Meet the Team

Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan

Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan received his PhD from Columbia University in Electronics. He is the recipient of the Lewis Winner award for best paper at ISSCC. He also volunteered for Asha for Education in various capacities and interacted with over a 100 NGOs in India working on education. He has worked at Silicon Labs, NXP, ST-Ericsson, Aura Semiconductor and has built chips used by over a billion people.  Sanjeev is passionate about developing critical thinking skills with children and in helping them learn and connect with themselves. Since Jun 2013 he has been working with children in Udavi School and Isai Ambalam School, both outreach schools of Auroville. In Jan 2015 he founded Aura Auro Design along with engineering graduates in and around Auroville and in Sep 2015 with them established STEM Land (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Land) a space of learning for children and adults. He also conducts electronics classes to anyone interested and here is more information of the current program conducted at STEM Land. For the really curious, here is his resume, a note on volunteering. Sanjeev occasionally maintains a person blog and of his experiences with working with children at smallisbeautiful.blogspot.com.

Sanjay Tumati 

Sanjay Tumati strong believes that everyone should have the opportunity to access self development tools (Vipassana/ RTL) to be able to achieve one’s highest potential and realize one’s highest aspirations. He belies awareness, equanimity, self reflections and purposeful action aligned with one’s ideals and values are the tools that one needs in order to achieve those ends.

He moved to C3StreamLand after realizing that the values and ideals at C3StreamLand align closely with his own. It took him a shockingly long time to discover this alignment, but he keeps reminding himself that there is no point crying over spilt milk and wasted time now.

Sanjay received his BTech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and the Masters Degree also in Analog Electronics from Texas A&M University, USA. He has 14 years experience working in the industry having been previously employed with Silicon Laboratories and Analog Devices at locations in the USA, India, Singapore and Canada. Sanjay’s work has found it’s way in chips being used in Cell Phones, Televisions, Automobiles and medical equipment.

Sanjay first started mentoring youth in STEMLand starting Jan 2019 and found that he really enjoyed teaching and simplifying complex concepts. Since moving to C3StreamLand, Sanjay has started working for Aura Semiconductors Bangalore (WFH), mentoring youth in the Shifu program and has also managed to finally set up an electronics lab in StemLand which is now regularly used by school children, college students as well as practising Engineers where they all have fun doing a whole lot of cool and interesting experiments.

Sanjay has involved himself in Vipassana activities at C3StreamLand and helps with hosting the weekly 1-day course and group sits at the C3StreamLAnd campus. He is currently engaged in organising a 10-day Vipassana course in the Udavi/C3StreamLand campus and hopes that 10-day courses become a regular feature and every person in the neighbouring villages has an opportunity to attend a 10-day Vipassana course in his/her own native language, Tamil.

Since arriving at C3StreamLand, Sanjay was also introduced to RTL tools, of which he has found the self reflection tools to be the most useful and helpful. He hopes over time to understand the remaining tools as well.

Sanjay’s great ambition in the short term is to become reasonably fluent in the Tamil Language in the not-too-distant future.

Poovizhi.P
I completed B.E in the stream of computer science Engineering. STEM Land and all the activities in STEM were new for me. I learned lot of things from children such as printing 3D models, Alice, Scratch, Geogebra, Goanimate, Puzzles etc., and I’m learning rubiks cube now. STEM land provides a space to cover what ever I have missed to learn in the past and visualize concepts. I learned to value my time and others. I am exposed to different opportunities (eg., Stewardship for new emergence, Vipassana) through STEM Land AAD to make myself whole, both technically and as a being. I have learned to come out of my comfort zone to explore new things and as a result I’m learning electronics. I’m grateful to each individuals in our team for supporting me to learn and grow.

Saranya B                                                                                                                     
After completing my B.E. in ECE in Chennai I feel I have come to the correct place to learn, grow and explore my skills. I came to STEM Land to learn electronics. From my first day till today I continuously learning something new which I didn’t know before. I learned lot of things from children such as Scratch, Geogebra, Goanimate etc. and I am getting an opportunity to share my experience with children with other teachers. I have also found the Stewardship tools we practice at the workplace grounds me in my stand. The opportunity to attend Vipassana helps me live differently. I am very proud and happy to be part of STEM Land.

Duraisamy Pandurangan

I have completed my master in computer application at Pondicherry university. I have more than 10 years of experience in the R&D team, worked at HCL, V-GUARD, and Automotive robotics. My daughter was studying at Isaiambalam school which inspired me to get part in the education system. I was interested in supporting youths, especially from rural places. So I came to know about STEM LAND in Auroville.

STEM LAND creates the technology in-depth providing opportunity to support youths growth. I learned a lot after joining STEMLAND and It has provided me an opportunity to  explore and learn my technical skills as well as to support the youth. I am happy to be part of the STEM land.

