Education Technology | Innovations and Insights - Edinbox

A Chennai startup that is working on fiber-optic sensors to monitor aging infrastructure took the first prize of 3 lakh at Sangam 2025, the global innovation and alumni meet of IIT Madras and its alumni association.

Folium Sensing emerged victorious at the startup pitchfest held on July 4 in Bengaluru. 20 deep tech and AI startups presented their ideas to over 250 venture investors and capitalists there.

The product of the company is based on fibre-optic sensing technology, which monitors infrastructure in real-time, whereas its scalable product allows it to detect structural gaps in factories, bridges, and buildings. Its technology has the ability to transform infrastructure safety, particularly that of ageing urban infrastructure.

Q-AXIS MOTORS AND ZENTOR MEDTECH WINNERS TOO

Q-axis Motors ranked second by creating India's first sub-100rad precision gimbals that are designed to be utilized in the defence, drone, and surveillance industries. Their precision motion control products deliver stunning enhancements in targeting and stability to unmanned vehicles and platforms.

Third place went to Zentor Medtech for its breakthrough of the world's first patented solid-state laser technology for ophthalmic surgery. The technology offers enhanced precision and safety of ophthalmic treatments, offering a substitute for conventional laser systems with the solidity of dependability.

CELEBRATING AI, INNOVATION, AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Organized on July 4 and 5 in Bengaluru, Sangam 2025 had more than 500 delegates from the entrepreneurial community, faculty, alumni, and investors. The issues of interest covered Artificial Intelligence, innovation, and entrepreneurship that reasserted IIT Madras as a national leader in deep tech research and commercialisation.

Talking about the event, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said: "I have observed the passion, the enthusiasm, the good ideas and the desire to attempt the new, the curiosity with which all of you have conducted your work, it actually makes all of us proud of your work a lot that now, after already allocating the entire first tranche of 'Fund of Funds' of Rs. 10,000 Crore in the last budget, now extra Rs. 10,000 Crore has now been approved as Tranche 2."

He also instructed that a $12 billion (Rs 1 lakh crore) interest-free loan has been approved by the Cabinet for the Department of Science and Technology to fund next-generation technology by providing flexible funding schemes to be reinvested again as success builds innovation.

IIT MADRAS POURS PRESSURE FOR 'VIKSIT BHARAT 2047'

Last week, while delivering a speech, IIT Madras Director Prof. V Kamakoti had mentioned, "IIT Madras will spearhead the efforts to translate 'Viksit Bharat 2047' into reality. Entrepreneurship and innovation are at the top of its agenda and are the ones that drive National progress. The upcoming 'Sangam 2025' event is a reflection of the vision in the form of a well-thought-out series of events to make India a country of entrepreneurship and product innovation world champion."

Other dignitary guests are Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, Axilor Ventures & Co-founder, Infosys, Dr S Somanath, Vikram Sarabhai Professor and ex-Chairman, ISRO -- both eminent alumni of IIT Madras -- and Shri Tejasvi Surya, Hon'ble Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Bengaluru South.

The conclave also featured top-level interactions with Aparna Chennapragada (Microsoft), Srinivas Narayanan (OpenAI), Tarun Mehta (Ather Energy), Kris Gopalakrishnan (Infosys), and Dr S Somanath (former Chairman, ISRO) -- all IIT Madras alumni.

FROM STARTUPS TO GLOBAL IMPACT

The Pitchfest witnessed the presence of AI, health, biotech, quantum computing, logistics, and climate tech startups. All the shortlisted startups will now be incubated by the IIT Madras Innovation Ecosystem, which has incubated more than 500 startups in the past decade.

As Shyamala Rajaram, President, IIT Madras Alumni Association, aptly put it: "Sangam 2025 is the collective strength of IIT Madras and its global alumni -- driving audacious debates on innovation and entrepreneurship."

Through all such initiatives, IIT Madras is reasserting itself as a center for technology of global transformation and economic development.

ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan honored Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday during his visit to Lucknow.

The move was a day before the scheduled visit of Dr. Narayanan to the state capital and was a demonstration of ISRO's heightened drive to strengthen regional coalition in space research, tech, and education. The move was seen as a sign of Uttar Pradesh's heightened interest in building science and generating student interest in the study of space.

