Ludhiana teen converts classroom lessons into Minecraft sessions, impresses Microsoft CEO

A seventh-grader, Namya Joshi from Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana has impressed Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella while attending the 'Young Innovators' Summit' in the National Capital on February 25. Joshi has been helping teachers not just her own school but across the globe for the conversion of classroom lessons into interactive Minecraft sessions. According to the 13-year-old, if students do not like reading books, “one can make them take interest in Minecraft”. 

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However, Nadella later said in the conference that he was “excited and inspired” with the quality of ideas and “scope of their ambition, deep passion and deep empathy turning into action”. He added that it is “transformative”, and is also the reason why economies and societies move forward. The gathering of 'Young Innovators' Summit' reportedly brought together more than 250 students as well as teachers in New Delhi. 

Namya Joshi has also reportedly mastered Minecraft, a video game, to create 'worlds' or even lessons to explain STEM and the concepts of cyber-security through storytelling. According to media reports, Joshi was introduced to Minecraft when she was only ten by her mother. Moreover, every weekend, Joshi conducts hour-long Skype classes for teachers in Russia, Finland, Hungary, Vietnam, and across the nation to demonstrate the usage of Minecraft to create lesson plans. 

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Nadella asks for balance with technology

While answering a question, Nadella also addressed the abundance of devices and information. Therefore, according to him, there is a “need to strike a balance between consumption and creation”. In order to explain his point further, he recalled how people communicate with the question, “are you Powerpoint first or a Word first”, but there has to be a balance between both. Microsoft CEO also talked about the relationship of both technology and learning, while explaining that the entire society will have to play its role. 

In the conversation with President of Microsoft India, Anant Maheshwari, Nadella elaborated about the role of technology in transforming the education ecosystem over the span of the next ten years. According to Microsoft CEO, outlining the opportunity that students have nowadays, they can contribute to solving some of the world's biggest challenges with technology. 

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(With agency inputs)