Defy Educational Organisation

A Nook is a self-organized, physical space created in rural, urban, tribal & refugee communities, where people get together and learn by building projects based on their own interests. The Nook was conceptualised in 2014 when the first space was set up in Banjarapalya, rural Bangalore, which later became the first pilot Nook. Individuals at NOOK can completely customise what, when, and how they learn, as opposed to the conventional educational system which is rigid and pre-determined. Here, emphasis is placed on sharing ideas and information, where everyone learns and contributes. Learning happens through projects, whether artistic, technical, social, or something else, which are chosen by the participants based on their own interests. Each participant customizes his own education and speed, choosing to cover more information, or to delve deeper into a specific topic. The Internet is used as a reference book, for ideas and inspiration. Today, there are 8 Nooks spread across India.

A Nook Hub is a combination of a Nook and a growth office. It acts as a demonstration center for all Nooks in the country and region. The Nook hubs enable the existing team to create teams in other geographies, to allow the concept to be locally customized and spread. It further helps the community to connect with other communities and people from all over the globe. The Nook Hubs allows and promotes a free flow of social enterprise ideas, collaboration, and the celebration of individuality and has even emerged as an alternative to school. The first Nook Hub was created in Rwanda in a village called Gahanga. While the second Nook Hub came up in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. There are currently 3 Nook Hubs, all placed in Africa- Rwanda (Gahanga) and Zimbabwe (Nkulumane,Bulawayo and Matibi, Masvingo) working with locals to spread the concept of Nooks and promote self-designed learning in the existing context and create community impact.

.ETC is a unique learning space within the university where students collaborate with staff and the community to understand and solve real-world problems. It offers tools, resources, and a creative physical space for students to develop solutions. The program runs throughout the year, allowing participants to explore their interests and work on local/global problems deeply.

One previous program was CISCO ThingQbator, co-led by Project DEFY and CISCO India. It established makerspaces in six universities across India, enabling students to create working prototypes and unique solutions to local issues.

Currently, the team is researching problems in the Indian higher education system and gathering real-life stories from students and university representatives. Through the design thinking process, they aim to develop solutions for university makerspaces, focusing on providing education for all and fostering livelihood skilling.

The FLITE program is a telephonic initiative for marginalized communities, turning homes into lifelong learning spaces for the whole family. It enables families to (re-)discover skills, knowledge, and talents through concrete learning projects. FLITE aims to create "Learning Societies," reducing distance among family members and fostering co-learning. Facilitators use telephone sessions to connect with families and collectively discover interests, working towards self-designed goals.

This programme is trying to imagine what a community response to a natural disaster would look like, if they were to have the benefit of time and preparedness.
DISPECS aims to build a holistic intervention replete with the right resources, training materials, volunteering structures and a communication network that will help marginalized communities to build self resilience in the face of a natural calamity. The programme is in the making.