REAT (Rural Education Advancement Trust) is a social initiative founded by a group of lifelong friends from the 1994 batch of Walchand College of Engineering, Sangli. United by shared values & a sense of responsibility, they came together to bridge the educational divide in rural India.

Their early research revealed a stark reality—many rural schools lacked even the most basic infrastructure: no computers, libraries, science labs, or clean sanitation. In the initial phase, REAT directly funded improvements—donating computers, installing solar power, building sanitation facilities, and even setting up a library in memory of a dear friend, Milind Phadatare.

Then came the pandemic, temporarily halting progress. But as engineers & changemakers, the team envisioned something more sustainable and scalable—something rooted in STEM education.

Their solution: Lab-on-Wheels—a mobile, fully equipped science lab shared among clusters of rural schools. Each lab comes with a trained science educator, offering hands-on learning to students who otherwise wouldn’t get access. Currently, REAT is supporting 8 clusters, covering 68 schools and over 9,000 students.

Because talent is everywhere—but opportunity is not.
REAT is here to change that.