programming lessons to under-resourced communities in India.

This innovative initiative taps into India's mobile-first technology landscape, recognizing the increasing presence of smartphones as the primary means of accessing the internet and digital resources. By leveraging mobile devices, CodeMitra extends the reach of programming education to populations that may have limited access to traditional computing resources.

The platform's modular architecture facilitates diverse use cases, allowing organizational partners to harness its open Software as a Service (SaaS) functionality for various teacher, stakeholder and institutional use cases. CodeMitra's adaptable framework enables a multitude of applications to cater to the unique needs of its users.

Full-time staff - 5

Volunteers - 250+

Contractors- 4 developers/tech specialist

Our organization has been working on the solution for the past 2.5 years. We have about 5-6 people working on the tech side of the solution. While a core team of 2-3 individuals handles curriculum and content design, the process involves a multi-stakeholder approach to ensure alignment with regional needs.

Pi Jam Foundation is committed to cultivating an inclusive workplace through HR, Policy, and Culture initiatives, alongside Programmatic Design efforts.

Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Policy underscores our dedication to fostering a workplace where every individual is valued and respected, free from discrimination or harassment. We prioritize cultural competency and strive for equitable representation at all levels, recognizing the enriching contributions of diverse backgrounds, ages, cultures, and genders.

To uphold these principles, Pi Jam Foundation's DEI Policy commits to various measures:

• Promoting a respectful working environment, free from discrimination and harassment.

• Cultivating cultural competency through transparent policies and learning opportunities.

• Ensuring equal access and standards for all employees.

• Advancing diverse leadership and measuring progress through research.

• Providing training and development opportunities for all staff.

• Monitoring and reviewing employment practices for fairness.

• Conducting educational sessions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Advocating for inclusive policies in the nonprofit sector.

• Treating breaches of the DEI policy as misconduct, supported by senior management.

• Regularly reviewing and updating the policy to reflect evolving needs.

Responsibilities are distributed across the organization:

• The Senior Leadership Team leads by example and drives DEI initiatives.

• Employees embrace respect and tolerance in workplace interactions.

• HR functions as the liaison for DEI strategy and policy implementation.

• Policy owners partner with HR to advance DEI across the organization.

We enforce a zero-tolerance policy towards various forms of discrimination, including direct, indirect, victimization, and harassment. Our recruitment and development practices prioritize fairness and objectivity, ensuring equitable opportunities for all candidates and employees.

A robust monitoring system tracks diversity metrics, informing action plans to achieve our inclusivity goals. Regular reporting to the board and organization facilitates transparency and accountability in our DEI efforts.

Our team:  at Pi Jam has a unique blend of expertise and diversity from all regions of India.  With over 90% of team members, including the CEO and board, having taught in public schools, we bring a total of 100 years of teaching experience. With an average age of under 30, our team boasts a wealth of knowledge, fresh perspectives and skills. We prioritize geographical diversity, reflecting our belief that diverse perspectives aid in design, particularly in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) where we inculcate multiple means of engagement, representation and expression. While our implementation in special needs education is evolving, focused pilots demonstrate our dedication to inclusivity. With over 55% female representation and expertise in human-centred technology design, curriculum development, co-designing solutions with local communities and government collaborations amplifies our impact, and drives meaningful change for a more inclusive future in digital education.

Org Design Principles: We operate under the principles of accessibility, contextual relevance, and modularity/scalability. As a non-profit, we prioritize learner needs over investor profits, fostering stakeholder trust crucial for systemic impact. Serving as the primary touchpoint for future skills education, we prioritize learner-centric approaches.

1.Need analysis: Lack of computer access, regional language curriculum, narrow perspectives on CS education, lack of access to CS education for special needs learners and gender biases hinder tech interest, adaptability, and 21st-century skills. 

2.Solution Tool

Code Mitra democratises access and contextualised curriculum. It empowers students with 21st-century skills through guided learning and supports teacher upskilling and SDG-focused problem-solving. Open Lab fosters open learning, allowing students to express creativity and tackle open-ended problems. Its modular approach allows for scale and systemic integration.

