Image courtesy: PIB

To promote scientific temperament among school students and inculcate an enthusiasm for learning through an online interactive mode, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay, is developing a Virtual Lab platform under the CSIR Jigyasa programme, India’s first Virtual Science Lab.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences launched the Virtual Science Lab for students from VI to XII standard on 22 November 2021. The programme will build a connection between students and scientists across the nation providing them with quality research exposure and innovative teaching methods.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the programme ties up with the National Education Policy (NEP), where students can pick any subject and the concept of streams has been disbanded. The Hon’ble Minister also said that the new facility will immensely benefit students from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and Government schools.

Recalling last year’s CSIR Society meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted that the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had also appreciated Jigyasa — the Scientist-Student Connect programme of CSIR. He emphasised the significance of creating virtual labs in the country. Thereafter, CSIR had partnered with IIT Bombay to launch India’s first Virtual Lab platform under the CSIR Jigyasa programme, facilitating students with lab research exposure beyond classroom learning. Initially, the content will be in English language which will later be provided in other languages too.

Apart from providing curiosity-quality research exposure and facilitating digital pedagogical methods, the virtual labs would provide a virtual tour of CSIR laboratories and expose the students to research infrastructure which would have been difficult otherwise. The platform will also open opportunities for students to seek inputs from scientists.