CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) has recently accomplished its One Week One Lab (OWOL) Programme. During a week-long time period, NIScPR conducted a series of events focused on different angles of Institute’s objectives and mandate. The programme was designed to highlight and showcase activities, new initiatives and achievement of the institute in the areas of Science Policy Research & Science Communication. Keeping this in mind, 7 events were planned to target a wide variety of audience including scientists, academicians, science diplomats, scientists, science communicators, science publishers, entrepreneurs, industry experts, farmers, startups, students and other stakeholders. These events covered various aspects of startups, creating livelihood in rural areas through CSIR technologies, science outreach and science diplomacy and science communication through public engagement.

The OWOL is the brain child of  Union S&T Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh who launched this initiative on 6 January 2023 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The pioneer CSIR labs which initiate this OWOL expedition were Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee. The idea behind OWOL is connecting the scientists and their research with the society. For this purpose, each lab of CSIR showcased their R&D achievements with their stakeholders.

Dignitaries of curtain raiser event, releasing the OWOL brochure of CSIR-NIScPR

In this series, a Delhi based CSIR lab namely NIScPR conducted its OWOL programme during 11-16 Sept. 2023. The programme began with Curtain Raiser on 6^thSpetember 2023 at PHD Chamber of the Commerce, New Delhi. The Union Minister of Science & Technology (Independent Charge) Dr. Jitendra Singh graced the occasion of the curtain raiser. Dr. Rakesh Bhatnagar, National Science Chair at Jawaharlal Nehru University was the chief guest at the occasion who addressed the gathering. NIScPR released its OWOL Brochure on this occasion along with screening of a short film on the activities of the Institute. Director, CSIR-NIScPR Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal provided a brief background of OWOL and NIScPR activities. Dr. Yogesh Suman, Sr. Principal Scientist introduced the events of NIScPR OWOL. A press conference and media briefing were organized on the occasion which was coordinated by Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist & Coordinator OWOL, and CSIR-NIScPR.

Following the curtain raiser, the Inaugural function was held on 11^th September 2023 at the auditorium of CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi. The Honorable Union Minister of Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh was the Chief Guest and Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR was Guest of Honour, Prof. Venu Gopal Achanta, Director, CSIR-NPL as special invitee graced the occasion and addressed the gathering. The event was live streamed in YouTube and Facebook for wider dissemination.

Hon’ble Union S&T Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh while addressing the audience during the Inaugural session of NIScPR OWOL

On this occasion, Hon’ble Minister Dr. Singh said that “Although CSIR-NIScPR is small in volume but its mandate is very large. This institute performs the essential work of dissemination of scientific advancements to the society. During the occasion, he proposed a call to observe ‘One Month One Theme’ programme towards integrating the efforts of the various CSIR laboratories. The Hon’ble Minister also inaugurated the Science Media Communication Cell and released two significant publications (“Vigyan Pragati: 80 Best Articles Collection” & CSIR@80: A Photo Journey 1942-2022”) of NIScPR.

Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, DG, CSIR announced Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes 2022 during inaugural of NIScPR OWOL

In the inaugural session of NIScPR OWOL, Director General of CSIR Dr. N. Kalaiselvi highlighted the value of NIScPR by referring this institute as an indispensable laboratory of CSIR. She added that NIScPR is the greatest interface between the researchers and the society.

One of the key highlights of the function was the announcement of Winners of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for the year 2022 by Director General, CSIR in the presence of Union S&T Minister.

Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NIScPR welcoming the S&T Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh

Following the inaugural function, various events were organized. The first event in the sequence was “India’s Startup Revolution: An Exciting Journey from an Idea to Market” which was organized on 12^th September 2023, the second day of NIScPR One Week One Lab (OWOL) programme at CSIR-NPL Auditorium. The event witnessed participation of various eminent dignitaries including Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman of Startup Odisha chief guest and Mr. Puneet Kaura, Chairman, CII Delhi State Council and Managing Director & CEO Samtel Avionics Ltd. (TBC) who was the Guest of Honour. 

