India has announced the launch of the International Visiting Professorship Programme. Under the programme, 12 global science scholars will be invited to deliver talks about science in India. As per plans, the visiting professors will deliver three talks every year, one each in a school, a college and a research institution.
The programme being termed as ‘The Maithreyi International Visiting Professorship‘ is being jointly supported by the Centre’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The programme is aimed at providing the necessary exposure to Indian students to learn from the experience of academicians, scientists and scholars from across the globe. Students are expected to benefit from their knowledge and experience. The talks delivered by the visiting professors will also be recorded and made available on the Internet. Transcripts in English and Hindi will also be made available in the videos. A live web-interaction session with the ‘Visiting Professors’ on Rajya Sabha Television is also being planned as a part of the programme.
Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said that the 36 talks and 12 Radio/Television interactions will make the best science scholars of the world come face to face with India , imparting knowledge to the Indian students.
Under this programme, 1,000 science academicians from United States will also visit India and deliver talks in centrally recognised universities. The government has also arranged for 12 hours of lecture classes per academic year in public-funded schools and colleges in India where 5,000 scientists of many central agencies such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will deliver lectures on science.
