Of Mars, Robots and Protons
VIEW EVENT DETAILSAccording to the World Bank, India spent only 0.63 per cent of its annual GDP on research and development (R&D) in 2015, as compared to 2.07 per cent and 2.79 per cent of China and the United States, respectively. Can this be attributed to the fact that less than one per cent of the students pursuing higher studies choose research-oriented courses?
Often, students interested in research choose to pursue their PhDs abroad, and studies show that the general preference is to stay back for lucrative career and research opportunities. Data from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates show that 80 per cent or more of students who complete their PhDs in the U.S. from India and some other Asian countries remain in the U.S. Not only is this a loss of significant talent and resources for India, but also affects the productivity in research and scientific output in the country. India ranked 12th in the world in total number of patent applications in 2016, whereas China and the United States ranked first and second, respectively.
In order to bridge this significant gap in STEM education and R&D in India, it is important to nurture the spirit of scientific knowledge and innovation and adequate encouragement and incentives should be provided to pursue careers in STEM. There is a need for innovative pedagogy, critical thinking based syllabus and adequate infrastructure. Importantly, the success of India’s key initiatives like Make in India, Digital India and Skill India depends on the quality and pervasiveness of STEM education as it requires the requisite qualified manpower and intellectual capacities. There also exists an apparent demographic divide in STEM education. Women were at or near parity among undergraduate degree earners in science (50.1%), IT and computer (47.7%), but remain underrepresented in engineering and technology (31.9%), according to data from 2015–2016. How can women be encouraged to pursue their education and careers in STEM related fields? How can various stakeholders be involved to foster STEM education in India? Are there any best practices from other countries that can be emulated in India? We discuss these questions and more in a stellar panel comprising Moumita Dutta, Space Scientist at ISRO; Osama Manzar, Founder and Director at Digital Empowerment Foundation, Kumar Anurag Pratap, Head CSR at Capgemini and Nagarjuna G, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
Moumita Dutta is a Space Scientist at ISRO and has been involved in various prestigious projects like Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, Oceansat, Resourcesat, among others. She obtained her M.Tech degree in Applied Physics from Science College, University of Calcutta and joined the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad in 2006.
Osama Manzar is a global leader on the mission of eradicating information poverty from India and global south using digital tools through Digital Empowerment Foundation, an organisation he founded in 2002. Osama is a social entrepreneur, author, columnist, impact speaker, angel investor, mentor, and sits on several government and policy committees in India and abroad.
Kumar Anurag Pratap is Senior Director and Head-CSR at Capgemini Technology Services India Ltd. Anurag brings with him more than 21+ years of diversified experience in CSR, community development, project management / implementation, grant management, capacity planning, and resource Management.
Nagarjuna G works at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. He is also the Chairperson of the Free Software Foundation of India. He completed his PhD from IIT Kanpur.
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Event Details
Hall of Harmony,
Nehru Centre,
Worli, Mumbai