The Hindu : National : Innovation centres soon for students, says Sibal

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Innovation centres soon for students, says Sibal

Special Correspondent

To encourage them to take up science & technology as career

NEW DELHI: To inculcate the spirit of innovation among youngsters and encourage them to take up a career in science and technology, the Centre proposes to set up a chain of seven innovation centres around the country within a year.

Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said on Thursday that each centre would specialise in one discipline, even while having a core set of common activities.

The centres could choose from one or more of the following disciplines to specialise in: robotics, biotechnology, ocean sciences, biomedical engineering, agriculture and rural development, science and mass communication and renewable energy sources and their application.

To provide for plurality, the centres would be set up in different types of institutions. One would be set up in a progressive school, another in a university, with a centre for science education, the third in a science centre, the fourth in a science city, the fifth in a science-based voluntary organisation, the sixth in a society or foundation promoting science talent and the seventh in a bal bhavan.

A senior Ministry official said each centre would cost Rs.25 lakh. Although it would be a government initiative, the private sector was welcome to contribute financially or otherwise.

Honours winners

Mr. Sibal was speaking at a function to honour students who had participated in the international pre-college science and engineering fair organised by the IT major Intel in the U.S. recently. In all, eight students from India participated in the fair and seven won awards in different categories.

The students were selected through a programme called the Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science conducted by the Ministry, Intel and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The majority of the winners were from non-metros — only two hailed from a metropolitan city (Mumbai). The remaining were from Varanasi, Nagpur, Rajkot and Mandya in Karnataka. Six of them were girls.

The centres would be located in such a way that they were accessible to every student, irrespective of whether he or she was in an urban or a rural area.

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