BANGALORE, INDIA: HP announced today the addition of two Indian organizations, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University and Learning Links Foundation, to its global HP Catalyst Initiative.

Under the initiative, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University would join the Measuring Learning consortium, while Learning Links Foundation, the newly-formed STEM-preneur consortium, will explore novel ways to combine science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education with the skills and passion of entrepreneurship, stated a press release.

21 new organizations from 12 countries joining Catalyst

They would each receive more than US$150,000 in technology, cash, and professional services from HP. This year, 21 additional organizations from 12 countries are joining the HP Catalyst network of leading institutions transforming STEM teaching and learning worldwide.

According to the release, the HP Catalyst consortia are focused on a range of issues, from teacher preparation and student-driven learning models to student assessment. Each consortium was tasked with investigating how emerging technologies could fuel learning experiences that inspired students and promoted creative thinking, open-ended problem-solving and cross-cultural collaboration, it added.

“Social entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming a critical area of focus in developing countries. These organizations were chosen to be part of our HP Catalyst Initiative as they demonstrate in-depth expertise in STEM-based learning approaches that combine global theory with local entrepreneurship best practices, knowledge and resource use,” said Jeannette Weisschuh, director – education, Office of Global Social Innovation, HP.

The six Catalyst research themes are The Multi-Versity, Pedagogy 3.0, Global Collaboratory, The New Learner, Measuring Learning, and the new STEM-preneur. The new STEM-preneur consortium, the release stated, would be led by a team of distinguished faculty from Tsinghua University, School of Economics and Management (SEM) Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.