In today’s fast-paced world, technology is far more than just a tool, it’s a gateway to opportunity, offering young minds the chance to carve out future-ready careers. Yet, for countless children, especially those from underserved communities, this door remains locked, constrained by a lack of resources and mentorship.
What if we could change that? What if we could use technology not just to teach, but to improve creativity in every child and help them build their future?
Driven by these questions, Meenal Majumder, 53, walked away from her successful corporate career, and made it her mission to ensure that every child could benefit from the digital world.
‘Simply providing laptops wasn’t enough’
After completing engineering, Meenal went on to pursue an MBA from IIM Calcutta. Upon entering the workforce, she joined ICICI Securities, where she quickly made her mark, rising to the position of a senior vice president.
“I always thought I was going to be a lifelong banker, as I really enjoyed that. But something happened that changed my outlook,” she tells The Better India. The ‘something’ came when her daughter, a class 8 student at the time, developed an interest in joining the school’s robotics team.
“My daughter was the only girl in a group of 40 boys. While she was passionate about robotics, she faced challenges not only with the technical aspects but also with fitting into a team where she often felt like an outsider,” Meenal recalls.
With a background in engineering, she instinctively stepped in to provide the technical guidance her daughter needed.
“I realised that hands-on, project-based learning does more than just teach technical skills. It cultivates self-confidence and promotes a problem-solving mindset. I saw this firsthand when my daughter’s team designed a robot to sort and recycle waste, pitching their idea to municipal authorities,” she says. “They were addressing real-world issues and creating meaningful solutions.”
This experience opened her eyes to the potential of experiential learning. Meenal recognised that technology, when taught in the right way, could be a revolutionary asset, especially for young learners in fields like STEM, AI, and robotics.
A humanitarian at heart, Meenal had another strong realisation during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world shut down, schools shifted to online learning, but many children, especially those from underserved communities, were left behind due to a lack of resources.
Working closely with the Salaam Bombay Foundation, in 2020, she helped raise Rs 18 lakh to provide laptops to children who needed them to continue their education.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the strong network I built at IIM Calcutta, which played a key role in helping me raise the funds I needed. During the pandemic, we organised an online singing programme as a fundraiser, and it was through the support of my network that we were able to make it a success,” she explains.
But seeing children without access to digital tools, knowing they were missing out on precious educational opportunities, was “a real wake-up call”.
“I soon realised that simply providing laptops wasn’t enough. I needed to start an initiative that would not only help children learn technology but also assist them to adapt to our rapidly changing world,” she recalls.
Starting The Innovation Story
In 2021, after deep reflection, Meenal made the bold decision to leave behind her successful career and follow a new purpose, one that would guide children to use technology as a tool for learning, and prepare them for the future.
Soon, she launched The Innovation Story (TIS), a platform dedicated to offering project-based STEM education to children from all backgrounds, with a special focus on those from underserved communities.
“A friend of mine, who worked at Amazon, told me about the launch of the Amazon Future Engineer programme and expressed how much he’d love for me to be part of it as a partner,” she recalls.
“It was a perfect opportunity for The Innovation Story to expand our reach, allowing even more children access to quality STEM education. We started with offering guidance to 250 students in the first year,” she adds.
Most of these children came from government schools, where access to technology was limited, and the idea of learning robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), or coding seemed almost unreal. “But my vision was to equip these children with skills that could empower them not just in school, but for life,” she says.
TIS partnered with some of the most prestigious institutions in India, like IIT Delhi and IISc Bengaluru, to develop a curriculum focused on project-based learning. The courses in coding, robotics, web development, AI/ML, and 3D CAD are designed to improve innovation.
“We work with educators from institutions like Harvard, MIT, and IITs to make sure we are providing the best resources for our students,” the founder explains. “I have regular meetings with these experts to ensure that we keep improving and evolving the curriculum.”
Bridging the resource gap
What sets TIS apart is its commitment to offering the same high-quality education to both private and government school students. While private schools often have access to top-tier resources, Meenal felt it was essential to level the underprivileged community.
“We cannot afford to let children from underserved backgrounds be left behind in the race to technological advancement. We need to ensure they get the same exposure as their peers in private schools,” she says.
Through collaborations with organisations like Amazon Future Engineer, Capgemini, and Tata Capital, TIS brings state-of-the-art technology, mentorship, and training to students who otherwise might never have access to it.
One of the biggest challenges she faced was convincing the parents of children from underserved communities. Many were unsure of the value of STEM learning and hesitant about the potential careers it could open for their children.
“The parents were sceptical, and who could blame them?” she recalls. “They didn’t see how learning to build a robot would help them get a job or make their life better. So, we had to go beyond teaching the children, we had to mentor the parents too. They started believing in us after seeing the tangible results,” she explains.
