Avanti Learning Centers prepare disadvantaged students in math and hard science so that they can enter the best national technical universities. The initiative has several sponsors including Tata Motors, Tata Trust, Infosys Foundation, Volkswagen Finance, MacArthur Foundation, Echidna Giving.

To reach the target groups, Avanti Fellows has formed partnerships with three public schools spread across the Chennai, Haryana and Maharashtra regions. Only students whose families earn less than 250,000 rupees per year may participate in classes. The main innovation of the program lies in a methodology that encourages peer learning. Compared to traditional teacher-centred methods, peer learning encourages students to be autonomous and work in groups. Under the supervision of a mentor, sessions are held in Avanti centres as well as in schools.

In the first instance, participants are asked to pre-read the contents to be discussed in sessions. Before starting the session itself, the student’s comprehension level is assessed using a 5-minute test. Then, a video is shown that deepens the key concepts that will be addressed during the discussions to follow in small groups. At the end of each session, the student’s knowledge is evaluated and, if required, he/she is invited to participate in individual sessions of 3 to 4 hours distributed throughout the week.

Those sessions are a space for the student to talk to their tutor about their aspirations and thus find their professional vocation. All Avanti Centre tutors and mentors work no more than 3 hours per week on a voluntary basis. They are generally tutors specialized in hard sciences and graduated from the best national universities. To date, 2,400 students and 300 tutors participate in the program.