Pratap. G

  He deeply cares about sincerity and happiness for himself and for everyone. He completed his bachelor’s in Electronics and communication engineering and has been working at STEM land since May 2016.  He is a Teacher and an Engineer at C3STREAM Land Designs for over 6 years. As a teacher, he cares for the happiness of children and enjoys making the learning of children to be challenging and able to find patterns and logic in it. He is the STEM coordinator in Isai Ambalam and works on hands-on projects with the children. He supports the Shifu program by mentoring Shifuans to acquire skills, competence, and inner capacity. He is also a practitioner coach of Radical Transformational Leadership which he puts into action to create sustainable solutions and the projects described in this article with the children. As an engineer, he has skills in web development, electronics, programming, and chip design. He is a vipassana practitioner that helps in his personal development and in helping him see things as they are and be able to deliver what he plans to do as a teacher and engineer. He is a VLSI layout engineer. He has done research work about how children and teachers learn at STEM land and has published and presented at EPISTEME7, EPISTEME8, MTA, MES10, and MES11 international conferences.

Muralidharan.A

After completing my B.Tech (Computer Science), I joined STEM Land as an intern in July(2018) to learn something new. I see STEM Land as a place of growth in many aspects and a  resource center where I gained knowledge in different fields such as Electronics, Mathematics, Programming, and many other technical skills. Apart from that, Workshops like Stewardship for new emergence and Vipassana has helped me grow as a person. I feel happy to be a part of STEM Land where I can learn, grow, work and contribute to other’s growth in every possible way.

Vasantharaj Gandhi

I did my graduation in mechanical engineering in 2017. I prepared for GATE after my graduation. I started working as a teacher in Isai Ambalam school in the year 2018. I was very keen on learning and teaching mathematics. When I was working as a teacher I learned how to teach maths using STEM, Montessori materials, and tools like GeoGebra and scratch. I found that my learning curve raised steeply while teaching. During this time I also attended a stewardship program which gave me more insight and helped me in improving the quality of my work. Along with teaching, I started working as an intern in the layout team of STEM land from Feb 2020. Initially, I thought that being a mechanical engineer, working in electronics might be difficult. Then I took an online basic Electrical circuits course by prof. Nagendra KrishnaPura that boosted my confidence. Now I am undergoing training in the analysis and design of Analog circuits under the guidance of Sanjay Tumati. By the design course, I have understood solving the circuits intuitively and how to use the Lt spice simulator. I also become comfortable with cadence virtuoso, Skill programming, and Python programming. For me, STEM land is the learning place where I can focus on my inner growth as well as professional. I am looking forward to my growth in design, layout, and in automation.

Sandhiya. R

My name is Sandhiya Ravi. I deeply care about Courage and Happiness for myself and others. I started(June 2018)  my learning and career in STEM land-Aura Auro Design. I learned many of the things like hierarchy based learning, Real-time examples using mathematical concepts, scratch, Geogebra, EBD’s(Education By Design), etc. And I have learned to notice myself through stewardship for new emergence workshop. This workshop really helped a lot. I found my gap and notice myself and I found a solution to handle the situation. I am also getting opportunities to attend Vipassana and Amma Appa workshops.

Meganathan

My name is Meganathan and I deeply care about progress and perseverance for myself and others. Earlier I worked in a corporate company where I was doing the routine 9 – 5 job, and the opportunities for growth were very minimal. So I started to seek an alternative place that’s how I found C3STREAM LAND. Here I saw people doing multi-tasking which fascinated me. I wanted to be part of it and I started to take initiatives like learning the python programming, doing code wars and learning STEM mathematics. Later, I got the opportunity to work in Streamland, which helped me to see problems from totally a different perspective. It also helped me find my real self and my abilities which made me self responsible. Even today I still have ample opportunities to improve my technical skills, as well as my social skills. It gives me a space for never-ending learning. Working with high-end tech work and serving the community by teaching makes me feel complete. The concept of learning work teach makes me push myself more to unlearn and learn skills and makes me better humanity.

Prabaharan N

My name is Prabaharan, I deeply care about human unity and Equity for myself and for others. I have pursued my B.E in Electronic and communication engineering. I used to come to Stemland to learn programming and electronics. I learned more things in Stemland than in my college. I have been working as stemland coordinator working on codifying what different facilitators have done well. I am also making resources, materials and hands-on activities for childrens. We all learn new things by doing hands-on activities and looking at Math visually and science as it is connected to life.

Arun

I have completed B.E in Electrical and electronics engineering. After that, I worked as an Engineering team supervisor for one year. Later joined the shifu program and completed the courses in the steam of VLSI design. Through the shifu program, I learned about VLSI design and RTL. I’m taking Math classes for 2nd-grade students at Isaiambalam.