Pic-5: Glimpse of India’s Startup event of NIScPR OWOL

Prof Chin Tsan Wang Director, Science & Technology Division, Taipei Economic & Cultural Centre, Taiwan Embassy Guest of Honour and Dr. Souvik Maiti, Director, CSIR-IGIB graced the event. More than 300 participant offline and 800 participants online participated in this event. One of the most exciting segments of the startup workshop was the exhibition encompassing over 30 startups ranging from high technology to those who hold the promise to impact rural development in a major way. Startups focusing on hydrogen-driven car, toy maker who uses artificial intelligence and a seed startup were some of the highlights of this exhibition.

Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, former DG, CSIR (Left) and Prof. Virendra Kumar Vijay, National Coordinator - Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (Right) addressing the audience in the Grassroot innovation event

Following the startup event, on 13^th September 2023 a unique event ‘Grassroot Innovations & Skill Development Conclave for Rural Development’ was organized on day three of the programme at CSIR-NPL. This event was dedicated mainly to stakeholders from rural areas including farmers, women SHGs and FPOs. It commenced with the inauguration of exhibition on CSIR rural technologies by the Chief Guest Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, Former DG, CSIR; Guest of Honour Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), and special invitee Shri Praveen Ramdas, Secretary, Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).

In this exhibition, more than 10 CSIR labs, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and Vijnana Bharati participated and showcased their technologies and products. It was attended by more than 500 participants offline and online modes. A technical session consisting of Scientist-Farmer Interaction was organized where CSIR scientists and experts shared insights about dissemination of technologies to rural areas based on their experience. A training session on Kisan Sabha app (developed jointly by CSIR and industrial partner) was organized to provide exposure about smart farming to the stakeholders. In the third Technical Session, Prof. Virendra Kumar Vijay, National Coordinator - Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Brigadier P. Ganesham, VSM (Retd.) Founder President, Palle Srujana and Dr. Rohit Kandakatla also addressed the audience.

Student-Science Connect programme was also organized on 13^th September. The programme was graced by Dr. Shekhar C. Mande, the former Director General, CSIR, and Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Chairman, ASRB. Dr. Sanjay through storytelling inspired the students to stay curious and ask questions. It was attended by more than 150 students from various Schools of Delhi. During the programme, the students were sensitized about nutritional importance of millets encompassing nutritional profiles by Dr. Suman Ray, Principal Scientist and traditional recipes and about Communicating Scientifically Validated Traditional Knowledge to the society (SVASTIK), an entertaining quiz competition on traditional knowledge coordinated by Dr. Charu Lata, Principal Scientist and Dr. Paramananda Barman, Scientist at CSIR-NIScPR. On the occasion, a puppet show was also organized which was the center of attraction for students.

Puppet show organized during Student-Science Connect event of NIScPR OWOL

Parallel to this, a workshop on science communication involving more than 50 teachers was organized covering various facets of science communication by the experts. Chief Guest Prof. Sharmishtha Banerjee, University of Hyderabad, emphasized on teaching interdisciplinary science to the students graced the occasion. Shri Hasan Jawaid Khan, Chief Scientist and Ms. Sonali Nagar, Sr. Scientist at CSIR-NIScPR delivered talks on various important aspects of science communication.

On day four (on 14 September 2023), the event on Science Communication: Public Engagement with Science was organized. The Chief Guest of the event, Dr. Santosh Choubey, Chancellor, Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal and the Guest of Honour, Dr. Tsering Tashi, Deputy Project Director, Navigation Spacecraft, U.R. Rao Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bengaluru addressed the gathering. A panel discussion on the completion of 70 years of “Vigyan Pragati”, a popular science magazine of CSIR-NIScPR was organized showcasing the 70 years journey of this magazine. A technical session focused on the organisations engaged in spreading science to society was also organized in which experts and scientists from the Commission for Scientific & Technical Terminology (Dr. Ashok N. Selvetkar), CSIR-NIScPR (Dr. Manish Mohan Gore), NRDC (Dr. Ankita Mishra), Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (Dr. K.K. Mishra), Vijnana Bharati (Dr. Rajeev Singh) and Lok Vigyan Parishad (Dr. O.P. Sharma).

