Teachers
Teachers as Transformers, by Vijaya Sherry Chand and Shailesh Shukla, Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, was the title of a volume brought out by UNICEF, Gujarat, in 1998 that presented the work of 30 outstanding teachers of Gujarat. This volume was the genesis of a search for outstanding teachers who, using their own intellectual resources, have managed to innovate and improve education in their contexts.
The initial work was supported by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai. Three yearbooks of case studies of innovative teachers were brought out (2005-07). In addition, a number of other accounts were produced. The Hewlett-Packard Sustainability and Social Innovation Award (2013-14) has made the scaling up of the work and its conversion into a web-based resource possible.
The Pune International Centre (PIC) organises a National Conference on Social Innovation (NCSI) every year on the 17th of November at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy for Development Administration (YASHADA), Baner.
PIC has been organising this conference for the last four years with the objective of promoting the cause of Social Innovation and providing a fertile platform for collaboration to the Social Innovators and CSRs of leading Corporate Houses. Innovations in the sectors of Health, Education, Livelihood, Technology and Agriculture have been covered in the Conference.
To further strengthen the cause of social innovation, PIC has also reached out to grass-root innovators from all corners of the country to scout for exceptional innovations. Entries have been received from States such as Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Delhi, Port Blair, Arunachal Pradesh etc.
Innovators such as Dr. Devi Shetty (Narayan Hrudayalaya), Dr. Abhay Bang (SEARCH), Dr. D.R. Mehta (Jaipur foot). Dr. Rajendra Singh (Water conservationist) have presented on the NCSI platform. CSR heads of leading companies such as the Tata Group, Bharat Forge, Praj, KPIT, Kirloskars, JSW Steel, Mahindra, Lupin, etc attend the Conference to encourage and listen to the innovators.
The Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri Hamid Ansari and Dr. Vikas Amte, Secretary and Chief Functionary, ‘Maharogi Seva Samiti’ have graced the NCSI as Chief Guest and inaugurated the Conference. PIC is honored to receive the continuous guidance and support of Dr. R.A. Mashelkar (President, PIC), Dr. Vijay Kelkar (Vice-President, PIC) and Prof. Anil Gupta, Professor at IIMA and Exec. Vice Chair of National Innovation Foundation (NIF), for the NCSI.
Last year, a new addition to the NCSI was the introduction of an Indo-China Social Innovator Exchange Program, launched jointly by PIC and the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), Ahmedabad. Under this program, Ms. Xie Fang from the TUFE University, China made a presentation on ‘Rural Cultural Heritage and Ways for Survival’, while Ms. Tulaji Bhavsar from Bhuj, visited China.
This year, 17 innovators present their innovations to an audience comprising CSRs, incubators and investors. The conference was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri. Prakash Javadekar. Learn more