Take Science out of the lab

Take Science out of the lab

 

For Prelims

About IndiaBioscience Outreach Grant

  • IndiaBioscience Outreach Grant (IOG) was set up to motivate young researchers to step out of their labs and build stronger connections with the public through innovative science outreach efforts.
  • IndiaBioscience Outreach Grant (IOG) was launched in 2020.
  • Eligibility: Researchers in Life Sciences, who have set up a lab in India not more than eight years ago.
  • IOG is an initiative of IndiaBioscience, which itself is operated by the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.
  • The aim of IndiaBioscience is to bring the whole life-science research community under one roof to promote networking, foster partnerships, and enable resource and knowledge sharing.

For Mains

 

The need for outreach?

  • Building scientific temper within our society is crucial for maintaining the health of our communities as well as for fighting misinformation and superstition.
  • This became extremely evident during the Pandemic as there was a large number of underreporting of cases as well as vaccine hesitancy among even educated people.
  • Scientists can play an important role in overcoming these hurdles by encouraging theories which are supported by experimentally-validated facts, as well as by using their expertise to influence public perception on important issues.
  • However, there exists a large communication gap between scientists and common man, and the results of scientific research are often confined to elite journals and do not reach the public, including the taxpayers who have contributed to funding the research.

What can be done

  • We can encourage/mandate science outreach and Science communication activities by researchers.
  • Make such activities a parameter for promotions, awarded grants, and so on and officially allocate time for such activities.
  • Create awards and fellowships for researchers who perform outstanding science communication.
  • Create more avenues for researchers to engage with science communicators and public engagement experts.
  • Create a dedicated science communication/ outreach office that will oversee researchers who undertake such activities.
  •  Create a dedicated budget for such activities.

 

  Source : THE HINDU