Pune: Avasara Leadership Institute announced the launch of the Honeywell Center for Advancing Girls in Science, a transformative science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program for bright, young girls in middle and high school.

Funded by Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the programme will empower 500 Avasara students with an experiential, project-based science curriculum.

The programme seeks to inculcate critical thinking and problem solving mindsets among girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years, a statement from the institute said.

Additionally, the center will support 12,000 students from government and low-budget schools across Pune through Young Scientist STEM camps.

“Gender inequality in education has an outsized effect on girls’ ability to succeed or even pursue fundamental education beyond their adolescent years,” Avasara Leadership Institute founder Roopa Purushothaman said.

“At Honeywell, we understand the importance of STEM education and its potential to help solve some of the toughest challenges that the future will bring,” Honeywell Automation India Limited managing director Ashish Gaikwad, who is also director of HHSIF, said.

“India is home to some of the brightest scientific minds in the world, and our aim is to inspire and nurture these talents for a long time to come through initiatives such as this,” he added.

The new block that houses the Honeywell Center for Advancing Girls in Science was inaugurated by Roopa Purushothaman and Joseph Cubas, co-founders of Avasara Leadership Institute, along with Ashish Gaikwad and Mike Bennett, President, Honeywell Hometown Solutions, and Vice President, Communications, Honeywell.

The school block features classrooms, laboratories, and dormitories. It is built on sustainability principles such as passive heating and cooling, solar panels for off-grid power supply, waste and water recycling, and extensive use of fly ash bricks and recycled material.