Putting computers in slums to foster the resources of a new language

Given the extraordinary nature of the experiment, it is hardly surprising to learn that Hole-in-the-Wall was the inspiration for the film Slumdog Millionaire (based on the  debut novel Q & A by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup). The man behind this scheme is a kind of real-life Gyro Gearloose: cognitive and information scientist Sugatra Mitra. His basic idea was to prove a child’s capacity for self-instruction, when presented with an entirely new language in a familiar context. In 1999, Dr. Mitra and his team carved a “hole in the wall” in a New Delhi slum, Kalkaji, and installed a freely accessible computer. Despite never having seen one before in their lives, local children rapidly learned to use it. Thus was born his concept of Minimally Invasive Education, according to which an environment that stimulates children’s natural curiosity can lead them to teach themselves. The Indian government took an interest in the project and two further experiments were conducted, in a town and a village. In 2001, thanks to a partnership with NIIT, the IT Learning Solutions Corporation where Dr. Mitra was Chief Scientist, twenty-three new “learning stations” were set up across rural India. In 2004 the experiment was extended to Cambodia and since then has involved other areas in India and also several African countries, including Uganda. The three hundred learning stations set up to date have allowed some three hundred thousand children to acquire IT skills. The total number in operation is set to expand further, with two hundred new learning stations soon to be opened. In the meantime Dr. Mitra, among the first scientists to prove the benefits of simulated neural networks in research into Alzheimer’s disease, has received a Man of Peace Award from Together for Peace Foundation in the U.S. and a Social Innovation Award from the UK Institute of Social Inventions. His work has also been recognised by the Dewang Mehta Award in 2005 and a Digital Opportunity Award from the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA) in 2008.