Can Innovation Be Taught in Schools?

Exploring whether innovation-related critical thinking can be fostered in schools through structured curricula.

Project Introduction

Innovation fuels economic growth through both groundbreaking technologies and gradual, incremental improvements. Research suggests that innovation ability — the set of skills encompassing ideation, exploration, iteration, and problem-solving needed to generate novel and valuable solutions — is potentially malleable. Like other forms of human capital, it accumulates through deliberate investment and develops in response to specific environmental inputs, rather than being determined solely by innate talent. This study investigates whether innovation-related skills can be cultivated in adolescence through structured, school-based programmes.

Partners

Researchers

Project Methodology

Implemented across Telangana’s government residential schools, the programme was evaluated through a large-scale randomized controlled trial. The intervention, delivered by Inqui-Lab Foundation, consisted of 60 hours of hands-on innovation training over two academic years, following a five-step design thinking cycle — Find, Learn, Ideate, Make & Test, and Present — supported by structured student workbooks, peer facilitators, and innovation kits. Both treatment and control schools took part in inter-school pitch competitions, but only the treatment group received the structured curriculum. Evaluation combined a behavioural exploration task, expert ratings using a validated Innovation-S scale, a live Shark Tank-style funding competition, and assessments of related cognitive and academic outcomes.

Impact

The project provided robust causal evidence that innovation skills can be taught at scale, even in under-resourced settings. Treated students showed greater strategic exploration, higher-quality ideas, and were 24 percentage points more likely to secure funding in live competitions. No average change was observed in math or science scores, though high-performing students improved in both innovation and math, while below-median students saw modest declines in math — suggesting a reallocation of effort toward more engaging, applied learning. The study exclusively engaged Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students, groups often underrepresented in innovation ecosystems, and produced a novel, validated toolkit for measuring innovation skills in low-resource settings.

Documentation

Similar Projects