Jigyasa: Scientist – Student Connect Programme

• Since the Jigyasa program launch in 2017, Jigyasa was successful in connecting nearly 3,00,000 students and more than 5,000 teachers with CSIR and they have benefited directly through visits to CSIR labs.

• The majority of the CSIR labs are participating in this program and subsequently, MoU has been signed with Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and also with Atal Tinkering Labs of NITI AAYOG.
• The major stakeholders for the program are academic-based community consisting of MHRD, CSIR scientist’s faculties, Ph.D. research students, school and junior college students, Sanstha's, NGOs, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samithi, State Government Schools, Independent outreach faculties and institutions carrying out successful outreach activity for the school and junior college students are the potential stakeholders as well as beneficiaries.

• The key highlights of the virtual lab are:

1. Open source platform;
2. Access content in regional languages;
3. Scientist / Researchers Support; Knowledge Upgradation for Teachers and Students;
4. Project-based support;
5. Fun based Gaming;
6. Need-based Videos and Animation;
7. Simulation Experiments;
8. Promote scientific temperament;
9. Science-based webinars;
10. Student Entrepreneurship;
11. Student-Expert forums;
12. Student to Student forums;
13. Simplified content;
14. Availability to technical assistance;
15. Build confidence and motivation

• Accordingly, CSIR has partnered with IIT Bombay to develop a Virtual Lab platform under the CSIR Jigyasa program, which facilitates classroom learning with laboratory research for school students.
• The target audience for the Virtual Lab platform is students of the standard VI to XII (11-18 years) who would like to explore science using different activities, experienced researchers, and faculties on the subjects of Science, Mathematics, Biology and IT.
• The main aim of the Virtual Lab is to provide quality research exposure and innovative pedagogy for school students to drive their scientific curiosity based on an online interactive medium with simulated experiments, pedagogy based content, videos, chat forums, animations, gaming, quiz, facility sharing, webinars etc.
• The CSIR Virtual lab will therefore enable curiosity driven research based concepts, encourage higher order thinking skills, promote entrepreneurship and develop passion about science, the Minister added.
• The Virtual lab would provide a virtual tour of CSIR laboratories and expose students to research infrastructure, which otherwise would be difficult to visit physically in some laboratories considering safety standards.
• The platform will also have the option to interact with scientists and seek their inputs or clear student’s doubts.
• The CSIR Jigyasa’s Virtual lab will be an inspirational science lab where students will read, have fun and carry out those experiments and materials which are presented by the CSIR scientists and other stakeholders.