 

 

Santhosh

My name is Santhosh, I stand for kindness, equity, and dignity for myself and others. I have completed B. Tech specialized in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and also I completed BnB Shifu program and now I’m working in C3 STREM LAND as a VLSI Layout designer and also in Isai Ambalam school I’m supporting 3rd to 8th grade in Crafts, ThinkTac kits ( science experiment kits) and drawing.

 

 

kayalvizhi

After completing M.Tech in Information Security from the Pondicherry Engineering College. After joining Aura auro design my logical thinking and engineering skills and programming skills have improved. I have learned programming languages and mathematics and taught the children. Side by side supporting children and growing myself and supporting others was happy for me. It gave me some full happiness and satisfaction  of my life. It helps for to organise myself and got lots of opportunities for growing myself. Working with the children and being the change, I wish to see found me the right balance to be part of this team.

Kugan

My name is Kugan I deeply care about equality for myself and others. I have completed B.tech in Information Technology. I have 6 years of experience in a 3D virtual environment. Though I was earning I was not satisfied as I was doing the same activity routinely. C3streamland is a platform for growth without an age limit. I am having opportunities to enhance my skills and develop myself. The everyday morning we practice vipassana and start our day peacefully.

Sri Bhavani. A
My name is Sri Bhavani. I deeply care about love and equality for myself and others. I have completed B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering. I have moved from my hometown to join BnB Shifu Master Program(1 year Residential Course) and successfully graduated in C3STREAM Land.
I joined the BnB Shifu program a little more than a year ago.
In Shifu Program, I had a wonderful opportunity to learn many new skills like chip design, programming in languages like python and SKILL scripting, Visualizing math concepts. Initially I started learning chip design. Then I had a chance to learn circuit design for a few months. Later I got an opportunity to learn an up and coming field of design automation. Here, I did not feel struck with only one domain and realized that every domain enriched the other.
I was able to see my growth from my learnings and how I started to solve a problem. I also learned to use Geogebra and do scratch programming, visualize mathematics concepts and electronics in STEM Land. I learned RTL tools and vipassana to still myself. Here I had a wonderful opportunity to explore different domains. It helps me to realise my level of competency in Working. I am also working in STEM maths with 9th grade children at Udavi School. I find C3STREAM Land as a place to learn and grow oneself and also support others to Grow.

TAMILARASAN.E

I have completed B.E in Computer Science Engineering. After joining here with one year of experience in network engineering, I find myself responsible and feel engaged in multi-tasking. Instead of working in a corporate company doing routine work without getting progressed I teach here school children and manage to do my software work. I could clearly notice my outcomes and handle problems as an opportunity to create. I am happy to be a part of C3Streamland.

 

Narmadha

My Name is Narmadha. I stand for equality and happiness for myself and others.
After completing my B.Tech degree, I was not clear about what I am going to do
in my career. I started to prepare for competitive exams and I was not satisfied with it. I came to know about BnB shifu program from my friend. I was inspired by their work at STEM Land. I joined the program and learned scratch program, VLSI Layout design, Programming languages like python and SKILL scripting and visual maths concepts. This program created an opportunity to learn, work and grow and teach. After graduating from 1 year Shifu Master Program, I have started to work as an layout Engineer in C3STREAM Land and also started to teach math for 8th grade children at Isaiambalam school. Now I am satisfied and happy to be part of STEM Land.

Choudery Patchaiyappan

My name is Choudery Patchaiyappan, I stand for justice and equality for myself and others. I completed my UG in the stream of Electronics and Communication Engineering. Before joining the Shifu program I do not have any idea about my future, I just completed my UG and went to a job without satisfaction because I need to repeat my work and didn’t learn anything new. I didn’t feel it was interesting and useful even if I get a salary and so I resigned from my job and was seeking a place. I heard about the Shifu program, wanted to join, and joined. If I ask about doubts in my school days, they’ll say that I will come to know them later in higher education and if I ask questions in my higher Education I get answers that I will learn while working but at last, I found that I didn’t have the answer for my question and noticed they were skipping my doubts. But here I can ask doubts at any time to my mentors at the same time I myself learn thoroughly so that I won’t skip and teach with confidence if someone asks questions me. While learning my skills I can apply them through projects and tasks that help me to evaluate myself, get feedback, and improve myself. After completing my task and seeing it visually I get satisfied and get motivated. Here I have the opportunity to do things that I’m interested in. I am not happy with the certificate that I got in college but here I don’t get any certificates instead I gain more knowledge that itself gives satisfaction. There is no restriction and completion for learning, I learn and keep learning and working on it practically. Many students don’t know to mug up things but are good in practical knowledge but most of the educational institutions won’t give opportunities to them they just expect marks and validate them. But here equal importance is given to all those who are having an interest to learn. Through this program, students learn practical and get succeed. Now I’m working in VLSI design and doing my work and learning new things everyday and also teaching in Isai Ambalam school with full satisfaction.

