Ministry of Science & Technology Gears up for Mega Fest IISF 2020 with Series of Promotional Events

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Business Events | December 17, 2020 | News

Ministry of Science & Technology India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020 Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) Department of Science and Technology (DST) Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)

The Ministry of Science & Technology is gearing up for the sixth edition of the mega science festival, India International Science Festival (IISF) 2020, to be held virtually this year due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. It is scheduled from December 22 to 25, 2020. Ahead of the main event, a series of events - including Vigyan Yatras flagged off from many cities of the country - are being organized to sensitize young minds and invite participation and spread awareness about science and its relevance in different aspects of life. 

The festival is being organised by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).

The theme of IISF 2020 is ‘Science for Self-Reliant India and Global Welfare’ to represent the increasing power of India in the field of science in the world community.

Promotional activities across the country

In the run-up to the festival, an outreach programme was organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan’s Mehta Vidyalaya and Hubs School for the IISF 2020. Held on a virtual platform, it had around 100 students and teachers as attendees.

The CSIR organized a curtain-raiser for IISF 2020 on December 10. The speakers delivered lectures during this programme conducted online on the Facebook and YouTube pages of CSIR. The theme of this programme was ‘Vocal for Local: The Heeng Story’.

CSIR-SERC, Chennai, then organized a Vigyan Yatra-cum-curtain-raiser event. Recently, Vigyan Yatras were flagged off from many other cities of the country. CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research (CIMFR), Dhanbad also organized a ‘Vigyan Yatra’ on YouTube.

As part of pre-event promotion, a curtain-raiser event on the water segment ‘Water Science for Societal Development, Nation-building and Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ was also organized on a virtual platform by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai. The chief guest of this event, Dr T. Ramasami, former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India, emphasized the need for societal development of water science. In the keynote address, Dr Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NISTADS, expressed the challenges and opportunities of a virtual platform.

Platform for researchers and academics

A similar curtain-raiser event was organized in Gorakhpur (UP). The theme of this programme was ‘Health Research Conclave’. Here, participants were briefed about various proposed events of IISF 2020 and that ICMR is organizing the ‘Health Research Conclave’ with the theme ‘Health Research for Happy, Healthy & Self-Reliant India’. The event also highlighted that ICMR is successfully demonstrating not only in India but also in the world its good stewardship and effectiveness in successful management and handling of disease outbreaks like NIPAH, CCHF and COVID-19. The conference provided a platform to global and overseas Indian researchers and academics.

Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune also organized a webinar in virtual mode to promote IISF 2020.