On a learning curve

It's an old marketing rule that schoolchildren are the consumers of the future. And Canon India is taking the axiom very seriously. The company is halfway through a giant contest being conducted in schools across India.

Taking part in its Fun-Do Inter-School Creativity Contest are about 48,000 students studying in classes six to nine who are being asked to draw, paint, sketch and make collages using Canon's imaging products. The contest aims to educate students on various aspects of digital imaging.

Or, look at Intel, the world's largest chip company, which is sparing no efforts in its bid to woo Indian schoolchildren. Under the Intel Teach to the Future programme, over 2 million students and 70,000 teachers in 2,134 schools have been trained to use the latest technology.

Besides, Intel has also inked deals with six state governments and two central boards about a range of school training programmes.

Canon India and Intel aren't the only hi-tech companies on a sharp learning curve in Indian schools. Across the board, companies like Microsoft, Intel, Canon, Casio and Indian infotech majors like Wipro are pumping in millions to fund various projects aimed at schoolchildren.

Is it corporate philanthropy on a giant scale? Partly. But it's also a catch-'em-young strategy to net future consumers and employees.

Take a look at what Microsoft, the biggest of the giants is doing. When Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates came to India in November, he announced that the company would splurge about $20 million on its Project Shiksha that will take place in 2,000 partner schools in the next five years.

Over 80,000 schoolteachers and 3.5 million students will be trained under the scheme, the details of which are still under wraps. Microsoft will also team up with state education departments to set up 10 Microsoft IT academy centres. Obviously, the schemes will use Microsoft software and technologies.

What are all these companies upto? The answer is fairly straightforward. Says Alok Bharadwaj, general manager, Canon India: "We decided to initiate a programme that would enable us to reach out to and influence potential users in this segment. The idea behind this contest was to involve the student community and give them a first hand experience of the latest digital imaging solutions available in the market."

It's much the same story at Casio India, which is giving out high end calculators to students in 11th and 12th standards. The Casio project started only recently and it is being carried out in a handful of big cities.

"We are working with some schools where we give these calculators to students to work on, so that they develop an affinity to the product and become a great market for us in the future," says Kulbhushan Seth, chief marketing manager, Casio India.

Seth does not argue that the free giveaways are philanthropic. He says that it's a marketing exercise being undertaken because the company expects to develop a  market for its high-end calculators in India. It believes that students using such products for the first time will continue using them.

Even Indian companies have found their way to the classroom. Take Indian infotech major Wipro which is working on a project called 'Wipro Applying Thought in Schools'. The company says the project aims to enhance creativity and problem solving skills among children.

"We believe that the conventional education system does not equip children to think analytically and creatively. Children must acquire the skill of how to learn, rather than being overwhelmed with a large amount of information, and must enjoy the process of learning, so that what is learnt is retained," says Anurag Behar, corporate vice-president, Wipro.

For Wipro, the programme starts with the teacher. The company launched a teacher re-skilling program in May 2001, that offers training on innovative teaching and assessment methods. Wipro helps to train teachers in new technologies and on how to use them effectively in a classroom.

Besides, the company is putting together a programme to train parents also. "We are reaching out to parents in an attempt to change their worldview of the purpose of education," says Behar.

Unlike the other companies, Wipro says that it isn't trying to enhance its brand or catch the students young and turn them into potential employees. But the three pronged strategy, targeted at children, students and parents, could clearly help the company in the not-too-distant future.

Of course, schools aren't the only target of companies that want to reach out to the young. IBM has moved into the campus at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

IBM's research lab at IIT is one of eight in the world and it conducts research as part of  Big Blue's global technology development initiatives. The lab has over 70 engineers, and conducts top-of-the-line research in cutting edge areas like intelligent e-commerce, bio-informatics and knowledge management.

Carefully selected students get a chance to work at IBM's research lab. This allows IBM to identify talent and even use the students to work on various IBM technologies. "You get the best talent in IITs. This also gives us a chance to pick up be best people from these institutes and it is paying us rich dividends. Even for students it's a great help to have a world class technology development centre in the campus," says Manoj Kumar, head, IBM Research Labs.

As a next step, the company has also opened a technology centre at IIT Delhi. "The labs also showcase various technologies and familiarise the students, who are going to be the main employee source for global technology industry," says Kumar.

Inevitably, the classroom forays have drawn flak from some critics. Richard M Stallman,  founder of the free software movement says that Microsoft's highly publicised move is just a ploy to snare children when they are young and hook them on to one technology (read Microsoft Technologies) and create a momentum against others (read Linux).

"This aid by Gates is a clear attempt to stop the spread of Linux. Look at this scenario, you as a 5-year-old kid gets access to a Microsoft package which continues till you graduate from school. This will create an affinity in their minds for various Microsoft packages and they would not be comfortable using any other software," says Stallman.

"Project Shiksha is an attempt to stop Linux from gaining momentum in this populous country, which is seeing one of fastest pick ups for Linux. Gates knows very well that after working on various Microsoft tolls, children wouldn't even want to test Linux," he says.

It should, of course, be noted that more companies are being forced to reach out to the young in one way or another. Even business process outsourcing companies -- hungry for young people --  are targeting colleges to identify employable people and create awareness about themselves.

"We go to campuses and organise programmes. This helps us generate a brand for the company, which is otherwise not so popular as the ITES sector is a relatively new sector. Besides, we use these events to remove various myths about the ITES sector," said a spokesperson with ICICI Onesource, the ITES arm of ICICI adding, "such events help us create awareness amongst potential employees about the company."

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