e-Yantra lab setup initiative: Sustainable knowledge creation and scalable infrastructure creation at engineering colleges

Embedded systems and Robotics are subjects that involve multi-disciplinary approaches to problem solving with an emphasis on hands-on experiments. Due to lack of infrastructure — robotics labs to execute projects, or trained teachers to mentor projects — engineering students in India do not get the benefits of hands-on experience. e-Yantra Lab Setup Initiative is designed as a scalable and sustainable approach that addresses infrastructure creation and teacher training to create an ecosystem at colleges to impart effective engineering education. In this paper, we discuss the three-pronged approach used in eLSI to: train a team of four teachers from each college and enable setting up of a robotics lab at each college. Analysis of feedback received from 64 teachers who participated in the pilot: (i) after the two-day workshop, (ii) at the end of e-Yantra Robotics Teacher Competition, (iii) during a visit to labs post lab inaugurations, and (iv) during a symposium held a year later for sharing and showcasing projects implemented in their robotics labs — shows that eLSI is effective in sustainable knowledge creation. The model used to establish robotics labs at 35 colleges across five regions of India in the current phase proves the scalability of the model.