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Research and Development Scenario of the Country cannot
be Improved without Involvement of Brilliant Students in
Basic Sciences: Eminent Scientists
Our Mission is to Attract Talented
Students of the Country towards Basic Science and Research:
DST Top Officials
9th Mile, Guwahati, 29 June
2018: Scientific temperament among the student community
plays a pivotal role in the development of innovative
research, which, in turn immensely contributes towards the
progress of the country. Top officials from the Ministry of
Science and Technology said that the mission of the
Department of Science and Technology (DST) is to attract and
nurture talented students in the age group of 10-32 years at
a national level which involves academia, scientific
communities, state functionaries, parents and others. The
mission of DST was thus upheld by senior scientists of the
Government at a two-day long National Workshop for Inspire
Internship Science Coordinators coming from different parts
of the country. The Workshop was organised here by the
University of Science & Technology Meghalaya recently from
25 to 26 June.
Dr A Mukhopadhyay, Scientist-G & Head, R & D Infrastructure
Division, DST addressed the concluding session of the
National Workshop and said, “If you are serious and
interested to contribute for the development of the nation,
there is no dearth of fund. DST is searching visionary
people in this direction who can contribute to science for
development of the nation”. It is unfortunate that most of
the talented science students opt for professional courses
instead of studying basic science and research. India is a
developing country which is lagging behind its neighbouring
China and progress in the field of science and technology is
must to transform our country to a developed nation.
Dr. Umesh Kumar Sharma, Scientist E at DST, called it a
“national duty” to motivate students towards science and
technology so that the next generation can flourish. He said
that the INSPIRE Internship Camps were started in 2009 and
till now 3.5 lakh students have participated in the 5-day
Camps held at different locations of the country. Till now,
1,777 science camps have been set up where 15,000 mentors
and 70 Nobel laureates have been engaged with these camps.
Dr. Sharma in his presentation explained the internship
implementation scheme to the coordinators who organise these
camps.
Dr Sharma also stated that the North East component of
Inspire programme has not been effective compared to the
other states of the country. Only one college from Assam,
one from Manipur and USTM from Meghalaya have held Inspire
Camps in the entire region while a single state like Kerala
has held many such Camps so far. This is the reason why DST
has now taken North East seriously to inspire more students
here towards science, he added.
Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor of USTM, expressed his
gratefulness to DST for choosing the north-eastern region
for the first time to hold this national congregation and
specially thanked for selecting USTM considering its
performance and contribution in the field of science and
technology. “USTM will do its best and toil to contribute in
the nation building process”, he said.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Pratibha Jolly, senior
scientist and Principal, Miranda House, University of Delhi
said that the DST Internship Science Camp has been very much
effective in motivating young minds towards scientific study
and research. “We are getting very positive response from
the student community. The North East of India is an
important part and I hope for more young talents from this
region to cultivate science as their career”, she added.
Dr Amitabha Roy, Scientist-F from DST was also present on
the occasion and he said, “This is a major event of the
Ministry of Science and Technology. Already we are getting
fruit of it. In spite of all the challenges, we are trying
to encourage young talents, stop brain drain and even bring
back talents from abroad”, he said.
Senior DST Coordinator Prof. Dr. Papiya S. Nandy, formerly
with Jadavpur University said, “With my experience as a
convenor / fecilitator /mentor in more than 45 Science
Camps, I have noticed that over the years the INSPIRE
programme has made science and its application a movement in
the society, more students have become scientifically aware
and opted for scientific research for their career while
parents have become aware and encouraging their children to
pursue a career in science.
Dr Anita Agarwal, Scientist-E from DST expressed that the
main objectives of the science camp are categorized under
motivation, ability and goal. It aims to arouse the sense of
wonder and encourage curiosity among students, tries to
unlock creativity through out of box activities and self
learning through hands on experts and library uses. Its
effort is to help students learn to dream through role
model, available opportunities and develop network of
friends through group activities and residential camps.
“It is interesting that every participant in the Science
Camp is encouraged to submit an idea of new innovation or
discovery or research work and the students are later helped
by the mentors to pursue it”, said Prof. Anwesh Majumdar,
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Institute for
Fundamental Research, Mumbai.
The DST members addressed queries, discussed problems and
provided solutions to the delegates. Important and
interesting points were made by the DST committee, such as
discussing down to earth topics that enhance the curiosity
among children, engaging the students with a mentor who can
communicate the excitement of science to the children,
providing role models to look up to and also making sure
that women mentors are also present so as to assure the
increasing number of girls participating in the science
camps that they can also rise up to that level. Hands on
experiments must be provided to the students. Moreover,
parents and children both must be made aware of all the
career prospects that lie ahead when one pursues science.
While over the years the number of participants has
increased in the INSIPRE Camps, including a large number of
girls, however the number of students actually going out and
pursuing science in India is still minimal. Hence, each and
every delegate, coordinator and mentor is encouraged to do
their bit in spreading awareness about these kind of
programmes that will help take humanity forward. The
Department of Science and Technology promises to work very
hard and guarantees full support towards the progress of
science all over the country. The DST members thanked the
USTM Chancellor and his team for their hospitality and
dedication towards the development of science and
technology. They also expressed high hopes from the North
East and wished to see at least two camps in each of the
eight states of the North East in the following months.
Scientists from different states of the country including
Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Delhi, Andhra
Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Uttar
Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh were participating in the Science
Workshop. They shared their previous INSPIRE internship camp
details and the innovative ways that they employed to
capture the attention of the students such as explaining
scientific ideas through cartoons, group discussions, lab
visits etc. Problems faced by them were also brought forward
and measures were suggested to the DST to improve the number
of participants and make science more creative and
interesting for the students. Among the dignitaries, Dr.
N.C. Talukdar, Director of Institute of Advanced Study in
Science and Technology (IASST), Resima Ahmed, Cotton
University, Debasis Chaudhaury, IASST, Semma Rekha
Bhagawati, Morigoan College and Hitesh Barman, Rangia
College were also present, who promised to coordinate and
set up more camps in the region. |