The two dignitaries, according to reports, had talks to enhance the presence of ISRO within the state of Uttar Pradesh. On the agenda was the initiation of space awareness programs in government institutions and colleges and encouraging more students to study in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with emphasis on space sciences.

The class comes at a critical moment for ISRO, which itself is ramping up its operations with satellite mission success and prospects of carrying out interplanetary missions. As India's space mission picks up across the world, Uttar Pradesh states are moving ahead to be a part of the nation's vision by introducing space studies in school curriculum.

It was the department of science and technology senior government officials, department of education members, and scientists from local research institutes that attended the session. The exercise itself underlined the shared commitment to democratizing science and equipping the next generation with employment opportunities in the high-technology industry.

This dialogue is expected to lead to further dialogue between ISRO and Uttar Pradesh in terms of capacity building programs, school infrastructure, and talent identification at the rural and semi-urban level.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the education industry by personalizing learning, helping the instructors, and streamlining school administration. It helps students with numerous languages, helps the visually impaired children, and offers diverse testing environments. Although AI has a lot to give, data privacy concerns as well as rural connectivity levels need to be addressed. More here.

The Education System itself is changing at a rate that is mind-numbing, and one of the biggest factors for that is Artificial Intelligence (AI). Something that was some kind of tomorrow yesterday is being implemented in schools, colleges, and learning websites on a daily basis. Not only is AI helping the educational process in 2025 and thereafter, but it is also revolutionizing the manner in which we learn, teach, and design classrooms.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is helping all kids to learn as individuals who are just right for them. Khan Academy's Khanmigo, for example, can modify the degree of difficulty of questions as the child learns based on what they respond to.

Embibe, an Indian app, offers practice questions, videos, and exercises customized to be for what the student is stuck on. Schools in America like ALT-School and learning programs like Gooru Learning help teenagers understand where they are doing it wrong and how to get it right, step by step. It is a form of smart learning that is referred to as hyper-personalised learning, and it is revolutionizing the way in which children are learning at an incredible pace. AI is a teaching assistant. It never replaces them but makes their job easier. In India, there are platforms like Teachmint and Scribetech which assist teachers in carrying out actions like attendance, classroom management, and report generation without any hassle. There is in America software called Century Tech that assists teachers in assessing the manner in which children are learning and then providing the concept of teaching them in a better way.

AI is enabling more children to learn and be learned about. Google's Read Along application is simplifying learning to read for rural Indian children in certain Indian languages. Duolingo-type apps are making learning any language fun for all humans on Earth. These AI applications are used in Japanese schools and the UAE to translate while the teacher talks.

This is easier for foreign students to comprehend. Visually challenged children in rural Karnataka are assisted by Microsoft AI tools through Kannada and English reading. This is easy for children to master who are unable to read well.

AI is transforming how we test and examine students. As an example, the GRE test today uses AI to make it easy to mark written answers quickly and fairly.

In India, Embibe not only verifies if a child has answered or not but also why he/she has answered so, i.e., hesitated or time taken.

Even the CBSE schools are employing AI to assess speaking English and writing skills and offering instant and useful feedback to the students.

AI is not merely about learning, but also makes school effective. An example of how Georgia State University in the US employs an AI assistant called Pounce is as follows. It answers questions from students and retains students at school.

In India, Manipal Academy deploys AI to arrange class hours, predict the number of students to be enrolled, and give support needed by the students. Podar International schools employ AI to update parents regarding attendance, homework, and exam dates so that parents won't be left behind.

While it's good, there are problems with AI. There have been some strict controls in Europe so that schools cannot utilize deceptive or unfair AI software.

India does have some data privacy concerns because there are so many students online. There is the Digital Personal Data Protection Act to protect students' data, but it needs to be actively enforced.

AI would not replace teachers but would help teachers in the future. AI is used in Finnish schools as well as project-based learning to encourage students and make their classes more interactive and engaging.

In India, AI classes have already started from Grade 8 under the CBSE board in collaboration with Intel. Some of the next-generation schools are also hiring AI Coaches to train students on how to leverage AI tools for maximum benefit in a safe and smart way.

