IISER Bhopal organises science summer outreach camp for school students

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal’s Centre for Science and Society (CS2) organised a summer outreach camp from May 15 on the role of science in society and included insights from the humanities and social sciences. Approximately 130 students from Classes 9, 10 and 11 from schools across the country participated in the camp. Of them, 17 tribal students were selected from CM Rise Schools in Madhya Pradesh.

The camp covered topics such as natural and engineering sciences. The camp included lectures, talks and hands-on laboratory experiments and demonstrations. Students got the opportunity to engage with their seniors and participated in activities such as painting competitions, quiz contests, open mic sessions, and sports activities. On the concluding day, students and volunteers were given certificates and prizes.

Siva Umapathy, director, IISER Bhopal, said, “IISERs were created with the purpose of providing world-class education in science to students in India. The Institutes conduct research in several cutting-edge areas of science and technology. The purpose of this camp is to inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in science and technology and provide them with an opportunity to interact with eminent scientists and researchers. By providing such platforms to school students, they would be able to explore the available opportunities in right mode and learn and understand science in a creative and engaging way.”

Raghuvir Singh Tomar, head of centre for science and society, IISER Bhopal, said, “We have been doing this activity for the last seven years but the students’ feedback is something which helps us to [make] continuous improvement and a desire to provide the best learning experience possible. I hope the students are benefiting greatly from the knowledge and expertise shared by the faculty.”