DICE Initiative Begins in PM SHRI Schools: Connecting 1,062 Schools to 447+ Higher Education Institutions
New Delhi: The culture of innovation in school education is developing a structure with the launch of the Developing Innovation Culture & Entrepreneurship (DICE) Initiative in PM SHRI Schools. Creativity and entrepreneurial mindsets will be stretched beyond the limits of teaching and learning in the classroom to a higher level of exposure to higher education institutions and innovation ecosystems.
The Initiative was launched by Shri Dheeraj Sahu, Additional Secretary, School Education & Literacy Department, and Prof. Yogesh Singh, Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The announcement was made by AICTE in its latest update. The DICE Initiative uses a Hub-and-Spoke Model with 1,062 PM SHRI Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools being linked to 447+ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) within a 25-kilometre radius.
What is the Purpose of the DICE Initiative?
The DICE Initiative envisages the development of a strong nexus between the school education system, the higher education system, and the innovation system. Rather than containing innovation within the confines of classroom exercises, the Initiative will create a number of opportunities for young people to connect with the institutions that have the specialized faculties, research facilities, and innovation-focused services and programs.
The central idea is simple: a student's idea should not stop at the end of the classroom. Through the linkage between PM SHRI schools and Higher Education Institutions, the DICE Initiative endeavors to create an environment that enables Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship to Bloom.
1,062 PM SHRI Schools to Be Mapped with 447+ HEIs
One of the largest features of the DICE policy is its geographical Hub-and-Spoke Model.
Under this model:
- 1,062 PM SHRI Secondary and Senior Secondary Schools will be mapped.
- These schools will be connected with 447+ Higher Education Institutions.
- The mapped institutions are within a 25 kilometres radius of the respective schools. This model of collaboration will join schools with higher education institution in their vicinity.
The announcement does not state that each mapped school will receive the same activities or resources. Thus, it is worth emphasising that this initiative is more about creating structured school-higher education partnerships for innovation and entrepreneurship than it is about implementing a single, uniform initiative everywhere.
Why the School-Higher Education Link Matters
For Innovation to be possible and for students to build concepts through engagement with different individuals and different environments, contact with different institutions needs to be established beyond the boundaries of the classroom and immediate academia. The proposed link between schools and higher education institutions can help students to learn how an idea progresses through the process of identifying a problem, analysis and testing of possible solutions, and determining the best solution.
Senior secondary students may begin associating the different school subjects, as they may begin to see how these subjects relate to academic and/or professional areas of interest. The DICE model integrates school-level education and higher education innovation in the same continuum.
DICE Emphasises Creativity and Innovation
This initiative focuses on culture and innovation. It is important to point out that culture also encompasses the entrepreneurs within a community. This means we are not primarily concerned with teaching students how to start businesses. It could mean recognising a problem, or creating an opportunity by asking better questions and developing or proposing multiple solutions to an issue/challenge based on your understanding of how a particular idea may serve a common need.
This distinction is important because innovation does not always (or sometimes even rarely) begin with the formation of a company. In fact, innovation begins with an individual recognizing a problem or challenge, a lack of a solution in their school, their neighbourhood, or their community. DICE aims to develop this type of thinking.
DICE Encourages Innovation Beyond Classrooms
This initiative aims to go beyond traditional classroom constraints to help young people develop ideas and solutions that will define a better tomorrow. This initiative offers a valuable opportunity, especially for PM SHRI schools, to establish a physical connection with institutions of higher learning located within or near their school, and vice versa, for institutions of higher learning to become innovation-centred engagement portals meant for school students.
Additionally, this initiative further advances the direction and focus of India’s education toward strengthening students’ creativity, flexibility, aptitude for solving problems by encouraging them to apply their knowledge in the spirit of entrepreneurship and technology.
What DICE Could Mean for PM SHRI Students
Students will evaluate the importance of the initiative based on the translation of the school-HEI connections into tangible activities. For now, the framework outlines a much wider range of connections through which PM SHRI secondary and senior secondary schools can connect to higher education institutions in the vicinity.
This gives students the opportunity to experience different innovations and the higher education and entrepreneurship ecosystems at a formative stage, helping them make academic and career choices. Consequently, the initiative will be an important opportunity for students with innovative solutions who need support, mentorship, and an institutional system to realise and advance their ideas.
Final Thoughts
The DICE Initiative launch brings an exciting new opportunity for school-level innovation. One of the main components is not the number of institutions involved, but the PM SHRI schools' physical and institutional connect with adjacent higher education institutions.
DICE has taken a significant step forward in creating a sizeable School and Higher Education Innovation Focus by mapping 1,062 schools to 447+ HEIs within a 25-kilometer radius. Connectivity will be key. If that connectivity is sustained, the classroom can be the starting point for India's next generation of innovators, instead of the finish line.
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