Wipro introduces science education program for US school teachers

Wipro Ltd has teamed up with the University of Massachusetts at Boston to introduce and finance a 12-month fellowship program in the US to train 120 school teachers over three years, to facilitate excellence in science education among students from disadvantaged areas of Boston and New York.

Chancellor J. Keith Motley and Anurag Behar, of Wipro, sign the Wipro Science Education Fellowship Agreement.

The one-year Wipro Fellowship program for teachers focuses on developing competencies and strengthening their leadership skills to make them agents of change in their schools and districts.

"The US is the cradle of innovation. This program is part of Wipro's efforts to align with the US goal to create an environment that stimulates and nurtures scientific curiosity and innovative spirit among young people'', said T K Kurien, chief executive officer of IT business and executive director, Wipro Ltd.

The program, entirely funded by Wipro, will identify, through a rigorous selection process, 40 experienced K-12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) science teachers each year in the Boston and New York areas. The nomination process for the fellowship will begin in January 2013 and the selection process for the first year is due to be completed by March 2013. The course is scheduled to begin on September 1, 2013.

Selected teachers will undergo 250 hours of intense capability development training by a team led by Arthur Eisenkraft, distinguished professor of science education and director of the Centre of Science and Math in Context (COSMIC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The seletced teachers will continue to teach in their respective schools, and for the duration of the fellowship, they will also work with other interested teachers and local communities and promote broader improvement. The program tightly integrates the principles of leadership, reflective practice and adult learning to enable this.