3.USP

Contextualized Learning: India's contextual needs are met with culturally relevant curriculum, offering internet-independent, mobile-friendly modules for accessibility in regions with limited access. Its design includes block-based visual sign language for the inclusion of speech and hearing-impaired learners.

Modular and Scalable Design:  The modular nature of the tool integrates seamlessly with state digital infra democratizing access to quality education.

System Approach to Adoption: With data-driven assessments and advocacy for AI skills integration, it prepares learners for future challenges. Partnerships with government bodies like NITI Aayog ensure systemic impact.

Creative Problem-Solving: Projects like Rangoli promote critical thinking within a culturally meaningful context, prioritizing 21st-century skills development over technology-centric approaches for equitable outcomes.

4. SWOT analysis

Strength:

• Our platform addresses access barriers by providing quality education to underserved communities.

• Contextualized learning enhances student engagement.

• Platform modularity ensures scalability in diverse contexts.

• Disability Inclusion 

Weakness:

• Limitation to Android devices hinders reach, especially for IOS users.

• While integration efforts have been made within India, our platform's global outreach remains limited, curtailing its potential to address educational challenges on a broader scale, particularly in other developing countries. 

Opportunity:

• Targeting a vast market, focusing on the 70% of government school-going students.

• Government Collaboration can facilitate scaling to reach marginalized students.

Threat:

• Organizations that prioritize standardized learning methods, regardless of contextual relevance, and possess greater resources, present an alternative model
  

• Efforts from influential lobbies pushing for the adoption of proprietary ecosystems and tools among senior bureaucratic and political circles can impede the uptake of open-source alternatives
  

5. Execution Plan: Codemitra brings underresourced students with no access to computers or dedicated CS teachers up to par with kids anywhere else, by empowering them with 21st-century skills, using open-source tech. It is a self-learning platform which is contextualized for local use. Further, it's a gamified and gender-responsive curriculum that increases interest, in turn impacting the willingness to pursue careers in tech. 

6. Impact: Engaging with CodeMitra enhances coding skills and fosters social consciousness. Learners tackle real-world issues, gain agency, and access equitable opportunities in tech. Our curriculum ensures disability inclusion with block-based sign language.

7. Evaluation

• CodeMitra employs Mixpanel for detailed user analytics.

• Data analysis, including gender-specific insights, informs enhancements for a more inclusive learning experience.

• For instance, in the NSPC program, the completion rate was 59.7%, with an average task time of 64 seconds and 0.4 hints used.

8. Revenue 

A. Grant Agreement made with Donors for Specific projects

B. General Donations Receipts

9. Expenses:

• Program Indirect, Personnel & Non-Personnel 

• Admin and Overhead Cost 

• Staff

As a nonprofit organization, our sustainability hinges on demonstrating impact through innovations and systemic integration, eventually enabling these innovations to be embedded into the system at scale. Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) partners, including AFE, Bajaj Finserve, Ujjivan, Bosch, Snowflake, Deloitte, Nomura, Wipro, Capgemini, and Microsoft, support our programs and engage in volunteer activities.

Code Mitra, supported by Amazon Future Engineer, benefits from generous contributions and cloud hosting credits. Since its rollout, we've successfully integrated and scaled Code Mitra in collaboration with government education bodies, owing to its modular build and open-source nature. This approach aligns with the New Education Policy's goal of fostering public goods, with plans to host Code Mitra on the National NIC platform, eliminating the need for ongoing hosting support from Pi Jam.

Through these efforts, we've cultivated an ecosystem of educators and administrators actively leveraging the platform. To date, Pi Jam has raised over $150K towards Code Mitra, signalling strong support for its sustainability and eventual full-scale integration into government stacks.

Our application to MIT Solve is driven not solely by the desire for monetary benefits, but rather by the opportunity to become part of an ecosystem that can enable and support us in enhancing our tool further.