Karnataka Schools shine at ATL Marathon 2024 spearheaded by Atal Innovation Mission and NITI Aayog

Mysuru, India: Mysuru’s Excel Public School (EPS) has created history at the ATL Marathon 2023-24 edition with the highest number of finalists from a single school in the country. The ATL Marathon, spearheaded by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, in partnership with UNICEF and YuWaah, is a flagship innovation challenge that invites schools to identify community problems and develop innovative solutions in the form of working prototypes. This year’s edition saw 19,700 project submissions nationwide and out of which 500 top innovations were selected as finalists. Karnataka emerged as the leading state in the country with the highest number of selected projects among all states, with 84 selected projects. 11 of these 84 selected projects from the state were from Excel Public School.

The students of EPS will now have the opportunity to participate in the Student Innovator Program, which includes entrepreneurship boot camps and internships with leading corporates and incubation centers in India. They will also be eligible to compete further for grants and seed funds set aside by the MoE for 200 innovators, from the ATL Marathon finalists. EPS has been a regular at the Marathon submitting around 250 projects over the last six years and consistently emerging in the top 500. Last year, two of the school’s innovations went on to receive top honors with its ‘Millet Vending Machine’ being selected at Dell Shepreneur Program for boot camp training and ‘Anytime Education Device’ receiving grant and seed funding from the Ministry of Education.

With an aim to continue its winning streak, this year the school’s project spanned across a diverse range of themes, including agriculture, inclusivity, education and skill development, mobility, disaster management, health, and space. These projects tackle real-world problems with innovative solutions, such as a device for Traffic Rerouting during floods, DIY HAM Radio kits to enable community communication during natural disasters, a solar-powered medicine vending machine to bridge the gap in accessing basic medicine, a revolutionary satellite payload to monitor the environment through diverse sensors, automated agricultural assistance devices, gamified tools to help students build problem-solving skills, and more.

Each of these projects was developed by groups of two to three students from grades IV – X with the help of mentors. The students brainstormed problem statements based on the ATL Marathon’s theme and were divided into teams according to their areas of interest. On an average, each team spent 40-50 hours developing their projects.

These projects were developed at Excel Public School’s Innovation Centre, a 7,000 sq ft space dedicated to fostering student entrepreneurship and innovation. The center acts as an incubation cell and an accelerator providing access to R&D, design, support for prototype development as well as offers both in-house guidance and internships with leading organizations for its student entrepreneurs. The innovation center has partnerships with ISRO, 1 Edtech, Ham Radio India, The New York Academy of Science, and more. With this Innovation Centre, EPS envisions a community of students and future leaders actively working across disciplines to develop solutions to complex real-life problems.

In recognition of EPS’s achievements, Mentors & Teachers, Gopinath Subramaniam, Senior Learning Designer, Chitra Uthaya, Head Learning Events & Assessment, Jyoti Joseph, ATL in-charge at Excel Public School, and the students, Tanvi Girish (Grade XI), Abhinav A (Grade X), and Nandan Hedge (Grade X) will join the 77th Independence Day Celebration in New Delhi.

Commenting on the EPS achievements and the invitation to attend the Independence Day Celebration, Shubham Gupta, Innovation Lead at Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, said “Atal Tinkering Lab at EPS school has produced plenty of innovators and have won many state and national level accolades. This is a result of hardwork of the students, mentors, and ATL incharge. To recognise their efforts three students, their mentors and the ATL incharge have been invited as special guests by the NITI Aayog and the Prime Ministers office for the 78th Independence Day celebration from 12th August to 16th August 2024. As special guests they will be attending the celebrations at the Red Fort and shall visit places of national importance.”

Commenting on the achievement of the students, Mathew KG, Principal, of Excel Public School said, “ “Our students have once again made us proud with their achievement. This is a collective success of all those who fostered their creativity – teachers, mentors, peer groups, and parents. At EPS we are dedicated to empowering students with the knowledge and the skills they need to succeed in the real world. Providing them with opportunities and pushing them to explore their capabilities that ignite their critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.”

Congratulating the students on their achievement Mr. Sudhanva, MD & CEO of Excel group said, “These projects not only highlight the students’ ingenuity but also reflect the school’s dedication to nurturing future innovators and entrepreneurs who will contribute meaningfully to the society. EPS School’s success at the ATL Marathon is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the students, teachers, and the broader school community. I congratulate all the students for the hard work they have put in and wish them a great future ahead.”

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