Dignitaries of Science Communication event of NIScPR OWOL

One of the appealing segments of the day four event was ‘Vigyan Kavi Sammelan’ which was included to commemorate Hindi Diwas (14 September). The Chief Guest of this Kavi Sammelan was Shri Mahendra Kumar Gupta, Joint Secretary, Administration, CSIR Headquarters and Chairperson was Dr. Madhu Pant, Renowned Science Poetess & Former Director, Rashtriya Bal Bhawan, New Delhi. During this Kavi Sammelan various renowned science poets (Shri Mahesh Verma, Shri Mohan Sagoriya, Dr. Anu Singh, Dr. Ved Mitra Shukla, Shri Yashpal Singh Yash and Dr. S. Dwivedi recited their science poetry. The anchoring was done by Ms. Radh Gupta.

On day five (15 Sept. 2023) Science Knowledge Convention event was organized at S.V. Marg Campus of CSIR-NIScPR. The event was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, Secretary, SERB and Senior Adviser at the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Guest of Honour Dr. Suman Kumari Mishra, Director, CSIR-CGCRI, Kolkata. The objective of the convention was to showcase various e-resources, databases, standards and various knowledge products for the benefit of S&T staff, researchers, students and NKRC Nodal officers by providing them a platform for interaction and exposure about the NKRC Consortium. The event also featured the signing of MoUs between CSIR & DST and CSIR & MoES regarding NKRC.

On this occasion, ‘One Month One Lecture on e-resource’ initiative was also launched along with the release of the ‘NKRC Report: A Journey of 21 years and Special Issues: IJBB & IJEMS’. A panel discussion on Science and Technology Information and Knowledge Resources was chaired by Dr. Manoranjan Mohanty, Head, Autonomous Institutions Division, DST. Mrs. Neelu Srivastava, Chief Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR was the Co-Chair. Shri Mukesh Pund, Chief Scientist and Dr. Tarakant Jana, Sr. Principal Scientist at CSIR-NIScPR delivered their talks. Authors and Publishers Interaction Meet was organized, highlighting the importance of ‘E-journals: Scientific Writing & Publications’, ‘Indexing Tools’ and ‘E-resources for S&T Research and Standards and Databases’. Dr. Suman Mallik, former Chief Scientist, CSIR was the Chair and Shri C.B. Singh, Sr. Principal Scientist at CSIR-NIScPR was the Co-chair of the session. Two open sessions for discussion were organized.

A  Science Exhibition and Poster Presentation Competition were also organized with the theme: Societal Impact of your Research/Project undertaken. Many students and guests participated in the competition. During the event, a number of reputed science publishers participated and put their stalls. The prominent science publishers included Wiley, Clarivate, Elsevier, American Chemical Society (ACS), ACS International India, SciFinder, Grammarly, and Institute of Physics (IOP). Dr. Manoranjan Parida, Director, CSIR-CRRI addressed the gathering and distributed prizes to the poster completion winners. More than 800 participants attended the event in offline and online modes. Vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. N.K. Prasanna, Sr. Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR.

Chief Guest of Science Policy and Diplomacy event Dr. Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, German Embassy while sharing his thoughts during the event

The week long programme concluded on 16 Sept. 2023 with the event on “Science Diplomacy for Sustainable Development” exploring how science diplomacy can contribute to Sustainable development, sustainable entrepreneurship development in particular. The Chief Guest Dr. Philipp Ackermann, German Ambassador to India and Bhutan, German Embassy, New Delhi and Guest of Honor, Dr. Bhaskar Balakrishnan, Former Science Diplomat addressed the gathering. Dr. Rama Swami Bansal, Head, International S&T Affairs Directorate, CSIR; Prof. Madhav Govind, Chairman, Centre for Studies in Science Policy, JNU; Shri R. Madhav, Director, Indo-German S&T Centre; Dr. Purnima Rupal, Former Director, CEFIPRA & Head, SCDD, CSIR and Dr. Dhoya Snijders, Innovation Counsellor for India, Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands attended the event as expert speakers. Dr. Yogesh Suman, Sr. Principal Scientist & Chairman, NIScPR OWOL presented the summary of OWOL events and Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist & Coordinator, NIScPR OWOL proposed vote of thanks.

 

About CSIR-NIScPR

CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) is one of the constituent laboratories of CSIR under the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India. It specializes in the fields of science communication; STI focused evidence-based policy research and studies. It publishes various journals, books, magazines, newsletters, and reports on science and technology. It also conducts research on science communication, science policy, innovation systems, science-society interface, and science diplomacy.

For more information, please visit https://niscpr.res.in/ or follow us at @CSIR-NIScPR.

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