IIT Mandi Wraps Up PRAYAS 3.0: Igniting STEM Passion in School Students
IIT Mandi’s month-long PRAYAS 3.0 immersed school students in hands-on STEM, from robotics soccer to coding, fostering future innovators.
Immersive Outreach for Young Minds
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has successfully concluded the third edition of its school outreach programme, PRAYAS 3.0. The month‑long initiative invited school students to stay on campus and experience science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in a real research environment. The programme aims to give younger learners early exposure to laboratories, lectures, and project‑based learning at a leading science and technology institute.
Students from across the region participated in PRAYAS 3.0, living in campus hostels and attending sessions led by IIT Mandi faculty members, researchers, and senior student mentors. The residential format allowed participants to engage with STEM activities beyond regular school hours, building a deeper connection with the campus culture and the day‑to‑day life of an engineering and science institution.
Hands‑on workshops and lab exploration
PRAYAS 3.0 blended classroom lectures, laboratory visits, project work, and team‑based challenges to keep students actively engaged. Organisers structured the schedule so that students rotated through different modules, each focusing on a core STEM skill such as basic programming, circuit design, or mechanical systems.
Faculty and mentors introduced participants to computer programming fundamentals, simple algorithms, and block‑based coding tools, demystifying software development for beginners. In electronics sessions, students assembled basic circuits using breadboards, LEDs, and resistors, while mechanical design modules covered simple linkage systems, gear mechanisms, and fast‑assembly structures. For many, working with multimeters, oscilloscopes, and 3D‑printed components marked their first encounter with tools typically absent in regular school labs.
Robo Soccer and the thrill of engineering
A highlight of PRAYAS 3.0 was the Robo Soccer challenge, in which students designed, assembled, and programmed small robots to play football on a miniature field. Many participants had never built or controlled a robot before, so the event became both a learning platform and a confidence‑building exercise.
Working in teams, students configured drivetrains, calibrated sensors, and tuned motor speeds under the guidance of mentors. The energy during the matches was high, with students shouting instructions, cheering goals, and troubleshooting stalled robots. “The excitement on their faces as they controlled their robots on the soccer field was priceless,” said one student mentor. “Most of them had never done anything like this before, and it was wonderful to see them take ownership of the whole process.”
The Robo Soccer challenge also taught participants core engineering practices such as iterative design, debugging, and teamwork. When robots went off track or failed to respond to commands, students learned to isolate problems, test hypotheses, and refine their systems instead of abandoning the project.
Building curiosity, confidence, and future pathways
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Dr. Tushar Jain, Head of the Centre for Continuing Education (CCE) at IIT Mandi, described PRAYAS as an effort to plant long‑lasting seeds of curiosity. “PRAYAS is about planting seeds of curiosity,” he said. “We hope this experience will stay with these students for a long time and influence how they approach learning.”
He emphasised that early exposure to STEM fields helps students build confidence, resilience, and a sense of agency. “The learning and confidence they’ve gained here – we hope that pushes some of them to take up science or engineering seriously in the future,” he added. Dr. Jain also highlighted how programme‑based activities such as robotics and coding give students a tangible sense of achievement, which can shape their subject‑choice decisions in secondary and higher secondary school.
Closing with certificates and a vision for the future
The edition of PRAYAS 3.0 concluded with a certificate distribution ceremony on campus, where students received formal recognition for their participation and project work. The occasion also included short presentations and demo sessions, allowing participants to showcase their robots, circuits, and code to peers and mentors.
For many students, the past month offered more than curriculum‑based lessons; it provided a glimpse into a future where science is not only studied but also built, tested, and played with. Simple tasks like controlling a robot on a field or making an LED blink in a precise pattern became memorable milestones that linked abstract classroom concepts with real‑world engineering.
With PRAYAS 3.0, IIT Mandi continues its effort to connect scientific institutions with the next generation of learners, using robotics matches, coding sessions, and hands‑on labs as bridges between school classrooms and higher education. The programme reinforces the idea that early, joyful exposure to STEM can shape not only academic choices but also long‑term career and innovation pathways
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