"Currently, we have been installing these computer labs on pilot basis at public schools in places likeNew Delhi,Chandigarhand Ahmedabad. However, we are also looking at enhancing the labs' social usage after school hours. For this, we are in talks with IGNOU which is highly interested in our labs-in-boxes who can run their post-school hour classes in these shipping containers," said Jaijit Bhattacharya, director, Government Affairs, HP India.

What's more, while HP India is in talks with central and state governments for installing more such labs across public schools in the country, it has received demands from other countries as well. "EvenIndonesia,Afghanistanand other African countries have also been demanding this lab but we are waiting for the pilot projects to get stabilised," said Bhattacharya.

The technology company had installed its fourth 'lab-in-box' proto type at Vidya nagar Primary School in Ahmedabad in association with the Government of Gujarat. According to Bhattacharya, each HP Lab-in-Box comprises a shipping container that has 15 HP multi-seat thinclients, a multifunctional printer, wireless connectivity, electricity, furniture, fans and air conditioning. HP’s multi-seat computing solution means multiple users can be connected to one PC, which maximises space while reducing cost and complexity.

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 inNew Delhiand by the Indian army at the Western Command, Chandigarh.

HP is also hosting a cloud based educational 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 Mind Spark from Educational Initiatives, an HP partner, who is providing personalized assessment tools to the student in the local Gujarati language.

"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 inGujarat," he added. According to estimates, only 12.4 % ofIndia’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 % by 2020. Access to education and technology will play a key role in enabling this and HP Lab-in-Box contributes by addressing the biggest challenge to IT adoption by Indian schools – the lack of infrastructure," said Bhattacharya.

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