Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and Meta join hands to establish Frontier Technology Labs in schools

In a bid to transform future technologies and empower youth to innovate, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and Meta announced the launch of Frontier Technology Labs (FTLs).

The collaboration will facilitate Atal Innovation Mission and Meta to set up FTLs in schools of strategic importance to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds across India have equal opportunities to learn and engage with frontier technologies.

Till date, AIM has established 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools across 722 districts in India. The objective of ATLs is to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, physical computing etc.

The FTL is an advanced version of Atal Tinkering Lab equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, that includes all components of the Tinkering Lab to empower students to innovate using technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Robotics, 3D Printing, and Internet of Things.

The labs equip youth with digital skills that help them succeed in the evolving landscape of technology and the global economy. The FTLs will be funded by Meta while Atal Innovation Mission will be the knowledge partner.

Through engaging workshops, interactive sessions, and project-based learning, students will be trained on using AI tools effectively, understanding generative AI and prompt engineering, exploring scientific concepts interactively using AR & VR, dealing with new age cyber security threats, amongst other things. Furthermore, the students will also be given access to tools and resources from Meta to build innovative solutions.

The FTLs are a part of Meta’s Education to Entrepreneurship initiative, launched in September 2023, to seamlessly connect students, youth, workforce, and micro-entrepreneurs with futuristic technologies, taking digital skilling to the grassroots. The initiative aims to advance the government’s agenda of digital inclusion, skilling and growth.