The Athena Story.

This project focused on increasing underprivileged students’ participation in technology, especially girls, by addressing key barriers: equity, opportunity, and access. Working closely with Christel House, a school serving underprivileged students, I led efforts to provide technology education and create pathways for girls to pursue tech careers.

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Work with Christel House

At Christel House, an organisation that provides free education for the underprivileged, many students lacked exposure to technology and AI. I organized and conducted AI workshops for a large group of students, teaching foundational concepts and practical skills. I proactively reached out and formed a unique collaboration with IIT professors and Stanford students to co-create a modular AI curriculum designed specifically for beginners with limited resources. We founded a 58 lakh scholarhsip and provided free PCs, laptops and computers for the entire school and every student.

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Beyond traditional teaching, I integrated innovative project-based learning and low-cost tech solutions to overcome infrastructure challenges, making AI education accessible, practical, and deeply engaging. This project represents one of the first scalable, replicable frameworks that bridges the AI knowledge gap in marginalized communities, positioning these students to become future innovators rather than mere consumers of technology.

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Addressing the Divides

• Equity: I created an inclusive learning environment where girls were actively encouraged to participate and lead. This involved adapting teaching methods to ensure all students could follow and engage.

• Opportunity: The workshops and training sessions gave girls access to technology education that was otherwise unavailable. They learned coding and AI tools, gaining skills many had not encountered before.

• Access: We used the school’s resources and supplemented them with donated hardware and software to provide the necessary tools for learning.

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Scholarship Hackathon

To motivate sustained learning and reward talent, I organized a hackathon and raised a scholarship prize of ₹1,00,000. The event challenged students to develop AI-based solutions to real problems.Hundreds of students participated, forming teams and working intensively to apply their knowledge.

Additionally, I reached and worked with Appario to provide a donation of 58 lakhs through their CSR initiative and found the annual Appario Education Scholarship To Empower Young Minds.

The hackathon created a platform for studnets to showcase their skills and gain recognition. It also connected them with mentors and offered financial support for further education.

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Community and Student Involvement

Many students, teachers, and volunteers contributed to the project’s success. The collective effort helped build a technology community around Christel House. The girls involved demonstrated increased confidence and technical skills, with several expressing interest in pursuing tech careers now as well. To overcome the hardware barrier, I partnered with Amazon and ClickTech to secure donations of laptops, ensuring every participant had the necessary tools to fully engage with the curriculum.

Outcomes

• Delivered AI education to hundreds of students, with a strong focus on engaging girls.

• Fundraised a ₹1,00,000 scholarship hackathon

• Founded an Annual scholarship worth 58 lakhs for the school sponsored by Appario

• Partnered with international organisations like Amazon and Appario to provide laptops and PC’s for the school

• Collaborated with IIT professors and Stanford students on creating a modular, innovative curriculum

• Increased girls’ enrollment in tech activities at Christel House.

• Created a replicable model for addressing tech education divides through hands-on learning and incentives.

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What’s Next

This project is just the beginning. We are scaling the AI workshops and hackathon model to nearby schools, expanding access to underprivileged girls across the region. Plans are underway to establish a formal mentorship network connecting girls with women professionals in tech for ongoing guidance and career support.

To sustain momentum, we will create a digital platform for students to continue learning AI and coding remotely, bridging geographic and resource gaps. The scholarship fund will grow through partnerships with local businesses and NGOs, enabling more girls to access quality tech education and scholarships.

Our vision is clear: empower a generation of girls with the skills, confidence, and support to not only enter but lead the tech world. By breaking the equity, opportunity, and access divides, this project aims to change lives and reshape the future of technology.