Photo: Siddharth Kankaria / Research Matters
The campus of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, was buzzing with an air of tender enthusiasm and aspiration, thanks to the visit of “Chetana” scholars. “Chetana” is a novel initiative to encourage and inspire talented young girls studying in government-run higher secondary schools across Karnataka, to take up a formal education in science. The Department of IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, has organized this program in collaboration with the Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology (KSCST) and IISc, Between 17th October and 27th October, 28 students selected in this program, visited IISc for 10 days and were provided with an opportunity to visit the research facilities and labs as well as interact with students and academicians of this prestigious institute.
As a part of the “Chetana” program, girl students who topped the Secondary School Examination from their respective schools are selected and hand-held for two years to help them develop an aptitude for science. In the first year of its inception in 2016, a total of 356 girls participated in a five-day residential camp conducted at Infosys campus in Mysore and received a laptop. Continuing this streak of visits to educational campuses, the organizers of this program has organized visits to eight other institutes of science, among which IISc is one. These visits have been designed to impart "One Skill in each interaction" for two years.
All the 28 “Chetana” scholars who visited IISc, were pursuing second year PUC, studying Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. The camp at IISc had 22 students from Belgaum, 5 from Mysore and 1 from Chamarajanagara as participants. The activities were a variegated mix of interspersed lectures, interactions with faculty and students, as well as lab visits and demonstrations. The scholars got an opportunity to learn about diverse subjects ranging from flight of airplanes, crystal symmetries, chemistry of life, medical imaging, origin of life, geological processes, host-pathogen interactions, genetics, black holes, as well as philosophy of science.
In addition to the lectures, the scholars also witnessed hands-on demonstrations of the concepts behind formation of tornadoes, effects of greenhouse gases, formation of clouds and glaciers using interactive models. They also visited the rock museum, clean-room facility, open wind circuit tunnel and had an exclusive interaction session with the Deans of the Undergraduate Program at IISc. This would help the scholars, as they would be enrolling for their Bachelor’s degree in the next year.
“Apart from their formal interactions and sessions in IISc, the students have also had a lot of fun! During their stay in IISc, they also went on excursions on three days to the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum, the Bannerghatta National Park, the ISRO exhibition at the ISRO headquarters, and even a short ride on Namma metro”, says Dr. S.G. Sreekanteshwara Swamy, Executive Secretary of KSCST.
Talking about the future directions of the Chetana program, Dr. Swamy further adds that it would be a great success if at least 5 or 10 scholars out of the 28 who attended the camp, took up education in science during the next year. “There are plans to remain in touch with these scholars over the next few months via E-mail and Whatsapp groups, so that they can further nurture their interest in science, and also actively monitor their progress”, says Dr. Swamy. This program is being viewed as a model that can be replicated in other states of India, and ultimately champion the cause of encouraging more women to take up a formal science education in the country.