“Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.” Spoken by Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the words echo sharply across regions of the world where education is not guaranteed.
In the far northeastern corner of India—where villages are located in forests, on mountains, and along riverbanks—rural classrooms often operate with limited resources and even fewer opportunities. In districts such as Dhemaji, Assam, and the rural areas of Kharagpur and West Bengal, learning STEM often is just a distant dream.
I grew up in rural areas, and I saw how curiosity for science collided with poverty. Many students’ futures rely entirely on getting good grades to determine whether they are “worthy” of studying technical subjects later. One low grade on an exam can completely derail their future. More importantly, the absence of fully equipped laboratories, trained mentors, or exposure to STEM careers prevents many children from even being able to imagine an engineering career.
This is not just an educational issue. It is a matter of equity, directly aligned with U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to ensure a quality education for everyone.
The challenge is one that organizations such as IEEE, with its global technical community, are positioned to address. As technology becomes more imperative for everyday life, proficiency in electronics and programming is no longer optional—it is essential.
STEM outreach programs
In December 2020 volunteers from the joint student chapter of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation–Microwave Theory and Techniques (IEEE AP-MTT) societies at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur launched a grassroots STEM outreach initiative with support from the IEEE Kharagpur Section.
I coordinated the initiative, which started when I was secretary of the student chapter. (I also was its vice chair and chair from 2020 to 2022.) Today I am a student ambassador for the IEEE MTT Society and the IEEE Young Professionals cochair of the IEEE Benelux MTT-AP joint chapter.
The program’s mission was simple: make hands-on electronics accessible to students who had never seen an Arduino board.
It began with training in the fundamentals of circuit building—LEDs, switches, breadboards, and batteries—and progressed into Arduino programming, automation, and sensor integration. The volunteers emphasized teamwork and friendly competitions to keep students engaged.
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