TIF Labs CSR - TFI (5)

A day at Teach for India School – Robocraze CSR Activity

9th December 2016

Friday – the last day of my first week of internship at TIF Labs, Robocraze. I reached office in the morning, settled down and started working on the Arduino project that I had started after a two day training session on it.
I was busy researching and googling, when ma’am walked in. She told me that TIF Labs, in association with Teach For India (TFI), conducts Robotics classes every Friday at a government school – Grace Model School. She asked me to assist her for one day.

I packed my bag, the LEDs, batteries and other stuff, and we left. I was excited, and nervous. I had never been a ‘teacher’ before. I was not sure if I would be a good one, if I’d be able to explain the concepts to them, if the kids at the school would like me. But somewhere, I was confident that I’d be able to manage it well- if not ace it.

As we reached there, the curious eyes followed me. They were happy to see a new face, but also concerned as to why their usual ‘Sir’, the one who had been coming for the past 7 weeks, was absent. They asked us if he was fine and welcomed me with a big smile. My fears evaporated as they called me ‘Bharti Didi’, I felt like I was their friend.

Most of the students were from the 5th and 6th grade, a few from the 10th. But irrespective of their age, each one of them wanted to learn. They were excited to make full use of the opportunity that they had received. It was new to them, playing with components and circuits, but they were keen on trying their hands on it.

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The course for the day included bread boards, circuits and gates, conductivity and resistance. As Ma’am was teaching them, I couldn’t help but observe how smart and intelligent they were. I need to admit, I hadn’t expected that they would be able to grasp the concepts so soon. I, at their age, probably didn’t even know that such terms existed, and they even knew the applications. I was appalled, and also motivated to do my bit in helping them to learn.

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Honestly, it was not a session only for them – even I learnt a lot from them. They were brilliant kids and amazing students. It was fun interacting with them, listening to their doubts (they did have a mind-blowing imagination). 😛

At the end of the two hour session, their eyes had a glow and their faces a smile. They asked me to come back again the next week for their class. I was happy and convinced. It was a certificate that meant a lot to me. I was excited. And luckily, I remembered to capture those bright smiles, a memory that shall be very close to my heart, forever.

Even as I am writing this, I feel so proud to have been a part of this wonderful initiative, and I thank my stars for making my ‘first experience as a teacher’ so beautiful.

Bharti Agarwal,
Intern, TIF Labs.

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Women Rock IT (4)

Women Rock IT – A CISCO Initiative

#WomenRockIT #CISCO #TASK #Karimnagar #Hyderabad

A few weeks back, I got an invitation from the Director of Sree Chaitanya College of Engineering, Karimnagar, to be a Guest Speaker for the event ‘Women Rock IT’ organized by CISCO and TASK (Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge) to be held in their college premises on the 29th of November 2016. It was my pleasure to accept the invitation.

As I reached the venue on the morning of the event, I was surprised to see more than 700 young & curious girls patiently watching an online CISCO seminar as a part of the event. The college had made amazing efforts to make this one of its kind event a huge success. We were welcomed with the best hospitality! There were also more than 10 newspapers and media persons to capture the event.

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The event started with a Welcome Note by the Director of Sree Chaitanya Group of Institutions, Dr B. Madhusudan Reddy. Next went on the dais, Mr. Shubhajit Jagdev, the Head of CISCO Academy Support Center. He spoke about the ‘Women Rock IT’ initiative and its significance in India. As Mrs. Sridevi, Campus Head at HCL Talent Care began her speech, she brought a new level of energy among the girls by speaking about the scope of women in the field of IT.

Next on the stage was ME! I spoke about ‘Women in Technology’ and the future employment opportunities available in India. Applause echoed in the room as I talked about the societal pressure on women and their limited career choices. I further spoke about one of the most upcoming technologies, ‘Internet of Things’ and encouraged them to try their hands on it, with the motive of making them aware about the latest trends in technology and to guide them in the right direction so that they choose their career appropriately. Next the Chief Guest for the event Mr. G Bhaskar went on the stage to enlighten the girls with some tips to success. He also spoke about the ground reality of the employment opportunities and the do’s and don’ts which every engineer should keep in mind.

It was a moment of pride to be felicitated by Mr. Shubhajit Jagdev (Head of CISCO Academy Support Center), Mr. G. Bhaskar (Director at TASK), Mrs. Sridevi (Campus Head at HCL Talent Care) and the various dignatories of the ‘Sree Chaitanya College of Engineering’.

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CISCO then inaugurated the CCNA lab at the ‘Sree Chaitanya’ college. The lab, comprising of three professional routers and switches, was established to allow the students to get acquainted with Networking and also gain valuable hands-on experience by working with Routers and switches directly, an opportunity that is rarely available!

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I would like to congratulate CISCO and Sree Chaitanya College of Engineering, Karimanagar for organizing a successful program. Kudos to CISCO for the great initiative, which is THE need of the hour.

I’d like to end with – WOMEN ROCK IT. You just need to go out and conquer the world. So much more power to you!

Love,
Saakshi Agarwal
Chief Marketing Officer, Robocraze

*Event In News*

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RoboSoccer (2)

RoboSoccer – Children’s Day Special Event at TIF Labs, Hyderabad

On the occassion of Children’s Day, TIF Labs (Robocraze) organized a fun RoboSoccer competition at their centre in Attapur. The kids were taught how to build a Remote Controlled two-wheeled drive robot on the 13th of November, Sunday. They were then given a day to convert their two-wheeled drive into innovative RoboSoccer Bots. Results = AWESOME!!!

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A very intense competition was observed on Monday as the kids entered with a zeal of enthusiasm and fierce robots! The rules of the game were pretty simple – Goal the Ball. But, RoboSoccer sometimes turned into RoboWars as the kids decided to fight off the bot rather than to goal the ball! *giggles*

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the event and the prizes on display kept their enthusiasm buzzing! One of the participants, Vijay Kaushik CD, took over to being a commentator and brought another level of fun to the game!

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Congratulations to all the participants and the three winners:
1. M Sai Navtej
2. Sangishetty Shiva Dhanush
3. Krishna Agarwal

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TIF Labs (Robocraze) organizes Robotics and IOT events on a regular basis at their centre in Attapur. They witness participants of all age groups attend the event. A few times, kids below 10 and adults above 65 have been seen attending the same classes. The instructors are adaptive and explain the concepts with hands-on experiments that keep people of all age groups entertained.