Last updated on June 27th, 2023 at 03:52 pm
During the 10th Women Science Congress (WSC), organized as part of the 108th Indian Science Congress at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, the contributions of women in all walks of life, including STEM and conservation of biodiversity, were highlighted.
Padma Shri Smt. Rahibai Soma Popere, a farmer and conservationist, highlighted the important role of women in biodiversity conservation and also elaborated on her campaign to help farmers revert to native varieties of crops, while the chief guest, Mrs. Kanchan Gadkari, Head, Seva Sadan Sanstha talked about this. Self-reliance between women Several eminent women scientists shared their research and professional experiences with the audience.
Dr. Nisha Mendiratta, Consultant and Head, WISE-Kiran Division, Department of Science and Technology (DST) emphasized the need for interventions to promote women in STEM. He highlighted that the percentage of girls in tertiary education is more than 55, but dropouts thereafter are high – an issue that needs to be addressed.
Dr. Mendiratta highlighted the efforts of DST to bridge the gap and promote women’s participation in science and technology, which has benefitted more than 35000 girls and women under various women-centric programs in the last 8 years. (Edited) Restore original.
The experts discussed the role of S&T in Women’s Empowerment, Opportunities in Food Science & Technology, Sustainable Development Goals, Science Communication, and the Role of Digitalization.
A panel discussion was also organized by Dr. Indu Bala Puri, Scientist, DST, who pointed out the importance of S&T-led development in rural areas. Dr. Sufia Khan and Banasthali Vidyapeeth emphasized, “Innovation in research can achieve excellence in the outcome.” Sangeeta Nagar, TIFAC, DST, gave an overview of opportunities for women in intellectual property rights.
“The Vigyan Jyoti program is significant for school girls who want to pursue a career in STEM fields,” said Dr. Zareena Qureshi, Principal of JNV Nagpur. Dr. Sonal Dhabekar, a beneficiary of the program, said, “The WOS-B program helped me reshape my scientific career after a long gap.”
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Saxena, General President, of ISCA, appreciated the various initiatives of the government. To empower the women of India. Dr. Kalpana Pandey, Convenor of WSC, told about the scientific tendency in women since ancient times. Around 5000 participants participated in the two-day event.
