HP Introduces Lab-in-Box Pilot in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD, India, April 17, 2012 – HP today introduced its HP Lab-in-Box to Vidyanagar Primary School students in Ahmedabad.

A self-sustainable and fully operational computer lab created in a shipping container, the HP Lab-in-Box is designed as a rapidly deployable cloud enabled infrastructure solution to spread both the reach and quality of education in India.

This is the fourth such HP Lab-in-Box prototype that has been installed to facilitate personalized and immersive learning experiences. The previous three pilots are running at the Government Sarvodaya Senior Secondary School in New Delhi, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) campus in New Delhi and by the Indian army at the Western Command, Chandigarh.

HP is also hosting a cloud basededucational application that searches and displays relevant videos from the internet, based on the textbook being read by the student.The application has an adaptive online self-learning tool called MindSpark^TM from Educational Initiatives, an HP partner, who is providing personalized assessment tools to the student to track their individual learning progress.The results of a related pilot now completed in Bangalore showed significant improvements in competence after using this application and similar outcomes are expected in Gujarat.

Each HP Lab-in-Box comprises a shipping container that has15 HP Multiseat Thinclients, amultifunctional printer, wireless connectivity, electricity, furniture, fans and air conditioning.HP’s multiseat computing solution means multiple users can be connected to one PC, which maximises space while reducing cost and complexity.

As a catalyst of innovation in education, the HP Sustainability and Social Innovation Group  and HP Government Affairs engaged HP Labs and other HP groups to support the HP Lab-in-Box personalized learning pilot in Gujarat. This adds to the already significant portfolio of social investments in the Indian education and entrepreneurship sectors including those made under the HP Catalyst Program, the HP LIFE program, the HP-JAYE Social Innovation Relay, and the $1 Million Education Innovation Fund for India.

Today, only 12.4 per cent of India’s 220 million school-going children go on to attend college. As part of its Vision 2020 plan, the Indian government is looking to increase the number of school-going children to 30 per cent by 2020. Access to education and technology will play a key role in enabling this. HP Lab-in-Box contributes by addressing the biggest challenge to IT adoption by Indian schools – the lack of infrastructure.

Speaking at a press briefing to launch the HP Lab-in-Box in Gujarat, Jaijit Bhattacharya, director, Government Affairs, HP India, said, “Today, there is a shortfall of trained teachers in several schools in the country and limited access to IT also makes it extremely difficult to offer a more personalized teaching approach. The HP Lab-in-Box addresses these limitations by giving students access to a richer learning experience and the best teaching resources across the country.”

“We welcome this initiative from HP and their partners. Both our students and our teachers have benefitted immensely from the easier access to quality IT and it has helped raise their proficiency and knowledge levels. As more students and teachers familiarize themselves with the HP Lab-in-Box, we’re sure it will help raise education competencies in our school,” said Pramukhray Patel, Principal, Vidyanagar Primary School.

The value of HP’s Lab-in-Box concept extends beyond the education sector. As the shipping containers are spacious, robust and water-proof, they can be easily customised for a variety of scenarios. The same infrastructure can be leveraged for social requirements, such as service centres for citizens and remote telemedicine outlets.

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