Establishment of Digital Learning Platform

What is the Establishment of Digital Learning Platform scheme?

Establishment of Digital Learning Platform is a science education programme run by the Uttarakhand Science Education and Research Centre (USERC) under the Department of Information Technology, Good Governance and Science Technology, Government of Uttarakhand. Under the programme USERC operates a Digital Learning Platform (DLP) that delivers training and career counselling to students of secondary schools across the state, through both online and offline modes.

According to the department's portal, the Digital Learning Programme was initiated in the financial year 2022-23 as a platform for knowledge sharing, ICT orientation programmes, e-content development and online lectures on basic sciences and emerging technologies. As of the financial year 2024-25, a total of 5,365 courses had been delivered under the initiative. The stated goal is plain: to improve students' subject knowledge.

USERC itself was established in 2005 as an autonomous institution of the Government of Uttarakhand, with a mandate to build scientific temperament in the state. Its "Technology Enabled Science Education" function has three arms. An Experiential Learning Programme of hands-on training, E-content Development that produces online courses, video lectures and interactive material, and the Digital Learning Platform itself, which the department describes as creating virtual classrooms and online platforms so that scientific knowledge can be reached remotely and inclusively.

That last point matters in Uttarakhand more than in most states. Large parts of the state are hill terrain where a school may be a long walk from the nearest town and where a visiting subject expert is a rare event. A virtual classroom route is one of the few practical ways to put a university-level lecturer in front of a class in Pithoragarh, Champawat or Uttarkashi in the same week as one in Dehradun.

What the platform delivers

• Five-day or seven-day training on digital technology in secondary schools.
• ICT orientation and sessions on emerging technologies.
• Career counselling to help students choose an educational and career path.
• Online lectures and e-content on basic sciences, usable outside class hours.
• Expert lectures on themed occasions, for example a lecture on biodiversity conservation in the Himalayan region delivered through the USERC Digital Learning Platform during Himalaya Diwas.

Who can benefit from the Digital Learning Platform?

You are covered if:

• You are a student studying in a secondary school in Uttarakhand. The eligibility line published for this scheme is exactly that broad; all students of secondary schools across the state.
• Your school has been included in the training calendar that USERC draws up for the session, or your school has requested a session.

You cannot apply as an individual for a cash benefit, and the following are not eligible:

• Individuals seeking a scholarship or stipend. The Digital Learning Platform provides training and counselling. It has no cash component, so an individual application for money has nothing to attach to.
• Applicants outside Uttarakhand. The programme is a state initiative for schools in Uttarakhand.
• Institutions expecting a grant. USERC delivers the training itself; it does not transfer platform funds to a school to run its own course.
• Students trying to register on a state benefit portal. No such portal accepts DLP applications. Participation is arranged school by school.

This is the single point readers most often get wrong. The Digital Learning Platform is a delivery programme, not an entitlement you claim.

What documents are required?

The official entry records the documents as those to be submitted "in accordance with the guidelines of the respective school", which reflects the fact that the school, not the student, is the unit USERC deals with.

How to apply for and join the Digital Learning Platform

1. Ask your school first. Because USERC schedules DLP sessions with schools, the head teacher or the science teacher will know whether a session is planned and when.
2. Give your name to the school when the session is announced. For online sessions the school circulates the joining link; for offline sessions it fixes the venue and timing.
3. Attend the full five-day or seven-day training. The duration depends on the school and the programme schedule, and partial attendance defeats the purpose of the course.
4. Use the e-content after the session. USERC develops online courses, video lectures and interactive material under the same programme, and these remain useful for revision.
5. If your school has not been covered, ask the school to write to USERC through the Department of Information Technology, Good Governance and Science Technology, whose USERC pages are on it.uk.gov.in. A written request from the institution carries far more weight than an individual enquiry.

How does the Digital Learning Platform fit with USERC's other programmes?

USERC lists four schemes on the state IT department portal, and it helps to see where DLP sits among them:

• Courses delivered under the Digital Learning Platform (DLP) — this scheme, started in 2022-23, with 5,365 courses delivered up to 2024-25.
• Workshop / Seminar / Experiential Learning Programme; one-week hands-on trainings, institutional visits and conclaves started in 2021-22, with 60 training sessions completed for higher education students up to 2024-25.
• Establishment of STEM Labs and Entrepreneurship Development Centres, started in 2022-23, with 82 STEM Labs and 12 EDC centres established.
• R&D Projects / Outreach Programmes; collaborative research and public science awareness, including USERC Vigyan Chetna Kendras set up in 200 schools.

A student who finds the online DLP sessions useful is often the right candidate for the hands-on experiential learning trainings later, and a school that hosts DLP sessions is frequently the same school that gets a STEM Lab or a Vigyan Chetna Kendra. Treating them as one ladder rather than four unrelated schemes is the sensible way to use them.

Common problems and how to fix them

• "I cannot find the application form." There is none for individuals. Participation is routed through the school.
• "The userc.in website does not work." The old USERC domain has lapsed and now hosts unrelated commercial content. Current, official USERC information is on it.uk.gov.in under the USERC menu, even though some older government pages still point to the old address.
• "My school was left out." Ask the school to send a written request to USERC. Coverage grows session by session.
• "I missed the live online lecture." Ask the school whether the recorded e-content for that session is available, since e-content development is part of the same programme.

Where to ask questions and raise a grievance

• USERC pages on the state IT department portal: it.uk.gov.in, under the USERC menu, which carries About USERC, the Schemes/Programmes list, annual reports and government orders.
• Telephone number published on the USERC contact page: 0135-2976266.
• Department of Information Technology, Good Governance and Science Technology, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Uttarakhand Secretariat, 4 Subhash Road, Dehradun 248001, which owns the content of the USERC pages.
• CM Helpline on cmhelpline.uk.gov.in for a formal public grievance if a departmental query goes unanswered.

Participation in the Digital Learning Platform is free. No fee is payable to join a session and no agent can arrange a place for a student.