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way of stimulating interest, sparking conversation, and promoting biodiver- sity awareness across the country.
A distinctive element of this express has been the interpretation of the displays by experienced scientific com- municators, as well as complementary activities on the platform and in local schools, as well as take-away material in local languages. This has aided in
repeating the message and establishing biodiversity as a household phrase in the areas.
National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC)
National Children’ science congress
is also a brainchild program of the NCSTC. This provides a forum to young school students of the age 10-17 years
to showcase their talent of transforming the society with their innovative and creative solutions by pondering over the problems in their surroundings through science. The main idea is to promote the concept of discovery among school students.
NCSC believes in the concept of learning by doing. It stands on the five pillars including learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, learning to be, and learning to trans- form oneself and society. This congress
October 2021
encourage females to have interest in and study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and build a profession. Since December 2019, it has been successfully function- ing in 50 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), and it has now been expanded to 50 more JNVs for the years 2021-22. Student-parent counselling, visits to laboratories and information centres,
11 February 2021, the second phase of the Vigyan Jyoti initiative began, which will expand to 50 additional districts across the country.
Science Express
The journey of science express has touched over 1.33 crore lives so far with exceptional motivation and curiosity. Continuously moving mobile science ex-
partner role model interactions, scientif- ic camps, academic assistance courses, resource material distribution, and tinkering activities are all part of Vigyan Jyoti’s activities. Students can get online academic help in the form of video courses, study materials, daily practice problems, and doubt clearing sessions. The programme aims to address the multifaceted issues surrounding wom- en’s under-representation in engineer- ing and technology by instilling confi- dence and enthusiasm for these fields.
DST and IBM are working together to expand STEM employment possibil- ities for female students. In collabora- tion with IBM, a learning platform is to be built to make learning relevant and foster scientific spirit among the young, providing chances for meritorious fe- males to nurture their interest in STEM. On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on
hibition train with 16 coaches travelled across the length and breadth of the country in last seven years, loaded with more than 230 trained science com- municators and received almost 15.6 million visitors. It was an initiative led by the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST, in partnership with Ministry of Railways and several scientific depart- ments.
The train reached the unreached areas (remote, rural) that became the milestone for science communication on the ground level. From flagging off in 2007, Science Express has raised awareness about some emergent burn- ing areas such as biodiversity conser- vation, climate change, and the basic phenomenon of science.
The strategy of targeting schools through outreach programmes and train trips has shown to be a successful