62 Samsung employees from India and Korea volunteer with several educational programs for village children
Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India:
Samsung today inaugurated ‘Samsung Smart School’ in the Sri Sant Vinobha Bhave Inter College in Baidpura village, near its Noida manufacturing facility. The village was adopted as part of Samsung’s ‘Nanum Village’ project in 2013. Since then, the company has been working with the community to bring in several improvements in the infrastructure, health and education facilities in the village. The Samsung Smart School inaugurated today is an extension of the same program. 62 employee volunteers from Samsung India and Korea offices spent a week at the school as part of the Samsung Employee Volunteering Program setting up the Smart Class and interacting with the children on various educational programs.
The Samsung Smart School was inaugurated by Mr. Ravinder Zutshi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ravinder Zutshi, Senior Vice President, Samsung India, said, “Samsung places great importance on providing children from less privileged backgrounds the opportunity to receive quality education. We are confident that the Smart School will contribute to bridging the digital divide while improving the quality of education these children receive and will be a valuable addition to our work in our Nanum Village Baidpura.”
The Samsung Smart Class uses Samsung products such as the Samsung Smartboard, laptops and tablets to enable students to access digital content and be part of an interactive environment in the classroom. Students are taught mathematics; science and social science in an engaging and collaborative manner, helping them retain what they learn better. The Samsung Smart Class is one of several initiatives that the employee volunteers undertook. Besides setting up the computers, they also introduced children to their varied usages including use of interactive software and educational videos as well as clicking, transferring and editing images. The volunteers also engaged the children in basic health and hygiene education.
“We are delighted that our colleagues from Korea and India spent time in Baidpura on various educational programs and helped with setting up the Smart School,” added Mr. Zutshi. “The Samsung Employee Volunteering Program is a global program where we channel our employees’ experience and skills into our social initiatives. As a global leader in technology, Samsung is always looking for ways to use our legacy of innovation to offer people newer possibilities – both through our products and our employees’ expertise.”
As part of its Nanum Village project, in addition to the Samsung Smart School, Samsung will also construct a medical centre and a community hall for Baidpura residents at the Sri Sant Vinobha Bhave Inter College, which will house computers, a library and a recreation centre. Samsung has also undertaken other health and community development initiatives at the village.
Samsung has, over the years, leveraged its legacy of technology innovation through philanthropic initiatives focused on helping communities lead healthier, smarter and more sustainable lives. Since mid-2013, Samsung has set up over 140 Smart Schools in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country, benefitting over 60,000 students and teachers through digitally-equipped classrooms that enable interactive learning. Teachers with Smart Classes in their schools have reported better attendance and enthusiasm from students, thanks to lessons becoming more exciting with a personalised and interactive learning environment. Samsung also has MOUs in place with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as well as state departments of technical education in New Delhi and West Bengal, to set up Technical Schools that will provide youth with skill development opportunities.
