India’s economy is booming at an unprecedented rate. However, this growth is not evenly distributed. Youth from marginalized and under-privileged sections of society are not getting the same educational or economic opportunities and are falling further and further behind.

This problem is an especially acute challenge for girls, who are also required to bear additional social and cultural burdens because of their gender.

AI’s Development Academy works to redress this inequality by creating educational and economic opportunities for under-privileged youth, particularly girls and young women.

• Education: The Academy provides software development, job, and life skills through intensive hands-on training and ongoing online learning sessions.
  • Software development courses include website building, app development for mobiles and social networks, game development, and animation.
  • Technical training is combined with essential job skills such as team work, communication, and lifelong learning as well as life skills such as empathy, ethics, facing change, and causing change.
• Mentoring & Support: The Academy creates opportunities for interaction with mentors in the technology sector. In addition, the Academy enables alumni to establish peer support networks with their cohorts and other program participants.
• Community Service: The Academy empowers youth become active citizens in their communities by organizing and participating in service opportunities within their societies.
• Employment & Entrepreneurship: The Academy provides internship opportunities that foster employment and entrepreneurship prospects in the fast growing technology and hospitality sectors in India.

The inaugural session of the Academy convened in October 2011 with a pilot training on website development with WordPress in Coimbatore, India (AIDA 2011 slideshow on Flickr). The second session of the Academy will convene in May 2012 with three trainings: website, mobile, and app development.

The first training center will open in Coimbatore in 2012. Appropriate IT Development Academy has ambitious plans. In 10 years, the Academy will grow to encompass 100 locally-owned training centers across India managed by 200 women entrepreneurs and will impact the lives of thousands of youth every year.