Bengaluru: “Unlocking the creative potential of children, adults and communities rich, poor and downtrodden around the world, I believe, is one of the central challenges of the 21st century,” said Ramji Raghavan, Founder and Chairman, Agastya International Foundation, at a hands-on mobile science education programme for underprivileged children and rural teachers.
“Do we have to be an Einstein to be creative,” asked Mr Raghavan, who delivered the 41st Foundation Day lecture at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Creativity and innovation were the themes this year, with Mr Raghavan delivering an inspiring speech, filled with anecdotes taken from the lives of children in rural India.
Rani and Roja, for instance, two young girls who went on to win the prestigious Intel-IRIS award, did a science project on whether different leaves have different cooling effects. Sai and Pavitra, two children from North Karnataka, made paper from groundnut shells. All this, said Mr Raghavan, stems from curiosity, from one’s willingness to say ‘why’ and ‘why not?’.
“We have an education system based on textbooks and reading, but we need to focus hands-on, experiential learning,” he said. “You need to find what I call the 3As - the ‘ah’ moment, the ‘aha’ moment and of course, a little bit of the ‘ha-ha’ moments!”
Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, discussed, in her speech, the new challenges and aspirations that lie ahead for the Institute.
“I do believe that the whole national agenda of inclusive economic development is about creative thinking,” she said. Governance, she remarked, is the new challenge for management schools.
“I think for all of us who have been involved with IIMB, it is about scripting an agenda that will not only shape the lives of those graduating from its portals, but also shape an economic agenda for the country.”
Dr Sushil Vachani, Director, IIMB, said that Foundation Day is about “celebrating the contributions of people who work untiringly to create an intellectually stimulating environment and revisit our commitment to educate leaders and entrepreneurs who truly make a difference in the world.”
