INQUI-LAB INSIGHTS

Think & Make 2022-23 launched for 3200 students across 40 schools

Building on our partnership with Social Welfare Schools since 2018, we launched Think and Make, Inqui-Lab's Flagship program, across 40 Social and Tribal Welfare Schools in Telangana.

We launched the program under a 2-year MOU with the TSWREIS and TTWREIS departments. We are grateful to the invested officials in these departments who encouraged us to innovate and implement a 4-module version of Think & Make at scale.

To take this peer-led program forward, a 3-day residential training was held for a cohort of 160 ‘student leaders’ and 40 ‘mentor teachers’ from 2nd to 4th August in Hyderabad. The aim of the training was to arm the cohort with necessary skills and knowledge to facilitate this in-person program in their respective schools for their peers.

The program aims to push a culture of problem-solving in learning spaces. Drawing from past student feedback, the current version includes many more activity based sessions to deliver engagement & learning. From practicing Observation through a game of ‘I Spy’ or ‘Dumb Charades’ to prototyping their ideas by up-cycling or designing eco-friendly products - there’s a lot that students will benefit from. With this blend of activities, debrief, and problem theme-centred learning, student teams can:

Think & Make classroom sessions have now begun. With over 85% of Student Leaders feeling very confident to facilitate the program for their peers, we are hopeful that we get to see thoughtfully understood problems and delightfully relevant solutions coming from our budding community of problem solvers!

This milestone has been achieved because of the long term champions that we have in our partners at Salesforce. The team has been a constant cheerleader for us - from helping out in financial ways to providing mentorship support to help us grow.

A Step Ahead for Problem-Solvers

Champions For Change (CFC) fellowship program was launched on the 17th of July in collaboration with Tribes For Good for Government and low-income private school students. The first cohort of 20 students are undergoing training to take civic actions through problem solving while also learning complementary skills like digital literacy and communication. Three of these students are learning Front-End development under the mentorship and guidance of Coding For All.

11300 students from over 250 colleges of Telangana have so far registered under the first edition of Youth for Social Impact. Registered students are now undergoing learning sessions on concepts of sustainability, social innovation and social entrepreneurship. The program will culminate with students submitting their innovation proposals for further development.

As we Learn and Grow

• Inqui-Lab is participating in the Social Media Marketing Training organised by Social Venture Partners (SVP) in Hyderabad. The team will leverage the learnings to achieve better results from its social media presence.

• Towards a safer workplace: Consultant and adviser Prerna G. Chatterjee led a POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) awareness training for Inqui-Lab Team. The team learnt about sexual harassment and redressal systems in an engaging method and reaffirmed its commitment to a safe work environment.

• New Manager Academy: The next line of leadership underwent a 4-week, hands-on, Cohort-based Course on the 6 essentials of Management, expertly facilitated by Gaurav Singh and Co.labx’s Saahil and Arhan. Learning and resurrecting different frameworks has energised us to now have a shared language and power up our internal collaborative systems.

• Inqui-Lab Retreat 2022: A 27 member strong team got together for a refreshing 2-day camp in the lap of nature at the Golden Boulder in Wanaparthy. Inquians explored their fun and unknown sides as they engaged in a host of activities - from learning bushcraft and singing jam sessions to climbing boulders, literally!

Inqui-Lab Foundation aims to nurture changemakers, entrepreneurs and innovators who can transform their communities and the world.

www.inquilabfoundation.org