Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

It was with a vision to ‘Cultivate one Million children in India as Neoteric Innovators’, Atal Innovation Mission has established ~9500 Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in schools across India. The objective of this scheme is to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing, etc.

CSIR laboratories are known for their involvement in modern science discoveries as well as contributions to technology development. Atal Innovation Mission and CSIR are making joint efforts to popularise science, technology and innovation to inculcate scientific temper amongst school students through various initiatives like “Jigyasa: Student-Scientist Connect programme” and physical lab visits. 

United Nations General Assembly declared July 15 as World Youth Skills Day, to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. AIM and CSIR in collaboration celebrate “World Youth Skills Day” across CSIR Labs in the country by inviting the students of ATLs to the CSIR Labs.

CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Dona Paula, Goa had organised a half-a-day interactive session for the ATL schools under the CSIR Jigyasa programme, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. It was a great learning experience for the students to visit the lab and interact with CSIR Scientists and learn about the possibilities that emerge from science and innovation.

At the inaugural session Dr Maria-Judith Gonsalves, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIO, welcomed the students and teachers and elaborated on the importance of skilling and upskilling. She said the event would be beneficial to the youth as along with technological advancement there is a new world of work with increasing importance on skills and training. She emphasised that Indian youth should constantly upgrade their skill. She also elaborated on the purpose of celebrating tworld youth skill day.

The students got an opportunity to visit various laboratories and received hands-on training, learning about zooplankton and phytoplankton, and about different minerals present in rocks. The students visited the Marine Instrumentation Division where they were enlightened about the latest design in technology and working of the CBOT, AUV, AVP and SREP. The students later visited the Central Analytical Facility where they were explained the working of various machines such as Gas Chromatography, Mass spectrometer, and Gas Chromatography Isotopic Ratio Mass spectrometer.

Forty-one students along with nine teachers participated in the half-day event and had an excellent opportunity to interact with scientists & research scholars and understand the research activities of CSIR-NIO.

The programme was conducted and coordinated by Shri Sundaresh, Nodal Officer, ATL, Jigyasa program CSIR-NIO, Goa.