Ankuran Mission
Philosophy
Ankuran Foundation is sponsoring a national network of Science Centres aimed at inculcating a scientific temper and culture of tinkering, discovery, and innovation amongst school children across India; Ankuran has been founded to address the palpable deficiency in science education in schools across India and the poor grasp of basic scientific concepts even amongst science and engineering college graduates. This widespread gap in scientific understanding is seriously undermining the employability and productivity of India’s youth and blocking creativity and innovation in the nation’s research laboratories and technology development Centres.
Ankuran Foundation’s goal is to ensure that each of India’s over 6600 blocks has at least one well-resourced Science Centre by 2040 (whether sponsored by Ankuran or other similar-minded organisations). Each Ankuran Science Centre aspires to be a hub of science and technology in the local community to enrich the school curriculum and enhance learning by providing stimulating, hands-on educational experiences using experiments, exhibits, models, and audio-visual simulations.
These experiences are designed to encourage curiosity about the world around us, encourage tinkering and self-discovery, and increase understanding and excitement about science and technology. They will reflect the best pedagogical approaches from around the world in terms of stimulating learning, creativity, and innovation amongst school children.
The Ankuran Centre will play a role akin to that of the best community public libraries in the West by serving as a local resource to enable school children to grasp core scientific concepts and inspire them to pursue further studies and, ultimately, careers in science and technology.
Our Social Franchise Model
Each Ankuran Science Centre is an autonomous ‘social franchise’ sponsored by a local entrepreneur, business, or non-profit institution. The local sponsor helps fund the Centre and provides oversight and support to ensure that the Centre is financially self-sustaining and well-integrated into the community. Each Center will be operationally standalone and empowered to engage with and respond to local community needs; while initially, we plan to roll out a single ‘hub’ design for Science Centres in second-tier cities (such as Trichy Madurai in Tamilnadu), we expect over time to have at least three levels of Centres for different tiers of cities and towns in ‘hub and spoke’ arrangements. We are also likely to have ‘mobile science labs’ that use vans and two-wheelers attached to physical centres located in cities and towns to reach schoolchildren in surrounding rural areas.
Ankuran Foundation provides design and construction support for each Centre, as well as the pedagogical approaches, kits, and techniques, sets staffing norms, and helps train staff to create enriching educational experiences for school children of varied backgrounds. Ankuran also raises awareness and funds nationally to supplement what local Centres are able to raise locally from their sponsors and the wider community around them. We also aim to collaborate with government and non-profit organisations that are engaged in education and learning and, specifically, plan to draw on teachers and schools working under the umbrella of educational non-profits such as Pratham, Akanksha, and Teach for India and link them to local Ankuran Science Centres.
Our ‘social franchise’ model is designed to deliver a rapidly scalable chain of centres around the country, each designed to meet rigorous, common specifications and standards. It leverages a shared national platform for branding, fundraising, and pedagogical approaches while allowing for on-ground engagement, tailoring to community needs, and local ownership.
