What Will Future Classrooms Look Like For India’s Poor?

People living in economically disadvantaged areas of India now have access to vocational, business and IT skills training, thanks to HP’s new Future Classroom program.

HP Future Classroom provides a platform for delivering world-class skills training to students and job seekers in India, all in a space the size of a shipping container.

The cloud-enabled, rapidly-deployable classrooms were conceived by HP Corporate Affairs India in collaboration with HP Technology Services India.

The Future Classroom is designed to fit within a standard shipping container, making it accessible for some of India, and the world’s hardest to reach places when it comes to providing education.  

Each classroom is equipped with HP hardware and Internet connectivity. The HP technology is supported by a suite of software solutions that students and teachers can also access at home via the Internet including: HP VideoBook, which sources videos in line with text to make learning an immersive experience, Student Information Management Solution (SIMS), a course management solution, and a skills content library — Skillport.

A huge part of what gives people living in hard to reach rural locations, faced with challenges of formal infrastructure, all the access of the 21st century is HP LIFE —  a program of the HP Foundation which offers free online micro-courses in seven languages to anyone with a computer and internet access. In addition, 25 go-at-your-own pace courses provide basic business, IT, and entrepreneurship skills. The core business areas of communications, operations, marketing and finance are covered, as well special topics such as effective leadership, energy efficiency and social entrepreneurship. Training that is especially effective in communities where economic development is needed most.

HP’s Future Classrooms is not the only place HP Life is helping people. To date, more than 600,000 people around the world are using the program to learn the practical skills they need to create jobs, develop an existing business or improve their job readiness.

As part of the launch of the Future Classroom program, 17 trainers participated in an HP LIFE training session which introduced them to the online IT and business skills training program, and the benefits of using hybrid learning methods. The trainers left the session with the knowledge and practical examples they needed to integrate HP LIFE’s training content successfully into their classes.

“HP Future Classroom is an exciting initiative that is giving hope to thousands of India’s most vulnerable.  By providing access to the practical tools and solutions needed to learn relevant skills and improve employability, HP is enabling thousands of people in India to make life better, not just for themselves, but for their families and the communities in which they live,” said Nate Hurst, HP’s Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer.

So far, seven HP Future Classrooms have been deployed in regions where education is often inaccessible such as India’s Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh regions. Together, they will provide training to more than 3,200 students, helping to bridge the digital education gap encountered by those living in remote regions. HP is working with local partner National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and nonprofit Pratham to bring Future Classrooms to the regions where they are most needed.  

“Access to a quality education is the key to unlocking ambition and fueling innovation,” said Hurst.