The Business Bytes
THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 22, 2025
In a remarkable stride towards transforming education in Odisha, Aditya Aluminium, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, has launched Mini Science Centres across five schools in Sambalpur district, igniting a new era of STEM learning for nearly 700 students.
Driven by a vision to make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects more accessible and engaging, the initiative marks a critical investment in the future of education in rural India. Each selected school has been equipped with 80 state-of-the-art scientific learning tools, bridging the gap between theory and practical learning for students from grades 5 to 10.
“At Aditya Aluminium, we believe that education is the cornerstone of a progressive society,” said Jagannath Prasad Nayak, Unit Head at Aditya Aluminium. “The Mini Science Centres are part of our long-standing commitment to foster educational development and spark curiosity among young minds. We are proud to support the Sambalpur schools in nurturing tomorrow’s innovators,” he added.
The Mini Science Centres are designed to revolutionize classroom teaching, introducing interactive and experiential methods that encourage both students and teachers to explore scientific concepts in real time. The initiative goes beyond mere infrastructure — Aditya Aluminium also conducted a Training of Trainers (TOT) program to empower educators to fully utilize the new resources.
The impact has been immediate and powerful.
Manoj Naik, Headmaster of Lapanga Government High School, expressed heartfelt gratitude, saying: “The Mini Science Centre has brought science alive for our students. They now understand concepts not just from books, but through experiments and observation. This is a turning point in our school’s academic journey.”
Students, too, are embracing the change. Alok Sahu, a 9th-grade student, shared, “I always found science difficult, but now it feels fun and exciting. I can see and do the experiments myself. It makes me want to learn more!”
An independent evaluation post-installation found that students were enthusiastically engaging with the new tools, and teachers were effectively integrating them into their lesson plans. The DET immersion program further confirmed the initiative’s success through interactive demos and feedback sessions.
This impactful initiative is part of Aditya Aluminium’s broader corporate social responsibility (CSR) mission, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The company’s parent, the Aditya Birla Group, under the guidance of Rajashree Birla, touches the lives of over five lakh people across 128 villages in Odisha through various community-driven programs.
With the launch of the Mini Science Centres, Aditya Aluminium reinforces its role not just as a business leader, but as a champion of educational empowerment and inclusive development. By enabling young students to explore, experiment, and excel, the company is building the scientific spirit of tomorrow — today.
