MUMBAI: In a bid to promote innovation and research among youngsters, a new programme from the Centre will give them an opportunity to collaborate with national-level technology institutes.Students from Stds VIII to XII will get a chance to work on science and technology projects with these institutions.The programme, which will be launched in the next academic year, will cover over 100 schools in the country of which, 12 are in Maharashtra. However, the pilot project connected to the programme will commence next month.For Maharashtra, schools will partner with technological institutes, which will act as mentors and provide technical expertise, faculty support and other guidance in the student projects. Some of the institutions in the state, which will part of the initiative are Pune’s Indian Institute of Science and Education Research (IISER) Pune, Nagpur’s Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Association for Research and Training in Basic Science Education and Vigyan Bharti among others.An education department official said that the programme will reach out to a maximum number of students to draw them towards research and invention. “The students will get a push and a love for science and mathematics will be inculcated. They will be motivated to make their own inventions,” said Nandkumar, principal secretary, state school education department.A committee has been formed to implement the programme in schools.