TIS partnered with NGOs like Salaam Bombay, Agastya International Foundation, and Teach for India, who helped connect with the communities most in need.
“I remember these kids coming in for their first session. They were so excited, but at the same time, they were intimidated by the technology in front of them,” she says. “But their hunger to learn was palpable. It drove everything we did.”
Among these students, many expressed an interest in the robotics programme. “With limited resources and a tight budget, we were determined to get the kids involved in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), a global robotics competition,” she explains. They managed to build low-cost robots and were able to participate alongside private school teams.
“In the competition, the government school children, who had barely learnt how to use a computer six months ago, were not only competing but became one of the finalists,” Meenal shares proudly.
After their success in the FTC, the team of about five children were selected to represent India at the First Global Challenge in 2022, an international robotics competition held in Switzerland.
“The parents had so many questions when I told them we would be taking their children to Switzerland. They were daily wage earners, with no passports or experience with international travel,” she recalls. “I had to convince them that the kids were safe and that they were chosen for a reason. It wasn’t easy, but we made it work.”
One of the most emotional moments came on the day of the competition, when everyone gathered to see the children off.
“One of the parents, an auto-rickshaw driver, told me that he drives to the airport every day to drop passengers, but never imagined he would one day be dropping his own son off for an international flight,” the founder recalls.
The team excelled at the competition, coming home with a gold medal. It was a moment of pride not just for the children, but for their entire community.
“There was this one child who had been mocked by his friends for saying he was going to Switzerland. They thought he was lying,” the entrepreneur adds. “But when he started posting pictures and videos on Instagram, his friends finally believed him.”
The impact of this experience was evident not only in the children’s achievements but in their future prospects. Two of the five students from the team went on to receive admissions into top engineering colleges. These students, once overlooked and underestimated, are now role models for other government school children.
Shaping the next generation of problem-solvers
Currently, TIS is working on the ‘Nurturing Innovators’ programme, which has become a key initiative in shaping the next generation of problem-solvers. Through this programme, private school students are encouraged to identify real-world challenges and design technological solutions to address them.
One notable example comes from a student who realised that government hospitals are often understaffed and it is difficult to cater to every bed. “She observed that when an IV drip was missing from any bed, there was no immediate way for the hospital staff to be alerted,” Meenal explains. “This inspired her to design a device that would notify the central monitoring unit in the hospital room, whenever something went wrong with an IV drip.”
When she presented her solution to the dean of Nair Hospital, he was so impressed by its potential that he expressed interest in customising it further to make the solution even more practical and effective for the hospital staff.
Another story that the founder shares is that of a class 11 student, who is also a Kathak dancer. “Realising that deaf children struggle to connect with music, she invented a wristband that tracks sound waves and converts them into vibrations. This allows the wearer to dance along with the beats,” she says.
For government school children, TIS has launched Project Udaan, pathways for engineering. “It is designed for students of classes 5 to 12. The programme starts by laying a strong foundation in digital literacy, communication, and mathematical skills. Then, we gradually build on these with problem-solving techniques, an introduction to robotics through hands-on learning, and eventually a course on web app development,” Meenal says.
Successful impact and future growth
“I work with both private and government school children because they have so much to learn from each other. At our TIS centres in Mumbai and Bengaluru, it’s truly heartwarming to watch them interact and collaborate so beautifully. When they come through our doors, they leave behind the labels of their outside worlds and assist each other to grow in life,” Meenal shares.
“Before joining TIS, I was just a curious kid with a love for programming, but I had no way to explore it fully,” says 19-year-old Pritam Thopate, a second-year computer science engineering student at Terna Engineering College.
“Financial struggles once held me back, but TIS gave me the tools, guidance, and most importantly, the confidence to dream bigger. One of the most transformative moments of my life came when I participated in the National Robotics Competition,” he reflects. “My team secured second place and was selected to represent India at the International Robotics Competition in Geneva. Winning the gold medal there felt surreal. Today, as I sit in my computer engineering classes, I feel more prepared and confident than ever before.”
Ansari Almas Mohd Minnatullah, another TIS student, too, credits the programme for changing his life.
“My journey in STEM has been one of resilience. Growing up with limited access to technology, I had to teach myself from scratch. TIS gave me the hope and resources I needed to grow. A turning point came when I secured a top-three spot in a website development project, which increased my interest in STEM learning. Through competitions like the First Tech Challenge and Youth Climate Change, I gained recognition and confidence,” he shares.
Since its inception, TIS has impacted over 10,500 students and continues to grow. With centres in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Noida, Meenal looks ahead to guide one million children by 2030.
“The goal is to make sure that every child has the skills, confidence, and mindset to change the world. When I see a child light up after building their first robot, or when they solve a problem they once thought was impossible, I know we’re on the right path,” Meenal asserts.
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All pictures courtesy Meenal Majumder