Earlier this year, when the blockbuster film Slumdog Millionaire hit fever pitch, NIIT Technologies, NIIT SmartServe and Room Solutions invited 150 clients, prospects and VIP guests to a special screening of the film at the Mayfair Hotel, London. The film has received eight Oscars, four Golden Globe awards and seven BAFTA Awards and tells the story of a young man from a Mumbai slum that achieves success on the TV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

The reason for the screening? Well, NIIT has very proud ties with this magnificent film; as Vikas Swarup (the author of the book Q&A on which the film was based) stated in a published interview with the leading daily Indian Express, “I was inspired by the Hole-in-the-Wall project, where a computer with an internet connection was put in a Delhi slum. When the slum was revisited after a month, the children of that slum had learnt how to use the worldwide web. That got me fascinated and I realised that there’s an innate ability in everyone to do something extraordinary, provided they are given an opportunity. How else do you explain children with no education at all being able to learn to use the Internet. This shows knowledge is not just the preserve of the elite”.

HiWEL was conceptualised as an experiment by NIIT to improve the elementary education and life skills of children in slums. That was way back in 2001. Today, more than 300,000 children have benefited from 300 Hole-in-the-Wall stations over the last 8 years. The number is expected to go up significantly, as another 200 stations are planned to be installed this year. Besides India, HiWEL also has projects running in African countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zambia, Swaziland, Botswana, Nigeria and Cambodia.

At the show, guests were welcomed with drinks and finger food; and Ravi Pandey Head of NIIT Technologies UK thanked and welcomed all those who turned up at the prestigious and luxurious surroundings of the Mayfair Hotel for the special screening.

A highlight of the event was a talk by none other than Dr Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology, Newcastle University and Chief Scientist Emeritus, NIIT - and the brains behind the Hole in the Wall. Mitra shared his thoughts and experiences about the HiWEL project, termed by “The Week” magazine as an experiment which had gone on to become “India’s gift to the world”. Mitra traced the genesis of the experiment, its achievements and how it had evolved to become a global program.

Special thanks go to all the guests who generously donated towards a collection at the end of the evening. An astonishing £550 was raised, the funds went towards some useful equipment for one of the villages in India.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to Dr Mitra for joining us at the function and to Pathe Distribution for providing the film.

Guests enjoying discussions before the show

Pre-show reception

Welcome Speech by Ravi Pandey UK Head NIIT Technologies

Guest of honour Sugata Mitra

Dr Sugata Mitra, founder, with a group of children at a “hole in the wall” set up at Madangir, New Delhi.