Sandhiya S

My name is Sandhiya. I stand for progress as happiness and love for myself and others. I did my schooling in Udavi. I missed the way of learning and teaching after leaving school. Later I joined in Bnb Shifu program which I felt was a great opportunity to develop my skills. Practical learning allowed me to learn quick adaptations needed for daily challenges and scenarios and helped me to get a better understanding. I am happy to volunteer as a teacher. As a teacher, I have learned to use the power of intelligence and observations to support them solve their problem and that’s something I love doing. I have also learned to take the responsibility to discover their talents and find who they are and help children enjoy their day at school. Working in C3StreamLand and designs is an opportunity to teach and be taught by one another to work efficiently for organizations to grow stronger. I have also learned the importance of constant learning and developing skills.

Past long-term volunteers and employees

Vaidegi GVaidegi

I persuaded B.Tech in electronics and started being a part of STEM LAND – Aura Auro in Jan 2015. Now its been around 3 years. I would say it turned out to be a turning point in my life. This place exhibits the mentality of Abundance. Abundance in sharing knowledge, abundance in courage to create/start new, abundance in nourishing younger minds to be a change maker.

I was so good at rote learning, but STEM Land made me think beyond that and in a pragmatic way (of course I found it hard initially). Being with children gives me more responsibilities. Responsibility to inspire children to get them started on their own by doing projects, give attention to details to support them and make things simple and effective for better understanding. Indeed, this is where I changed my view of the Education system. Because, it’s not only about me sharing my knowledge, it also me gaining it from my peers (Children, my team, STEM volunteers, adults who visit STEM Land). Most importantly, the feel of content I get on seeing the progress in my children is priceless.

Professionally, I’m enjoying what I’m doing. Because I never get to work on the same kind of projects again. Each one is unique and requires me to think differently. I thought programming was not meant for me before joining here. But now, I laugh at what I thought then. This did not happen overnight. My team contributed, my mentor contributed and the unique quality of this place is a willingness to learn is contributed. 

I’m also getting opportunities to attend, practice Stewardship for New Emergence workshops and Vipassana. Every Stewardship workshop, tunes me closer to the values (Love and Courage) I stand for and adds values to what I do. In other hand, Vipassana helps me let go of things that I no longer needed and keeps me awake.   

Bala Anand T

Bala Aura Auro has provided a space for me to learn, grow and explore myself. I have progressed and become more efficient and efficacious at work(writing scripts and automating code). I also really care about the work I do in the schools and the contribution I do to society.

Currently works on smart-irrigation systems at Auroville Consulting.

 

 

Naveen.K

He had volunteered in STEM Land(Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Land)  from June 2015. From January 2016 he has been working with children in Udavi School and Isai Ambalam School, both outreach(rural) schools of Auroville. STEM instructor for 3 years in innovative pedagogy STEM Land(Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Land) a space of learning for children and adults in Auroville. Also received training as a professional teacher through government supported program for in-service teachers.Has worked with Aura Semiconductor Pvt. Ltd for about 2 and half years and delivered products with them on embedded system software and worked as a Data Scientist with Singapore based company Quilt.AIDelivered at Sinthanai Sangamam seminar and has published 4/5 papers on innovative education at peer reviewed international conferences like the MES as well epiSTEME. He is also trained as a Practitioner Coach by Dr. Monica Sharma (ex-UN Director of leadership) in leadership training programs. He has also been organizing(English and Tamil leadership training programs) and delivering the tools in Tamil leadership training programme in Auroville. Conducts sessions for teachers and children as well as the stewardship program in Tamil for the past 3 years. Currently works on design of drinking water systems in Auroville.
Arun Iyyanarappan
To contribute to my community through teaching and learning along with the children is something special. After joining Aura Auro Design my critical thinking and engineering skills have improved. I have learnt programming languages and mathematics well through engineering and teaching children at the same time. Apart learning to be professional I have learnt to discover myself through stewardship for new emergence workshop. It is always hard to find the right balance in life. Working with the children and being the change I wish to see found me the right balance to be part of this team. Stewardship for new emergence tools helped me to work from possibility and make choices for my happiness and others.
Ranjith

I completed M.tech in the field of electronics and Communication. After completing master degree. I felt that, I wasted two year in my career, because I haven’t learned anything useful from my master degree. Then I started learning programming and looking for IT job and came to know about stemland. In stemland, I new got opportunity to (learn, teach, work and grow), which is mostly aligned with my lifetime goal (constant learning). So I felt that being a part of stemland team makes me as a complete being and opens new possibility in my career. Currently I am working on layout team.

