Hands-on Electronics
Between January and February 2026, Electronics and Science Fairs unfolded across 208 government schools in 38 districts of Tamil Nadu. Classrooms moved beyond blackboards and textbooks, making space for working models, circuits, sensors, and students eagerly waiting for their turn to present. Students passionately demonstrated ideas around renewable energy, smart systems, biomedical innovations, and artificial intelligence in daily life. For many, it was the first time they had built something with their own hands and stood up to explain it with confidence. Nearly 100 schools hosted a science fair for the very first time.
The world runs on electronics. Most government school students have never built a circuit.
Electronics, sensors, coding, and IoT are reshaping every industry — from agriculture to healthcare. Yet for students in India’s government schools, these remain abstract textbook topics. They study circuit diagrams without ever connecting a wire. They learn about semiconductors without ever holding one. The gap between what the curriculum describes and what students experience means that the students who most need exposure to technology are the ones least likely to get it. ILP’s electronics programme, developed in collaboration with IIT Madras, bridges this gap by putting real components in students’ hands.
Hands-on electronics kits developed with IIT Madras — circuits, sensors, and systems students can build
ILP’s Electronics Kit programme, part of the Anaivarukkum IITM (IIT Madras for Everyone) vision, brings real electronics into government school classrooms. Developed in collaboration with IIT Madras, each kit contains components for students to build working circuits, connect sensors, and understand how electronic systems operate. This isn’t a lecture about electronics — students physically assemble, test, debug, and present their own projects.
The programme is delivered in collaboration with the Department of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, and includes structured teacher training, student project work, and culminates in electronics fairs where students present their creations.
IIT Madras collaboration
Kits designed under the Anaivarukkum IITM vision — bringing IIT-quality engineering education concepts to government school students who would otherwise never encounter them.
Real components, real projects
Students work with actual circuits, sensors, LEDs, and electronic components — not simulations. They build working models around renewable energy, smart systems, biomedical innovations, and automation.
Teacher & facilitator training
Science teachers receive hands-on training on using the electronics kits. ILP facilitators provide ongoing support in classrooms, helping students debug circuits and refine their projects.
Electronics fairs
Students showcase their projects at school and district-level fairs, with recognition from IIT Madras professors. Top performers receive certificates of excellence; every participant is acknowledged.
From components to confidence
Here’s how the electronics programme unfolds in a government school.
Kit deployment & teacher orientation
Electronics kits are deployed to selected government schools in collaboration with the state education department and IIT Madras. Teachers receive an orientation on the kit components and project possibilities.
Guided project work
Students work in small groups to assemble circuits, connect sensors, and build working electronic projects. ILP facilitators guide them through debugging and refinement. Last-minute adjustments, classmates gathering around projects, nervous smiles before testing — then excitement when a model finally works as planned.
Electronics fairs with IIT Madras recognition
Students present their projects at district-level fairs judged by IIT Madras professors. By the end, students don’t just walk away with certificates or medals — they carry back something far more meaningful: the confidence that science is not just something to study, but something to question, create, and bring to life.
Building the next generation of makers
Cumulative impact of ILP’s electronics programme
electronics kits
electronics projects
fair for the first time
The story was never just about science projects. It was about students discovering that learning could move beyond theory. It was about teachers watching quieter children step forward and speak with confidence. It was about schools opening their doors to a completely new experience.
A collaboration with IIT Madras — engineering education for everyone
The electronics programme is part of the Anaivarukkum IITM (IIT Madras for Everyone) vision — a commitment to bring engineering education concepts to students who would otherwise never encounter them. Delivered in partnership with the Department of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, the programme demonstrates that government school students, given the right tools and support, can build, present, and compete with confidence at the highest levels. In Thanjavur, the MDLS launch included electronics kits in 5 schools as part of a complete learning ecosystem alongside science kits, libraries, smart classrooms, and career guidance.
Gallery
[Photo gallery — students building circuits and presenting at electronics fairs]
Help a student build something for the first time
Your support brings IIT Madras-designed electronics kits to government school classrooms