The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Most women’s universities don’t have facilities for research in science’

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Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009
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‘Most women’s universities don’t have facilities for research in science’

Staff Reporter

Subject Expert Committee meeting on ‘Engineering science’ inaugurated in Bangalore

Department willing to offer help to Women’s University
Four universities have benefited from such largesse

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING: N. Prabhu Dev, Vice-Chancellor, Bangalore University, lighting a lamp to inaugurate the Subject Expert Committee meeting on ‘Engineering science’ in Bangalore on Tuesday. Sneh Anand (left), chairperson, Department of Science and Technology-Subject Expert Committee Women Scientists Scheme in Applied Science; H.B. Singh, Member-Secretary of the department; and M.G. Krishnan, Registrar, Bangalore University, are seen.

Bangalore: A majority of women’s universities in the country lack infrastructure to support research in science, according to H.B. Singh, Member-Secretary, Women Scientists Scheme in Applied Science (WOS-A), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

Participating in the Subject Expert Committee meeting on “Engineering science” here on Tuesday, Dr. Singh said the department is making an attempt to help these universities set up the required infrastructure for encouraging research work.

He said the department is looking at the possibility of offering a helping hand to the Karnataka State Women’s University, Bijapur, while pointing out that four women’s universities in Tirupati, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Coimbatore have benefited from its support. Dr. Singh regretted the absence of response from women scholars in Bangalore University for the WOS-A scheme. “Five women from Bangalore University have sought benefit from the scheme since it was launched in 2002,” he said.

He, however, pointed out 350 quality research papers were published by women scientists since the launch of the scheme and 125 to 150 women were receiving benefit from this scheme every year.

About 30 per cent of the women benefiting from the scheme have secured jobs in recognised research laboratories and universities, Dr. Singh added. The scheme seeks to encourage women scientists in their pursuit of research in frontier areas of science and engineering, besides studies on problems of societal relevance. The scheme has a special provision to encourage women scientists in the age group of 30 to 50 who have discontinued their career for reasons such as family responsibilities.

Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev felt that the scheme is acting as a catalyst for women to return to the domain of science and make outstanding achievements in different fields.

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