Bakyalakshmi

I deeply care about perseverance and love for myself and others. I pursued B Tech in Electronics and communication engineering from Pondicherry Engineering College. The tag line of C3STREAMLAND (Learn, Grow, Work, Teach) inspired me to join this organization. Being part of C3STREMLAND, I have acquired many technical skills like UNIX, python, Skill, UX design, scratch, and Geogebra. Apart from that STREAMLAND has also given me the space to discover myself and be assertive, courageous, and address ‘isms.’ I have become a responsible and robust human being. I have supported teaching mathematics for 8th and 10th graders at Udavi school, and in the process, I have also been learning how my school education plays a vital role in my profession and what it takes to be a teacher.

Siva

After completing a Master degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, I worked as a Senior Assistant professor and Head of the Department in an engineering college for 10 years.  I am much interested in building new things which help the society better. I guided many innovative and interesting projects for my students. I believed that I was teaching the students what really needed for their life and growth. But later I realised that the problem is with the existing education system. One fine day I read Sri Aurobindo’s principle of true teaching ” Nothing can be taught”, I felt like “what? …What am I doing? This is not what I suppose to do!”. So, I quit my job and the doctoral research program which was at the final phase and started exploring about alternative education.  I came to know about Auroville and its education systems then I joined as a volunteer and started teaching children in Isai ambalam school and later joined in STEM LAND.

I learnt a lot in STEM LAND as a teacher, as a learner. I learnt especially how not to teach? And learning analogy design, VLSI layout, how to teach maths, python programming, Automation, Skill coding, knowing our inner values and potential etc.., from experts in the world make me realize that learning is unending process as The Mother said. Now I have a feeling like going in the right path without any guilt feeling. There is so much to do and learn as well. I am learning every day from all beings who come before me. And waiting for you too.
Logeshwari
It feels happy to be a part of STEMland-Aura Auro Design. As the slogan of Aura Auro Design says learn, grow, work, teach I learn from my team and children, I grow along with my team, I work with the team and I teach and learn from students. It is incomplete even if one of the terms is missing. I not only learned technical aspects, but also learned some tools from the Stewardship for new emergence which is really important in life.
Thamizhselvi

My name is Thamizhselvi. Perseverance and courage are the two values that I stand for myself and others. I completed my B.Ed in Pope Jhon Paul college of Education in 2014. I started my journey of teaching at Aikiyam, and I learnt many techniques and skills there as a teacher. In 2019, I joined Stemland as a part of the Quilt.AI content team, which helped me to understand more about the minds of people and to improve my skills as a desk researcher.  After joining Stemland, I enjoyed the new culture, which was being practised there. I never saw any organization which provides a space for constant learning as Stemland. It supports a lot for my growth, especially after attending the Stewardship workshop, I found myself that I have deepened myself. It helped me in strengthening my creativity and my level of thinking. When the tools are being practised together as a team, I noticed that the impacts of it were astonishing. It also helped me to understand human unity better. This organization helped me to be a better human in the earth by providing an opportunity working there. The most touched tools for me were was integrity and responsibility. I realized that these two tools are powerful tools to shapen myself. Stem land is a place where one can continuously grow. 

By being part of the Isaiambalam school, I really enjoyed working with the kids there. By teaching the kids there, I learnt many things from the students there. Many activities are going there simultaneously. Sanjeev has created such an incredible teaching system which is different than a regular school. He has also implemented some of the Stewardship tools to the children, and I was amazed to see the impacts of it with the older kid.  I really loved being a teacher there. The inspiration project taught me many values, and I saw the results it brought to them. At some point, I was also jealous of the children by recognizing the skills, especially at the Rubix cube competition. I learnt the basics of the Rubix cube from the children of Isaiambalam. I am very grateful to Sanjeev who gave me an opportunity of working at Stemland, and I acknowledge him for caring others growth consistently. 

Ganesh Shelke

I have completed my B.E. from Pune and have been working since then in border regions of India – Jammu – Kashmir, Ladakh and North Eastern states in the field of education, social entrepreneurship development and awareness on the triad of Communication-Trust-Development.
I joined the STEM Land as an intern in Quilt.AI, one of the two companies associated with STEM Land. It was for the first time I got to experience the amazing blend of Learn, Grow and Teach along with Work. STEM Land is different in its own way from other organizations where I not only learned about professional skills like Python, JavaScript, but it also helped me in my development as a person through different program including but not limited to stewardship program, sessions on teaching pedagogies, train the trainers program for Delhi Government mentor teachers, COVID-19 relief work for migrants workers from Jharkhand and many more.
Auroville itself is a place where the emphasis is on the thorough development of an individual and it’s no different for STEM Land volunteers. From daily morning meditation (Anapana) to teaching school children and learning from them to working on improving my programming skills at work has been an enriching experience. With everyone always there to help, I never felt that I have come far from my home state. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn and grow as part of STEM Land.

 Pranav
Pranav worked with Google and volunteered with STEM land for 4 months. Here is an interview with him.
 
