STEM camps empower girls to shoot for new heights

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.