Srinagar, Aug 4: A psychology-driven STEM education project aimed at fostering scientific temper among youth in Kashmir's border villages was inaugurated at Government College for Women (GCW), M.A. Road, Srinagar.
Funded under the JKST&IC SREP 2025-26, the project, titled "Psychology Driven STEM Learning to Build Scientific Temper in the Border Villages of Kashmir," seeks to promote innovation, resilience and critical thinking among students through hands-on STEM learning.
Principal Investigator Dr. Eshrat Ara said the initiative was inspired by field visits to border areas and has been developed in collaboration with Dr. Dinesh Kumar Rajendran of NIT Srinagar. Following its pilot phase in Srinagar, the programme will be extended to Gurez, Uri, Karnah and Keran.
The project aims to train 120 Master Trainers, reach over 6,000 students, and provide 600 students with practical exposure through STEM camps. It integrates psychology-based learning methods with technologies such as robotics, drones, sensors, microcontrollers and 3D printing.
The inaugural programme featured addresses by Dr. Malik Roshan Ara, Dr. Dinesh Kumar Rajendran, Muneer Ahmad Wani, Dr. Javid Ahmad Sheikh, and Prof. (Dr.) Yasmeen Farooq, Principal of GCW, who highlighted the project's focus on research, innovation, AI and experiential learning.
A Psy-STEM Lab was also inaugurated on the occasion. The first day of the three-day Master Training Workshop included technical sessions on the Psy-STEM learning framework, basic sensors and block programming, and Arduino and ESP32 applications.
Aligned with NEP 2020, Atal Tinkering Labs and Startup India, the initiative aims to develop student-led innovations and scalable STEM education models for border and underserved regions.