Science education and research in 21st century India: new initiatives

While there is no doubt that there never had been better time than today in the recorded history to pursue research in India, the challenge is to secure the future. Indian education system, like in many other spheres of our society, is at the crossroads trying to find a way to take the country towards knowledge economy. Several new initiatives are being explored. Only time will tell what would be the outcome of these initiatives. Most decisions in historical contexts would look either very good or bad, but at the time of making the decisions, we would be dabbling with only hypothetical situations. Any decision would be based on some logical thinking that suggests that a particular hypothetical scenario would be better than the other hypothetical one. In this context, wiser the nation if it invests on a broad-based education system, which nurtures both curiosity and creativity amongst its citizens. When it comes to science, “no national scientific enterprise can be sustainable in the long term if it does not contain generous room for curiosity-driven research. While the technological outcomes and social benefits of basic science are almost always long-term and rarely predictable, such science creates and consolidates overall competence and intellectual diversity

Host: Prof. Veronica Rodrigues (veronica@ncbs.res.in )
Prof. Geoff Hyde   ( g_hyde_unsw@yahoo.com ) will introduce the speaker.

Please join for high tea and discussions after the talk at the Hortus Malabaricus Gardens.