Allahabad (PTI): Asia's first of its kind Science Conclave gets underway here on Monday, providing students and researchers with a unique opportunity to interact with 10 Nobel laureates and other reputed scientists on one platform.

"The highlight of the week-long event would be the participation of 10 Nobel prize-winning scientists, who will share their knowledge and experiences with students and young researchers of the country," Director of Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad (IIIT-A) M D Tiwari said.

Among those attending the conclave that begins on Dec 15 are researchers from across the country, over 1,000 college students, besides the first batch of the INSPIRE, a special scheme launched by the Department of Science and Technology to promote innovations in science, he added.

Among the Nobel laureates likely to attend are physicists like Martin Lewis Perl, Jerome Isaac Friedman, Robert C. Richardson and Sir Anthony Leggett, as also Sir Harod (Harry) Walter Kroto who is the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, the IIIT-A Director said.

Tiwari said the event is inspired by the Lindau Nobel Laureates' Meeting in Germany. "We have decided to borrow the idea and expose our country's youth to intensive interactions with Nobel laureates who can share their passion and excitement in pure sciences".

IGNOU and the Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) of the UGC will be recording the entire event. The proceedings will then be used for developing e-content to be broadcast by CEC through its 24-hour channel Vyas on higher education and by IGNOU through its educational web cast.

"This is done to present a repository of knowledge for generations to come," said Tiwari.