By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 21 Dec: A state level 3-day residential training programme, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (Cambridge, United Kingdom) and DST (Government of India) for the school teachers of Uttarakhand, concluded in Doon University, here, today. This programme was organised under the aegis of iRISE (Inspiring India in Research Innovation in STEM Education) in collaboration with SCERT Uttarakhand and Indian Institute of Science and Education Research (IISER), Pune. Under the Teachers’ Development strand, the iRISE and IISER Pune have collaborated with State Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT) Uttarakhand to train and prepare secondary school teachers for activity-based teaching of the students for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.
Doon University Vice Chancellor Professor Surekha Dangwal expressed satisfaction with the contribution of Doon University in organising such a useful and effective training programme. She thanked the Department of Science and Technology, the Royal Society of Chemistry (Cambridge, United Kingdom), the British Council, and Tata Technologies for the constant financial support for this programme in Uttarakhand. She also highlighted that the programme is extremely relevant because it supports the Government of India’s objective of building a nurturing ecosystem that promotes research and innovation in schools and universities. She said that Doon University will organise very useful programmes in 2024 under Early Career Researcher Strand, Thought Leadership Forum and CxO Forum of iRISE. Such programmes will provide a platform for industry and academic leaders to come together and strengthen innovation in India.
Prof Dangwal was confident that this training programme would open new and unique dimensions in the field of teaching and learning. According to her, if school teachers start adopting new, innovative and activity-based methodologies of teaching, it will become very easy to develop interests among students towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Vandana Garbiyal (Director, Academic Research and Training, SCERT) said that she is very happy after seeing the enthusiasm and excitement in the teachers after attending the programme. She said that nearly 100 teachers (trained in the first phase) would be selected for the second phase on the basis of their activities, performance and interest in the training. Under the second phase, selected teachers will receive 10- day residential training at the Indian Institute of Science and Education Research, Pune, or at Doon University. Teachers who receive 10 days training will be known as Innovation Champions. In the third phase, all the Innovation Champions will organise cascade workshops in their respective districts with the help of i-RISE. She stated that this training was given mainly to the female teachers of all the districts of Uttarakhand.
Dr Asha Painuli (Joint Director, SCERT) said that SCERT will sign an MoU with Doon University and continue to collaborate to ensure connecting the teachers with the University and professional development of the teachers. Dr Avneesh Uniyal (State Coordinator of Inspire Award) highlighted that this programme and workshops are becoming extremely beneficial for the teachers. It also enriches DST’s flagship programme INSPIRE and INSPIRE Awards – MANAK. Dr Arun Kumar (Head, Department of Chemistry, Doon University) thanked Prof Harinath Chakrapani, Ajit Kumar Sharma, Dr Namita Gupta and iRISE for giving this opportunity to Uttarakhand School teachers.