  
TEAM – 2016
team_pic
From left: Sundar,Naveen,Arun,Vaidegi,Sanjeev,Bala
TEAM – 2017

Poovizhi, Sundar, Arun, Pratap, Sanjeev, Vaidegi, Naveen, Bala
TEAM – 2018
 Logeshwari, Bala, Arun, Saranya, Pratap, Sanjeev, Naveen, Sundar, Poovizhi,

March – 2018

Poovizhi, Ranjith, Arun, Logeshwari, Sanjeev, Pratap, Sundar, Saranya, and Naveen

Spin-off Yuvabe Team

Anupama
I am a Computer Science Engineer who moved from Seattle in mid-2018 to Auroville, after working for 18+ years in the IT field. I have a vast experience developing various software projects using state-of-the-art technologies. Other than software, another thing I am very passionate about is school education. I homeschooled my two daughters pretty much during their elementary years. I believe in self-led, child-centered and hands-on education. That is why I chose to use Montessori principles in our homeschool. Along with my daughters, I learnt many new things and made a lot of connections which was missing from my own education!

In Auroville, I came to know about STEMLand and saw an opportunity to be involved in their work. I realized that I could combine my technological skills and my passion for alternative education. The best of both worlds! For now, I am currently involved in mentoring young engineers and assist them in developing a school software that would help in the activities in STEMLand. I am hoping to be more involved in the STEMLand activities as well as give short software courses to interested folks.

Sriman

I have done my masters in business administration from the University of Chicago and a Masters in Supply chain from the University of Warwick. I worked for over 22 years with IBM and other startups while living in the UK, US and Singapore. I worked in various business roles and feel fortunate to have diverse exposure. I moved to Auroville with my family in Mid 2018 from Singapore. I have two children who are currently studying at Future school(daughter) and Deepanam school (son). Auroville has helped change my perspective about the self and the world we live in.

I connected with STEMLand through the Vipasanna group and was interested in supporting youth with skilling and job creation. The initiative with Quilt.AI ( Singapore partner company) has helped us bring the latest in Tech (AI) and Content ( Market Research) to the youth in the bio-region. I currently Mentor the Content Team and am eager to see how we can facilitate the development of highly-skilled, confident and purpose-driven youth.

 

Sundranandhan.ksundar

The Year 2017-2018, Progress occurred in various aspects. I am able to notice a vast change in my inner being, and abilities as well.I have realized that happiness is something special that I create within me, and this emanates in all things that I do, and participate small or large. Supporting children in their growth and seeing them accomplish their goals gives a huge sense of awe, and responsibility. As a learner and technologist I have gained the confidence to support my fellow colleagues and learned from the team as a whole, this has made my knowledge rich and diversified. Each member of the team has a unique set of universal values, skills and accountability, and seeing them engaged with commitment gives me an adrenaline drive to progress towards perfection along by their sides. I have shared many moments of inspiration and clarity that remain special to me. There has been a lot of new experiences in courses that were conducted and seeing new people join the team, and fellow ones progress and search towards their new goals, attachment has become something I have realized that needs to be let go, in order togo with the present flow of things being put forward for a higher purpose. I am privileged to be at the place of most potential were I own the opportunity to learn, grow, work and support others in their learning’s. Research has given me the curiosity to think beyond what I could have imagined it would be, to get down to details and provide clarity on what is that has made me all this change in me and bring it out to others to experience.

Vimal

I am a Mechanical Engineer worked in several roles with the leading glass container manufacturing unit for 11 years.Knowing that i am not in the right path and crowd, i planned to move out of the conventional life.Risked to kick start a startup providing educational services to Engineering colleges. Worked on 3 different product prototypes catering education and environmental research domain. This journey lasted only for 3 years.

I moved to STEMLAND as a part of my enthusiasm to contribute for the betterment of youth. Intrigued with the way the daily routine was handled, i pivoted myself to the ideologies of STEMLAND. I admitted my two kids(boys) in Isai Ambalam school to make them experience the education is life long journey. Through this, I understood various unknowns and flaws in the current education system. Thanks to the team, who agreed me to be their part and trusted my skills and intentions.

Kalaiarasi

My name is Kalaiarasi. I stand for honesty and happiness for my self and others .I have completed B.Tech in the field of information technology and have a degree in Bachelor of Education. I have started my career at STEMland as an intern from (3nd Feb. 2020). I feel happy to be a part of STEM land as it is a place for learning. Every day I am learning something new and I am adding value to the skills that I have learnt before. Along with the technology I also learnt the values of Humanity , Trust , Responsibility and Equality . I am looking forward to make my valuable contribution here.

Bhuvana

I deeply care about human unity. I have completed a Master in English and comparative literature at Pondicherry Central University and received a Master in Education at Azim Premji School of Education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences ( TISS). While I was pursuing my undergraduate and postgraduate I was volunteering at Thamarai After school with kids who come from various schools and different grades. I was a coordinator of the team and scaffolding the kids with their homework. I was part of the Stewardship for New Emergency program. Initially, I was a participant who got an opportunity to know about myself and what I really care about. This made me feel who I am as a being and what is my role in the community and for society. Later I was a practitioner coach for the program both in English and Tamil session Amma Appa Program.

