In news- Recently, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology launched India’s first Virtual Science Lab for children under CSIR Jigyasa programme.
About the virtual lab-
- CSIR Jigyasa’s Virtual lab will be an inspirational science lab where students will read, have fun and carry out those experiments and materials which are presented by the CSIR scientists and other stakeholders.
- The new facility will benefit students from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas and Government Schools.
- CSIR has partnered with IIT Bombay to develop this Virtual Lab platform.
- The target audience for the Virtual Lab platform is students of the standard VI to XII (11-18 years) who would like to explore science using different activities, experienced researchers and faculties on the subjects of Science, Mathematics, Biology and IT.
- Its main aim is to provide quality research exposure and innovative pedagogy for school students to drive their scientific curiosity based on an online interactive medium with simulated experiments, pedagogy based content, videos, chat forums, animations, gaming, quiz, facility sharing, webinars etc.
- It would provide a virtual tour of CSIR laboratories and expose students to research infrastructure.
- The platform will also have the option to interact with scientists and seek their inputs or clear student’s doubts and help in knowledge Upgradation for Teachers and Students.
- In order to involve other labs MoU has been signed with JawaharNavodayaVidyalayas and also with Atal Tinkering Labs of NITI AAYOG.
- Other major stakeholders for the programme are the academic based community consisting of MHRD, CSIR scientist’s faculties, Ph.D. research students, school and junior college students, Sansthas, NGOs, Independent outreach faculties.
Jigyasa programme of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-
- It is one of the major initiatives taken up by CSIR at national level for further widening and deepening its Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR).
- It was launched in 2017.
- It focuses on connecting school students and scientists so as to extend student’s classroom learning with well planned research laboratory based learning.
- It is implemented by the CSIR in collaboration with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS).
- Student Residential Programmes, scientists as teachers and teachers as scientists, lab specific activities/Onsite Experiments, visits of scientists to Schools/Outreach Programmes, science and maths Clubs, projects of National Children’s Science Congress and tinkering laboratories are some of the activities included under the programme.
Source: PIB
