Local Content Development Framework and Methodology for knowledge and skill development: IEEE Madras Section SIGHT case study

Quality education leading to potential employment is essential for the growth of a nation. This still remains a challenge in India despite much contemporary technological advancement. It is also an evident fact that, the major hiring sectors like IT and manufacturing are facing a slow-down and hence an immediate impact on unemployment. The issue of excess of educated unemployed students must be addressed, else might hamper the growth rate of the nation further. The IEEE Madras Section (IEEE-MAS) Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT) partnering with a Non-Government Organization (NGO) picked the opportunity to address this looming issue through hands-on training in Solar Engineering given the vast potential in India. Unlike the Computer Based Training (CBT) carried out by many Information Technology (IT) organizations today, we fabricated a locale-specific content based on inputs from various stake-holders, including the beneficiaries. We conducted training-cum-workshop of solar lamps to provide an insight into the fundamentals of solar energy to students. This was followed by a two-week online mentoring session where, tutors where availble to mentor the participants develop their own models for the subseuent contest that was held after this program. This framework was adopted to test the efficacy of the workshop. The participation in the contest the by student who attended the workshop, validated the need for a holistic skill development approch. We describe the details of the Content Development Framework and Methodology of this successful program in this paper.