Then, I have got an opportunity to continue my Growth & Learning at Aura Auro Design Organisation. It is a space that is open to explore new things and to develop inner capacity, Skill and Competency, where one could serve their community and for the social well being. Here, I’m still continuing the stewardship practice along with meditation called Anapana which adds to my growth, inner capacity and grounds me in what I do.  I am still continuing my learning and growth by engaging in a field study by entailing through various new projects and by involving at school teaching the kids. I don’t feel like an employee of Auro Aura Design, it just gives me a feeling of space where I am enriching myself and contributing to society.

The alternative education inspired me to be a part of STEM Land which is different from the existing school education system. When I was pursuing my Education Degree I was curious about alternative education and interned at Isaiambalam School and learned a lot of new methods of teaching the Syllabus and the framing of different curriculum. Later when I joined STEM Land I got engaged in an English Second language research and implemented it in the school. This made me content where I engaged in my field of education and contributed for the well being of the rural children and my community. Being a teacher, teaching the children, I am also a learner who learns new things from kids and my colleagues in the organisation and interested in augmenting my knowledge and skill.

Likewise the organisation aided me to attend the Epi-STEM-8 conference to build my confidence and research skill. Similarly, I am involved in various activities such as research and teaching in STEM land and working on projects of the Quilt.AI content team at Aura Auro Design where I am learning new things from various projects with contentment 🙂

Vasanth

Perseverance and equality are the most important values that I stand for myself and others. I completed my Bachelors in Engineering. Then, I experienced in the fields of Business Development and Inventory Management in a couple of companies, I worked before joining STEM land. My interest is to learn more about language and curious about creative arts. Through the opportunity of being a volunteer at Isai Ambalam school, I embarked developing my skills in June 2019. I learnt to teach children by observing the classes of other fellow teachers. I learnt Abalone, Rubik’s cube and Scratch from children, and learnt the basics of Python from adults in STEM land. And I got a different opportunity to explore with the Quilt.AI content team in September 2019. There, I understood more about human empathy, demographics and cultural perspectives.

STEM land supports a lot for my growth, notably, the Stewardship for New Emergence, where I noticed my strength and fear and began to develop my inner values. Using the tools, I found solutions to raise myself in life whenever I felt myself down. So I could notice the gap in myself. I developed patience, self-awareness, compassion and started paying more attention to the present moment by practising Vipassana. As the next step in my career, I got involved in English research works along with my teammates. I was surprised being included as a part of the Anapana (Awareness through breath) research team, that too in 20 days after the completion of a ten days Vipassana course.

From the Inspiration project, I learnt several good qualities that I need to build and incorporate myself. I realized the actual values of integrity and responsibility in this organization. I could see such inspiring people in the community and their dedication towards the welfare of society. With that motivation, I accepted the opportunity to volunteer with the CoAST(COVID Action Support Team) India. That initiated my thoughts towards society into action. 

Hari

My name is Hariharan. I completed my bachelor’s degree in the stream of Mechanical Engineering at SMVEC affiliated to Pondicherry University. After my course completion, It was a roller coaster of my carrier. I began my carrier as a design engineer in a manufacturing company. Later started to work in a financial company for a year and an opportunity came to serve for SBI (Digital banking unit). From 2017 I began to work in SBI till the end of 2019.

All these opportunities didn’t give me a comfortable feel and never learned anything new. It was all about the same work with the same means, which never let me grow in any skill development or self-development. Then I realised to choose my best carrier and most importantly, to look for learning and growing in a peculiar direction. So, I started to join STEM Land with Sanjeev and team in February 2019. It was a new beginning of my life and carrier. STEM Land is the place we learn, grow, work and teach. I feel I’m happy in this place with potential support from Sanjeev, Sriman and team. I’m working for Quilt.ai here with the content team which is headed by Sriman. Learning and doing marketing research and data analysis and a lot more about human behaviour on the internet. From STEM Land, I’m learning mathematics and few self-development courses which enhances myself as a human being. I’m now preparing myself for teaching maths to the kids over Udavi school. Promptly I feel I’m composed and being in a better place which I was longing. Also, I’m delighted to be part of STEM Land and looking forward to learning more and growing more with the team.

Abilash

 I have completed B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering. While doing my college I used to attend the evening courses ( Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Basic Electronics, Layout, Elixir, Python Django and Scratch) offered in STEM Land. I enjoyed all the courses and was inspired when I built a Mobile Charger on my own which I also taught to other students. The students also shared their knowledge with me which was very helpful. Currently, I am working for Quilt.AI and looking forward to my and other’s growth.

