Empowering Tomorrow’s Tech Leaders: The Story of the “Babbage Club”

Most schools have houses and clubs that engage students of all ages. One of my schools also had clubs dedicated to various subjects like Hindi, Science, Commerce, Art & Craft, and IT. Each club would host a week of exciting activities annually.

As an IT faculty, I was among the first, along with the school management, to establish the “Babbage Club” for IT, named after the father of modern computers, Charles Babbage. The club hosted activities related to Computer Science, IT, and its other branches for classed Nursery to XII. The students were always excited and eagerly awaited these activities.

I organized “Techno Week” under the banner of the Babbage Club, which featured events such as Paintbrush competitions, computer game contests, mobile model-making, PowerPoint presentations on various topics, declamations, extemporaneous speeches, inter-house quizzes, and visits to engineering colleges for different classes. The students were thrilled and participated actively throughout the week. The main goal of Techno Week was to encourage maximum participation and to discover creative minds. Participants showcased their talents as excellent painters, amazing gamers, quizzers, orators, presenters, event organizers, and more.

I also selected captains for the club and assigned them the responsibility of organizing an inter-house quiz for the senior wing. I provided them with training on how to organize and manage an event, and they carried it out smoothly. The team took on roles as quiz master, scorer, timekeeper, recorder, and even announced the results. I offered guidance before the event, but they executed their duties exceptionally well.

This is what’s needed in today’s world—giving students responsibility, which they fulfil with zeal and enthusiasm. Every child is unique and possesses talent in one area or another. Our role is to help them discover and nurture these talents. The Babbage Club started with just a few activities in its early stages, but gradually, the number of activities increased. Every year, there was significant participation in Techno Week. Later, I planned excursions for senior classes, where they visited esteemed organizations like engineering colleges. There, they interacted with students and professors, discussing their careers and future prospects. The professors responded humbly, raising awareness about careers related to Math and Science. These sessions were enriching, providing students with valuable insights and a lot of takeaways.

At my current workplace also, I organize “Tech Corner”—a digital cosmorama where students showcase their creativity by making newsletters, static websites, and program codes using Java and Python. This event is for classes X-XII. Class X students created wonderful websites on various topics, while Class XII students coded programs in Java and Python with MySQL database connectivity. Recognizing the students’ hard work, keenness, and untiring efforts, the school management invited guests from technical colleges to judge the event. The judges were often perplexed while deciding the winner and complimented each participant for their amazing work.

One thing that stood out to me was that even though it was a coding competition, students would immediately help any peer in trouble—whether their code didn’t run properly or they faced another issue—without hesitation. I deeply appreciated this camaraderie. They are not only talented but also genuinely good human beings. 

For me, as the organizer of these events, it’s always challenging, yet fun to plan innovative activities every year. My students are my real strength; they inspire me to do something new each day. 

And finally, my Babbage Club always rocks!