Recent
interviews of Dr Mitra on Minimally Invasive Education
- Mouse
Trap
- The
Hole in the Wall
- Access,
Culture and a "Hole in the Wall"
Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in IT for NIIT Chief Scientist Sugata Mitra
New Delhi, April 1, 2005: This year’s Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology, instituted by the Department of Information Technology, has gone to distinguished computer expert and NIIT’s Chief Scientist Dr Sugata Mitra. The award has been conferred on Dr Mitra in recognition of his pinnacle achievement, the discovery of the pedagogy, science and technology of Minimally Invasive Education.
|
Minimally Invasive Education Experiment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Award for Innovation in Information Technology was instituted in 2001 by the Department of Information Technology, Government of India, in memory of the IT evangelist Dewang Mehta, to honour individuals from technology-related sectors for their innovative work with the potential of making an impact on national development or bring fame to the country.
 |
| Dr Sugata Mitra with a group of children at the NIIT Minimally Invasive Education Technology kiosk set up for Delhi Government at Madangir, New Delhi. |
In 1999, in an experiment conducted by Sugata, a computer connected to the Internet was embedded in a slum wall and left for unsupervised use by children. The findings of the experiment suggested that groups of children could learn to use computers and the Internet on their own, irrespective of who or where they were. Dr Mitra and his team subsequently verified this unique discovery in intensive testing through a large-scale experiment, across India and Cambodia.
The Chief Minister and the current Chief Secretary of the Delhi Government played an active role in promoting the project in its early stages, in a resettlement colony of South Delhi. Thereafter, in 2001, the World Bank, through its affiliate the International Finance Corporation, formed a joint venture with NIIT in the form of HIWEL to scale the Research Project to over 30 locations across India— from Leh in the North to Kanyakumari in the South, from Sunderbans in the East to Sindhudurg in the West.
Dr. Mitra’s Minimally Invasive Education Technology (popularly known as the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment) is a result of over fifteen years of intensive testing and research and is based on the premise of incidental learning with minimum human guidance.
Expressing his happiness at receiving the award, Dr Mitra said, “I am humbled by this prestigious award. Over 3 million students, who experienced NIIT’s pioneering instructional methods, influenced my efforts at devising the innovative ‘Hole-in-the-wall’ method of learning.”
The past recipients of this prestigious award include Rajesh Hukku of i-Flex and the team led by Vinay Deshpande that developed the Simputer.
Minimally Invasive Education Experiment
The “Minimally Invasive Education” experiment has resulted
in a new technology and a new way for children to learn. In 1999, in an experiment
conducted by Dr. Mitra a computer connected to the Internet was embedded into
a slum wall and left for unsupervised use by children. The experiment suggested
that children, irrespective of their social, ethnic or educational identity,
can learn to use computers by themselves, thereby closing the much discussed
“digital divide”.
“Using the Minimally Invasive Education Method, six to thirteen year olds can teach themselves to use computers regardless of their social, economic, ethnic and even linguistic status”, said Dr Mitra. “We always underestimate their abilities,” he added.
 |
| Dr Sugata Mitra with a group of children at the NIIT Minimally Invasive Education Technology kiosk set up for Delhi Government at Madangir, New Delhi. |
This unique discovery was verified in intensive testing by Mitra and his team,
throughout India. In villages located in remote areas from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,
researchers reported hundreds of children teaching each other to use computers
through NIIT’s “Minimally Invasive Education Kiosks.”
The computers are provided in safe, public, outdoor spaces through innovative
technologies developed by the CRCS. All activities at these kiosks are monitored
remotely through the Internet from Delhi.
NIIT is now making this technique available to the world through “Hole In the Wall Education Limited” (HIWEL).
NIIT’s “Minimally Invasive Education” kiosk technology is available to village students in Cambodia thanks to the efforts of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has been entrusted with this task to source the technology from HIWEL to build “Minimally Invasive Education” Kiosks in villages in Cambodia in 2004, as a gift for the children of Cambodia from the Government of India.
About Dr Sugata Mitra
A long time teacher and a scientist of international repute, Dr Mitra has over
25 inventions and first-time applications, in the areas of Cognitive Science,
Information Science and Educational Technology, to his credit.
Known all over the world for his Hole-in-the-wall experiment that provides Internet access and uses Minimally Invasive methodology to teach Computers to young children, Dr Mitra is also the winner of “Man for Peace Award” from US-based “Together for Peace Foundation” and “Social Innovation Award” from the UK based think tank, Institute for Social Inventions. He is also the Fellow of the World Technology Network and a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences.
About NIIT Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems
(CRCS)
NIIT's Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems (CRCS),
a dedicated R&D Centre located at IIT Delhi, has been involved in pioneering
research in order to come up with innovative methods of training as well as
developing systems, devices and software. CRCS created the Handy Audio
Replay Kit (HARK), a transmitted audio visitor guidance technology
and Web Appliance for Remote Presence (WARP), a remote telerobotic
webcam system for tourists. These systems are currently in use at the Qutab
Minar and the Ramakrishna Mission in Delhi, the Char Minar in Hyderabad, Bodh
Gaya in Bihar and Belur near Bangalore.
NIIT has filed patent for Software Engineering Tools (SETS), the world’s first, evolutionary full life-cycle software application delivery over the net. At the moment CRCS has 16 patents pending. In the electronics sector CRCS has the highest number of electronic patents at this point of time in India.
NIIT’s CRCS is the hub where state-of-the-art training methodologies
and cutting edge IT learning strategies are being forged. These span areas such
as Computer Careers, Edutainment, Cyberspace, Virtual Reality, Adaptive Systems,
Cognitive
Interfaces and Personality Storage Technologies and give the company its unassailable
lead in the market.
Besides the Minimally Invasive Education Technology, NIIT’s vibrant research programs have helped create some of the most comprehensive course material and educational content, making its offerings in the educational niche contemporary and IT industry relevant. These have led to the creation of high quality, skilled IT professionals that are helping global corporations enhance their efficiency and productivity.
About NIIT
NIIT, an acknowledged leader in the IT and IT-assisted training space offers
Learning and Knowledge Solutions in 33 countries. Training over 500,000 learners
annually, NIIT is the only Asian Education and Training Organization to feature
among the IDC Top 20 Global IT Training market leaders, for four consecutive
years.
NIIT’s education offerings include: GNIIT--an industry-endorsed program for students seeking careers in the IT and BPO segments; CATS—offers training programs on advanced technologies for IT professionals; Swift—a platform for equipping ordinary people with basic computer skills; NetVarsity.com offers a blend of content, technology and services, and NIIT@School--a turnkey, IT integration program that provides computer-based learning in government and private schools.
NIIT’s range of offerings in the e-learning domain are bolstered by its SEI CMM Level 5 assessed Knowledge Solutions business (KSB), which has emerged as a leader in the field. NIIT KSB offers integrated learning solutions that range from strategy and design to development, implementation and administration.
Its customers include Fortune 500 Companies, Universities, Technology Companies, Training Corporations and Publishing Houses.
For media queries, please contact:
Sanjiv Kataria, NIIT Limited., Ph: +91 11 26482054, Fax: +91 11 26203386; Email:
sanjivk@niit.com