Sharat

I did my Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Currently, I’m pursuing a Masters in Business Administration. Previously I worked for IBM in TSM(Backup and Recovery) for two years due to some personal issues, I left the job and looked for a job near pondy. I joined KINISI, an E-cycle assembling and rental unit in Auroville and worked almost a year. I came to know about STEM land were you get an opportunity to learn, grow and help others. In a few months, I can see changes in myself. Sessions with renowned Professors like Sundaram and Ravi gave me a different perspective on education and how to educate children progressively. I’ve volunteered to help the Jharkhand migrants to go back to their state, which gave me job satisfaction which I haven’t experienced before. My English speaking and writing skills improved due to book reading and writeup sessions by Sriman. I’m eagerly waiting to teach students what I learned to make them grow.

Shimalini

I have completed B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering. After completing my college studies, I was working at an E-publishing company, where I used to format contents which were written by other people. There wasn’t any time to stop and read the content. I used to type, format and send the drafts, repeatedly. After some time, I realized that I have stopped learning new things and was doing things repeatedly, which I knew. I got frustrated and wanted to learn more than this. That time I came to know about the opportunities at STEM Land by my friend, and I joined as an Intern here. After joining, I saw my world different from my past. I saw people teaching, learning, working, simultaneously engaging themselves in many activities and progressing. I felt very happy and excited to be here and learn. I joined Quilt Content Team and now learning many tools, learning many things from each task, reading books every week and from these I could see progress in my skills and my English. I also had an opportunity to attend the Stewardship program, I found it helpful for my personal development. Overall, I am feeling very happy to teach, learn and be part of this team.

Poovendiran

Myself Poovendiran I’m B.Tech graduate in the field of Mechanical. I have started my career as a volunteer in the field of 3d printing in Auroville and start to travel around some places near to it. At the month of March 2020, I heard about Place  STEM Land the place where people work, develop themself, teaching children and Exploring new things. Later I had an opportunity to meet some nice persons and started my journey with them. I joined in the content team which supports Quilt.AI. Developing myself by learning many Tools and writing skills. Supporting children by teaching and interacting with them gives me self-satisfaction and happiness. It is a great opportunity for me to explore myself. I feel happy to be a part of STEM LAND.

Praveen.V

I started exploring in many activities during my school days. At the age of 17, I was a facilitator in Swalearn organisation, and it was the space for youth to learn by themselves. I have learnt Photography, Graphic design, Hands-on activities, Concentration activities, etc. I have learnt HOT skills like Collaboration, Leadership, Decision making, Creative, Analysing, Time management, Planning, etc. I also volunteered in Mohanam Kindergarten School, Swaram and did documentary videos for Bamboo centre, Earth & Us.

By then, I completed my Bachelors in Computer Application. During my 3rd year of college, I got the opportunity to join as an intern in Yaha Life Private Limited (wellbeing company). After a year, I was employed by Yaha Life Private Limited as a Junior product developer. Simultaneously I was working in the design team, also learnt the basics of Web designing. I have documented seminars conducted by the company in Chennai, Mumbai, Surat and Indore.

I came to know about Stem land, which has qualitative and quantitative skilled person up to their level. I felt that I could learn and deliver a lot more in this space. This makes my curiosity to join in Stem land. I feel happy to be part of this innovative organisation. I want to learn and improve my inner capacity and share my knowledge and skills with my community.

Punithan

I am Punithan, a Post Graduate from Pondicherry/Auroville and currently an intern at Quilt.Ai. During my bachelor’s degree, being an outgoing person, I have actively participated in various outreach programs through which I was able to serve many youth in the near-by slums at Chennai providing them service such as helping then set a job, opening bank accounts, etc. While pursuing my MBA is when I took a keen interest in research and marketing related work and also had the privilege to present my papers in international conferences and seminars.

Being a person who loves to participate in things from where I get to learn something new and enhance my knowledge, coming across STEM Land through an acquaintance was a cherry on the cake. Having met Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan it was not only inspiring for me but also one of the prime factors that drove me to be a part of this organization where I have the privilege to expand my area of interest.

Jenifa

My name is Jenifa. I have completed my bachelor’s degree in the stream of Information technology. Then I worked in sql database for two years in an organization in Chennai. Then there was a big gap in my career before joining Auraauro.

I came to know about stem land auraauro design where we can get the opportunity to learn and grow along with others. I have got an opportunity here to continue my Growth & Learning with auroaura. It is a space that is open to explore new things and to develop inner capacity, Skill where one could serve their community and for social wellbeing. And, the alternative education inspired me to be a part of STEM Land which is totally different from the existing school education system.

After joining Aura Auro Design my critical thinking has improved. I am learning new programming languages, scratch programming and mathematics to support children. I can notice a change in my inner being. There have been a lot of new experiences. I am happy to be at the place of most potential where I got the opportunity to learn, grow, work and support others.

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