Only a Good Continuous Learner Can Become a Global Teacher
By Niranjan W. Meegammana Founder and Programme Director, Shilpa Sayura Foundation | Ashoka Fellow
The Helicopter That Sparked My Curiosity
I still imagine myself as a young boy standing in a rural village in Sri Lanka, watching a helicopter flying overhead during the floods. The surrounding fields were covered with water, and village life had been disrupted. Yet my attention was captured by the machine in the sky.
How could something so heavy fly? What kept it in the air? How could people build such a remarkable machine?
I did not know anything about aerodynamics or engineering. But those questions awakened my curiosity about science and technology. I wanted to understand how things worked.
My formal education began at Ududekada Kanista Vidyalaya, a rural primary school. Winning the Grade 5 scholarship changed my life. It enabled me to attend Walala Central College, now A. Rathnayake Central College, while the scholarship stipend covered most of my educational expenses.
That experience taught me an important lesson: talent exists everywhere, but opportunities do not.
Curiosity inspired me to learn. Education gave me the opportunity to pursue that curiosity. Years later, I wanted to create similar opportunities for other children.
Innovation: Rethinking How Children Learn
My journey into educational innovation began with developing Sinhala computing technologies, including Kaputa fonts and contributing to Sinhala Unicode development. This work helped enable local-language electronic content in Sri Lanka.
I soon realised that technology could do more than connect people. It could make knowledge accessible to children who lacked books, specialist teachers and other learning resources.
In 2006, I pioneered Shilpa Sayura, a curriculum-aligned, local-language e-learning system designed for rural students.
My innovation was not simply digitising textbooks. It was rethinking how education could be delivered beyond conventional classrooms.
I envisioned a model founded on accessible educational content, self-directed learning, peer collaboration and teacher guidance.
Learners could study at their own pace, complete assignments, achieve learning milestones, develop projects and receive mentoring. Teachers would become facilitators of learning rather than merely transmitters of information.
The content could reach learners at schools, homes and community centres, with or without continuous internet connectivity.
Implementation: Turning Ideas into Opportunities
I learned that innovation has little value unless it can be implemented, replicated and sustained.
Shilpa Sayura evolved into a collaborative educational network connecting schools, regional learning hubs, community centres, universities, technology professionals and teachers.
Through more than 200 collaborating teachers, we have supported learning inside schools, after school, at community centres and online.
In 2010, I created Shilpa64, a national curriculum-based learning platform that has served over 60,000 users. I also developed Ganidu, a visual programming tool based on Google's Blockly technology, to introduce computational thinking and coding to children from Grade 6 onwards.
As my own knowledge evolved, I expanded our educational programmes from digital literacy and media education into software development, robotics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, STEM and climate technology.
I believe education must be gender-responsive and culturally relevant. Learning should respect students' languages, backgrounds and experiences while providing equal opportunities to develop their abilities.
Through Girls in Technology, NextGen Girls and ClimateTech Girls, we have worked to expand girls' participation and leadership in emerging technologies.
I also learned that successful implementation depends on collaboration. Teachers, students, researchers, communities, donors and technology professionals have all contributed to improving and extending our work.
Impact: Measuring Success Through Learners
Over two decades, I have personally taught more than 6,000 learners through classroom instruction, workshops and online education.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shilpa Sayura's educational content and online and offline programmes reached more than 200,000 students, supported by collaboration with over 200 teachers.
Our participating schools have reported a 30% relative increase in girls learning technology and a 15% increase in students progressing into ICT degree programmes.
Students associated with our programmes have won hackathons, AI competitions, robotics competitions and other national and international awards. Many have progressed into universities, technology careers and postgraduate research.
One of our first learners, Poornima Meegammana, became an Internet Society 25 Under 25 awardee and a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honouree. Today, she is a Director of Shilpa Sayura Foundation and is pursuing doctoral research on girls' STEM education using virtual reality.
Our educational innovations have received international recognition, including the Stockholm Challenge, Lien i3 Challenge and UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education. In 2011, I was selected as an Ashoka Fellow for my work in expanding educational opportunities for underserved communities.
Our approach has also attracted academic attention. From my 2010 research on local-language e-learning at rural telecentres in Thailand to our 2026 ACM CHI research on early computing experiences for rural girls, I have continued connecting educational practice with research and evaluation.
These achievements belong not to one individual, but to a community of learners, educators, collaborators and supporters who shared a common vision.
I measure impact not only by numbers or awards, but by the learners who gain confidence, develop new abilities and go on to create opportunities for others.
Continuous Learning: The Foundation of I3
Looking back, I recognise that my greatest strength has not been mastering any single technology. It has been the willingness to keep learning, challenge myself and collaborate with others.
From surveying and software engineering to digital media, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, educational research and climate technology, each stage of my professional development has created new possibilities for teaching and innovation.
I have also discovered that learning is not limited to formal qualifications. We learn from our students, colleagues, communities, successes and failures.
My I3 philosophy brings together three essential ideas:
Innovation , Challenging established practices and creating new possibilities for learning.
Implementation , Turning ideas into practical, inclusive and scalable educational opportunities through collaboration and networking.
Impact , Measuring success through the knowledge, confidence, achievements and opportunities gained by learners and communities.
I believe the most meaningful educational innovations emerge when teachers remain learners themselves.
My Vision: Enabling Global Educational Transformation
My vision is to inspire a global transformation in education through continuous learning, innovation, collaboration and shared knowledge.
I believe technology can help enable this transformation by removing barriers to knowledge, connecting learners and educators, and making quality education accessible beyond conventional classrooms.
But technology alone cannot transform education. It must empower learners to explore independently, learn from one another and benefit from the guidance of teachers. Education must remain gender-responsive, culturally relevant and inclusive, respecting the diverse needs and aspirations of learners everywhere.
Through my I3 philosophy,Innovation, Implementation and Impact,I want to demonstrate how educators, technology and collaborative networks can create sustainable learning opportunities that communities around the world can adapt to their own needs.
The curiosity that began when I watched a helicopter flying over my flooded village continues to inspire me. I want every child, wherever they are born, to have the opportunity to ask questions, explore possibilities and realise their potential.
Above all, I believe that only a good continuous learner can become a global teacher. By continuously learning, challenging ourselves, embracing technology and sharing knowledge, we can transform education and create opportunities for generations to come.
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