Geospatial technology remains the core element in almost all of the major projects in India, which is why understanding the technology, its operations, identifying the problems, and developing solutions is of utmost importance.
Getting skilled geospatial human resources is not enough, India needs to tap the population that can innovate through knowledge. That will only be possible if geospatial thinking is instilled in them in their early years of learning.
The endeavour of early education is to stimulate the cognitive development of a child holistically and spatial cognition is one essential aspect of it. To enable this, India needs concerted programs and concrete action to ‘ignite the geospatial spark’ in young minds at the school level.
To go beyond the accomplishments and milestones, that India has gained till date, an Indian Public Policy Think Tank Centre for Knowledge Sovereignty (CKS) and Esri India Technologies Pvt Ltd – the industry leader in end-to-end Geographic Information System (GIS) solutions, joined hands to launch the Master Mentors Geo-Enabling Indian Scholars (MMGEIS) program in the country.
The program targets students from 8th grade to undergraduate levels and aims to make India a global skilling and innovation hub for geospatial technology.
The program will also work towards fostering a strong IP framework to enable more patents from India in its journey towards becoming a global geospatial innovation hub. The MOU was signed by Vinit Goenka, Secretary, Centre for Knowledge Sovereignty, and Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India, in the presence of Shri Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO here today.
Need for Geospatial Awareness at School Level
Currently, geospatial education and knowledge dissemination in India is through the existing university and education systems that provide capacity-building and HR development activities.
Geospatial technology is changing at a rapid pace and many institutions in the country face tremendous challenges in keeping pace with the technology advances.
Universities lack funds and are unable to update facilities and get modern tools and systems (hardware and software) and thus knowledge remains in old regimes and does not get enhanced with time.
The current and future government projects of national importance, private sector projects to provide services and the citizens’ needs for specific geospatial information would require a strong knowledge base and a skilled workforce that are available or will be trained by the current education system.
Aim of the Program
To enable up to 1 lakh students per year, the program is designed to spread geospatial awareness at the school and college levels and set the stage for next-generation geospatial research and innovation by mentoring promising students under the guidance of leading scientists and innovators like Kiran Kumar, former Chairman of ISRO; Dr. K J Ramesh, former Director General of IMD and Girish Kumar, former Surveyor General of India.
The program will tap pan-India talent through a comprehensive process. It will provide students with vision talks and interaction with Master Mentors, one-on-one mentoring by experts, and interactive activities. The pilot project is being launched in January 2024, and the full-fledged program will be rolled out from June 2024. This is also in line with the focus of the National Education Policy (NEP) on experiential learning and applying information to real-world circumstances.
Vinit Goenka, Secretary, Centre for Knowledge Sovereignty said, “When we conceived MMGEIS, our intention was to extend this idea and offer students a platform to develop skills that would shape them into thought leaders. Through MMGEIS, we aim to nurture the personal growth of students by fostering curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Ultimately, our goal is to establish a robust foundation that inspires our children to become innovators and make meaningful contributions to the development of our nation.”
Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India said, “GIS technologies are poised to play a critical role in India’s development trajectory with applications across sectors like Urban Planning, Natural Resource Management, Agriculture and Land Records, Disaster Management and others to improve the lives of citizens. The MMGEIS program reflects our shared vision to empower school and college students to think spatially, innovate and create intellectual property in the geospatial space. This will play a crucial role in achieving our goal of making India a developed country by 2047 and enhancing India’s presence on the world stage.”
AS Kiran Kumar, Member, Space Commission and Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), shared his views, “The introduction of the Master Mentor Geo-Enabling program marks a significant step in India’s journey towards becoming a leading innovator. We anticipate this initiative will lead to a surge in patents filed by young Indians, showcasing their creativity and the program’s effectiveness. These patents, expected to cover a range of fields from environmental solutions to technological advancements, will highlight India’s growing stature in global arena.”
The MMGEIS program is designed to nurture students’ spatial thinking from an early age to enable them to develop the capacity to analyze and interpret spatial data, ultimately leading to the generation of innovative solutions and the creation of new intellectual property.
The initiative shifts geospatial innovation to significantly enhance India’s future standing on the innovation index, stimulating intellectual property creation and, in turn, driving economic growth and societal progress.
