Science Day: Pune-based institutions go digital for annual celebrations this year

Around 190 schools from six states which include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will participate in the science day competition Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) on February 28, 2021.

Due to the increasing Covid-19 cases, Science day which is celebrated on February 28 annually will be hosted online by various scientific institutions in the city.

Dr JK Solanki, head of administration and finance at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) said the students who are participating are expected to upload the videos of their experiments by February 24.

“So far there are 170 projects uploaded on our portal on the same day on February 28. We will have an inaugural ceremony on science day followed by an online video tour of GMRT and the work done by our scientists,” said Solanki.

These projects by school students will be evaluated by GMRT and the subsequent prize distribution will be done.

The projects can be accessed and seen on an online application called “GMRT Science Day-- Growing Dots’ developed by Indian Institute of Knowledge.”

“Scientists from GMRT will be showcasing posters. Also, in a live session on February 28, there will be a question-and-answer session where the general public can ask their queries to the scientists. It is called ‘Ask an Astronomer’ stall,” said Solanki.

As there are restrictions to offline events, many other institutes from Pune city will be conducting various events online.

Pune-based National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS) will be organising a public talk on stem cell by Dr Deepa Subramanian at 11 am. The webinar will be conducted by NCCS and the link will be available online on the website on NCCS.

Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) will also be conducting online sessions on various topics. Officials said those who are interested to visit the institute can take a prior appointment and then visit.

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune will also conduct an online program. The registration is free for the general public, and the list of programs include a virtual tour of the facility.

Also, the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad will be celebrating the National Science Day together this year.

The program will be on an online platform. As part of the celebration, Rishikesha Krishnan, director and professor of strategy, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) will deliver the National Science Day Lecture on the topic “Making the Vision of India’s New Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) a Reality: What does this mean for the Development of Human Capital?” on February 26, 2021.

The link to the webinar can be accessed on the website on CSIR-NCL, Pune.