Young Tinker Educational Foundation

Young Tinker Foundation (legally registered as Young Tinker Educational Foundation) is an Indian Section 8 non-profit organisation dedicated to transforming education through hands-on STEM learning, innovation, entrepreneurship, and future-ready skills. Founded by Anil Pradhan and Vaishali Sharma, the organisation works to ensure that students—particularly those from rural, tribal, and underserved communities—develop the curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving mindset needed to thrive in the 21st century. Vision To build an equitable world where every child, regardless of geography or socioeconomic background, has the opportunity to become an innovator, problem solver, and entrepreneur through experiential learning. Mission Young Tinker Foundation promotes "Skill Consciousness" by enabling students to solve real-world problems through hands-on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), design thinking, artificial intelligence, robotics, electronics, coding, rapid prototyping, and entrepreneurship. Rather than focusing solely on academic performance, the organisation aims to nurture creators who can build solutions for their communities. History The story of Young Tinker Foundation began in 2015, when founder Anil Pradhan returned to his native village of Baral in Odisha after studying engineering. Having experienced the stark disparity between rural and urban education during his childhood, he started a small School for Rural Innovation under a tin shed with only a handful of students. His vision was simple yet ambitious: every child should have access to the tools and opportunities to innovate. In 2019, the initiative evolved into the Young Tinker Educational Foundation, expanding its work from a single school into a nationwide movement focused on innovation-led education. Since then, the organisation has grown across multiple Indian states while establishing a registered non-profit presence in the United States to support its global collaborations. Philosophy The organisation believes that: Every child has the potential to innovate. Innovation is a learnable skill rather than an innate talent. Students learn best by building, experimenting, failing, and improving. Education should prepare learners not only for jobs but also to create jobs. Local community problems provide the best classroom for developing innovators.