Sparking Creativity in India

Adobe partners with Atal Tinkering Labs, a Government of India initiative created to promote creative learning and digital literacy in schools.

With initiatives like Digital India and Skill India, this country of 1.3 billion people is charting its course for growth in the technology era. Adobe is thrilled to be part of that journey.

Last week in New Delhi, I had the pleasure of signing a statement of intent between Adobe and India’s National Institution of Transforming India (NITI Aayog) and the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) – which is dedicated to promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among Indian students.

Through this partnership, Adobe will provide free access to Adobe Spark premium to 10,000 schools in AIM’s Atal Tinkering Labs – where students are encouraged to develop innovation skills and ideas to transform the country. We will also adopt 100 schools to showcase Adobe Spark’s impact on creativity in the classroom.

“Adobe’s support and vision is in sync to AIM’s vision of developing one million young innovators by 2020,” said Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director for AIM, who hosted us at the NITI Aayog office on Sansang Marg (Road). Click here for the Government of India’s press release and here for the Adobe release.

Staff from Adobe and India’s NITI Aayog Atal Innovation Mission in New Delhi.

Over coffee, our teams brainstormed additional ways to further our partnership – including introducing Adobe XD, our design and prototyping app, to the Atal Tinkering Labs. And it became clear that Adobe and NITI Aayog share a common vision: using creative tools to unlock the potential of the human mind and preparing students for an increasingly automated and digital world.

I’m proud of the Adobe team that shares this vision and is using their passion and persistence to create these opportunities: Mala Sharma, VP & GM, Creative Cloud Product Marketing and Engagement; Garima Babbar, Education Specialist; and Kulmeet Bawa, VP & Managing Director, Adobe South Asia.

Last summer, Mala spent her sabbatical from Adobe teaching creative thinking skills and digital literacy to underprivileged children in Mumbai. Inspired by seeing her students express their creativity through Adobe Spark, Mala wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Adobe’s Digital Disha program – our India-focused initiative designed to promote creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.

That outreach – combined with the on-the-ground efforts of Garima, Kulmeet and others – led to a partnership with the Indian Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. Adobe now provides free access to Spark premium to vocational institutes across India along with professional development workshops for students and educators.

“This is part of our commitment to enabling India’s digital and creative acumen by skilling the youth of our nation,” says Kulmeet.

NITI Aayog’s Ramanan Ramanathan with Adobe’s Bryan Lamkin and Kulmeet Bawa.

We are deepening that commitment through our new partnership with NITI Aayog and AIM.

Mala wrote about her sabbatical experience – and her blog posts remind me that we all have the power to turn our personal passions, and professional expertise, into life-changing opportunities for others.

“During my time in the classroom, I saw firsthand how accessible technology can cut through seemingly insurmountable socio-economic and religious differences,” she wrote. “Technology has the power to create a level playing field for everyone who has a story to tell. The impact Adobe Spark had on my students was thrilling to watch — giving them instant gratification, confidence and a desire to be creative.”

I’m excited about our new partnership with NITI Aayog. Adobe will also sponsor a student exchange program, support AIM events and competitions across India, and hold professional development sessions. On my next trip to India, I look forward to visiting a few Atal Tinkering Lab schools and witnessing firsthand how Adobe is helping spark creativity in India.