Twelve-year-old Jesna Fathima was fluctuating between medicine and teaching as a future vocation when she learned: "If I do engineering, I can do a lot more things." That idea did not pop into her mind randomly, but instead came about because of the STEM camp held in her school by the Centre for Learning Engineering and Sustainable Education and the department of education, under the University of Kerala.

From 2023, the centre has been conducting training camps in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students -- from Class 7 to 9 -- from weaker socioeconomic sections. Already, two camps have been held, one in Kollam and the other in Thiruvananthapuram, the second of which Jesna participated in. The centre plans to conduct more camps, one per district, in this academic year and culminate the series with a project exhibition.

The students, in the camp, were introduced to a whole new world of breadboards, resistors, sensors, and Arduino, where they learned and discovered the fundamentals of robotics, programming, and electronics. Five days of training and the students were requested to pick real-life problems, solutions for which can be discovered using what they learned in the camp. Their problems, from drying clothes during monsoon to potholes on the roads, were sorted and solved with the aid of mentors.

The initial camp, held at the Government HSS, Puthur, during the first week of May, had more than 30 students. "We had already been told by the centre that they don't require a batch of exceptional students, but those who can be developed through a camp like this," said Pradeep B, a school teacher, who accompanied the students during the camp.

Finance Minister K N Balagopal also visited the camp on the final day. Thanks to the camp, the students who shied away from answering questions earlier have now started engaging in the class proactively, Pradeep said. Such camps remain the sole hope for students outside the proficiency belt.

The second camp was held at the Government VHSS, Thiruvananthapuram.

"The centre gives prominence to girls of the marginalised groups through various projects," said Divya C Senan, honorary director, Centre for Learning Engineering and Sustainable Education.

While Artificial Intelligence keeps changing industries, legal education in India will soon be joining the same wagon. In a trend-setting webinar on July 5 organized by The Hindu, top legal minds, tech experts, and policy-makers discussed how AI needs to be ingrained in law schools and professional practice. The three broad categories of consideration: ethics, curriculum, and industry readiness.

India's courts are notoriously backed up, with cases piling up over years, and yes, decades. To attempt to address this, AI systems like Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Predictive Analytics are being implemented to pre-empt mundane work, enhance case tracking, and even aid in legal research and risk assessment.

But in order for law schools to effectively leverage this technology, they need to transform. Speakers at the webinar emphasized that it is only significant to educate future lawyers with digital literacy, legal analytics, and AI ethics within the legal context. Law students, they contended, are not just needed to be instructed on the technicalities of how AI tools function but also critically consider questions on bias in algorithms, data privacy, and the boundaries of automation in justice.

"AI can accelerate legal proceedings, but AI cannot replace human thought where human sympathy and subtlety are concerned," responded a panellist. A response came that AI had actually been used in foreign courts to determine risk at sentencing or locate similar precedents and that India had to play catch-up—morally.".

The reasoning also encompassed whether studying AI would fill the gap between theory and practice. As more law firms begin to use more AI-based research and documentation utilities, graduates who are trained for it will be able to do business on day one and be productive without any delay.

In brief, the webinar was a welcome reminder: AI is no enemy of the legal community—it is a tool that, if utilized in an ethical and effective manner, can expand access to justice. But before it can be, it needs to be educated about, debated, and de-mystified at Indian law schools.

Delhi education minister Ashish Sood on Saturday informed that the city schools would soon boast an advanced education system with artificial intelligence, smart boards, and robots. While addressing a state-run school in Gujarat's Surat, Sood was hopeful that this move would not only improve the quality of education in Delhi's govt schools but also expose students to new technologies.

The education minister toured different classes of the school and saw how the teaching and learning process was being implemented on smart boards. He spoke with students to learn how practical smart boards are and how much education the students gain through this technology. The govt, in a statement, stated the minister also toured the school's AI and Robotics Lab where he saw hands-on projects being executed by students on topics like drones, 3D printers, and sophisticated sensor security systems.

Sood stated even with being the national capital with all the resources at hand, Delhi's government schools had only a handful of smart boards, whereas Gujarat, with all its natural adversities like every year's floods in many districts, has been able to set up more than 1.1 lakh smart classrooms.

The visit of the minister was to see for himself the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and the finer points of education that the various states had adopted. He stated that Gujarat's reforms in state schools were exemplary and other states should learn from them.