CSR collaboration for digital literacy of young girls

With a mission to bridge the digital divide among the students of Government schools and private schools, a new CSR programme aims to make a concrete difference in the lives of young girls. These girls face gender-based inequalities, discrimination, oppression, violence, and inhuman values from a young age. UST, a digital transformation solutions company is collaborating with HYSEA and Nirmaan Organization for a digital lab in Hyderabad.

The lab is set up at a service home of the Women and Child Welfare Department service home in the Ameerpet area. The initiative was in support of the Disruptive Digital Intervention (DDI) programme by HYSEA (Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association) with Nirmaan Organization as the Knowledge and implementation partner. It will serve as a source of learning, supporting students and young women from underprivileged backgrounds.

With UST’s collaboration, the lab is equipped with desktop computers, furniture, power back-ups, computer accessories, high-speed broadband internet connection, a projector room including digital resources, and a salaried IT teacher. This lab will help around 300 service home students who are studying polytechnic to learn the basics of computers. Through the new digital lab, these young girls will be trained in computer operations and skills to expand their knowledge about the digital world to enable them for prospective careers.

“It is essential to be sustainable and scalable in our approach. This collaboration aligns with UST’s vision of creating impact and transforming lives through digital transformation,” said Harilal Neelakantan, UST Hyderabad Center Head. Said Bharani K Aroll, President, HYSEA, “At a time when many public schools are grappling with basic issues of infrastructure, mid-day meals, and improving attendance to check the alarming dropout rates in the state, we as an industry body felt that the students from the underprivileged background should not be left behind in this digital age. This could only be achieved through computer education, and hence the DDI initiative was launched in 2017. It has become successful mainly because of support from our member companies like UST.”

Today the CSR programme reaches more than 13,500 students from government schools. Their target is to reach more than 50,000 students.