Summary:  Provide opportunities for ATL students to come up with innovative solutions to community problems by participating in multi-disciplinary projects that integrate knowledge of academic subjects & problem-solving tools with skills in emerging technologies, product design & entrepreneurship.  

Academic learning in the school and activities at the ATL don't always go hand in hand. Many students, teachers and parents don't see the connection between the two.  As a result, many students shy away from participating in ATL activities - focusing merely on theoretical knowledge and ignoring it's practical application.  However, the world around us is rapidly changing and students need to acquire multi-disciplinary skills that integrates academic learning with STEM education in order to thrive in the dynamic future of tomorrow.

When students get the opportunity to work on such multi-disciplinary projects, they gain significant competence in a very short period of time and gain the confidence to thrive in the dynamic future that awaits them.

Here is an example of a multi-disciplinary project that integrates knowledge of academic subjects, design thinking approach, sustainable development goals, skills in emerging technologies, product design & entrepreneurship to solve a community problem:

This project requires ATL students to integrate their knowledge / skills in:

1. Academic subjects:

   1. • Botany: Plants and farming techniques including cocopeat, hydroponics, aeroponics, and others

      • Geography: Understanding how weather & weather patterns affect growth of plants 

      • Chemistry: Understanding about composting, nutrients & their composition

      • Arithmetic & Geometry: To come up with the design of the vertical farming rack 

2. Design Thinking & Problem-solving Skills: To come up with an innovative solution to address some of the key challenges involved in traditional farming

3. Technologies: Usage of sensors, actuators, microcontrollers & Internet of Things technologies & Artificial Intelligence) to build, operate and manage a vertical farming kit 

4. Product Design Skills: To convert the vertical farming kit prototype into a product that can be deployed in real-world environments

5. Entrepreneurial Skills: To create a business model, market and sell the vertical farming kit to paying customers

6. 21st-century Skills: To build a community of food growers and create a larger social-impact

Here is a second example of a multi-disciplinary project that integrates knowledge of academic subjects, design thinking approach, skills in emerging technologies, product design & entrepreneurship to address the challenges of space travel, space exploration and human habitation in space:

This project requires ATL students to integrate their knowledge / skills in:

1. Academic subjects:

   1. • Botany: Adopting food crops to grow on Mars using Martian soil, hydroponics, aeroponics, and other techniques

      • Geography: Understanding Martian terrain to design and build a Martian colony for human habitation

      • Chemistry: Understanding Martian atmosphere to terraform Mars - suitable for human habitation

      • Physics: Understanding optics, concave and convex lens, focal length, etc. to build a telescope to view Mars 

      • Arithmetic & Geometry: To build models of telescope; multi-stage rockets & space-ships; Mars rover, buggy & water extractor; and Martian colony

2. Design Thinking & Problem-solving Skills: To come up with innovative solutions to address key challenges of terraforming Mars

3. Technologies: Understanding technologies such as electronic sensors, actuators, microcontrollers, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence to build multi-stage rockets & space-ships, Mars rover, buggy & water extractor, and Martian colony

4. Product Design Skills: Designing models of telescope; multi-stage rockets & space-ships; Mars rover, buggy & water extractor; and Martian colony

5. Entrepreneurial Skills: To create a business model, market and sell the space travel, exploration and habitation related models (and also kits for building the models) developed by students

6. 21st-century Skills: Teaming and collaboration skills to work on the project

Here is another example of a multi-disciplinary project undertaken by ATL students that integrates academic learning with ATL activities:

Judicial Bot (formally called Virtual Dispute Resolution Platform or VDRP for short) made it to the Top 10 innovative student projects (among 66,000 entries submitted from across the country) during Youth Ideathon 2022, a nation-wide innovation competition organized by Management Entrepreneurship Professional Skills Council, under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in association with Central Board of Secondary Education and ThinkStartup.  In the below images, you can see the project team making their final pitch to the jury members, and receiving medals & grant of Rs. 1 lakh during Youth Ideation 2022 event held at IIT Delhi on 20th October 2022.

Role of School Management:  Encourage ATL students to work on multi-disciplinary projects to acquire several new competencies in a short span of time.

Role of Students: Participate in multi-disciplinary projects and acquire new competencies.

Role of Mentor(s): Design multi-disciplinary projects that brings together academic knowledge & skills, problem-solving skills, technological skills, design skills, business skills and 21st-century skills.

Role of ATL In-charge:  Encourage ATL students to take an active part in multi-disciplinary projects.  

Drive multi-disciplinary project at your ATL that integrates academic knowledge, problem-solving skills, technological skills, design skills, entrepreneurial skills and 21st-century skills.  Submit details of the project undertaken at your ATL with highlights of key results achieved.