Chennai-based Vaayusastra Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. has been accorded the status of registered space tutor of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). “We are one among the selected companies to provide quality space and aero education and awareness to students. We are the only start-up incubated under the IIT Incubation Cell to receive this honor,” said actor-turned-entrepreneur Jagadeesh Kanna, who is the CEO of Vaayusastra Aerospace.
The Space Tutor programme aims to engage with the NGOs / educational institutions purely engaged in the STEM education and promotion without any commercial advantage, to engage with ISRO in promoting space education and creating awareness of space activities and applications to students community for creating scientific temperament and culture of innovative thinking amongst the students.
Vaayusastra Aerospace was incubated under IITM Incubation Cell and IITM RTBI (Rural Technology Business Incubator) as India’s first edutech research firm using theatre arts in combination with hands on activities to educate students in aeronautics in April 2018.
“We kick-started our operations with the support of IITM Incubation Cell, through an initial seed grant of 10 lakh. Since then, we have successfully raised around Rs. 1 crore with a reach of 60,000 plus students through our seasonal and regular programs,” Mr. Kanna said. The firm has designed a systematic 9-year curriculum to educate children from grade 1 onwards in Aeronautics and Aerospace using theatre arts and story telling, hands on DIY science models as tool and a hands-on curriculum for college students with career guidance and start enablement facilitation. All our courses come with a joint certification of its academic partner Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council (AASSC), a body under India’s “Skill India” initiative.
Talking about the firm’s plans for 2023, Mr. Kanna said: “We intend to scale up our operations full swing with the support of our two investors who have come onboard to strengthen our mission. Our focus is to set up Vaayusastra Aerospace physical units across South India, including Kerala (Kollam), Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Tiruchi among other places.” The firm will launch a franchise model of Vaayusastra. It intends to have its franchise units in Kollam and Bengaluru and in three or four districts of Tamil Nadu.
