We need a School Science Network

Recently, Dr Anand Oak had suggested that there should be a monthly meeting for school students in Bangalore, to be addressed by an eminent scientist chosen for that month. I have tried to put together information on them. It appears to me that there is room for at least a hundred such efforts in every metropolis. The problem is that most of us interested in them do not network properly. So, we are not aware of many of them.  Perhaps we should now put some effort into networking effectively. The focus need not be on a single city or a single region. The network need not be exclusive to India. It should start as a minimal system, growing to meet the expectation of its members over time. In the beginning, it can merely be a website listing the active member institutions and their events, and giving everyone a moderated online forum to exchange ideas and information.  Later, perhaps the network can encourage event organizers to create good quality video recordings to be made available over the Internet.  

I think lectures at different places given in person by eminent scientists would be valuable. They could be occasional lectures, periodic lectures, etc. under the auspices of various institutions, not necessarily members of the School Science Net. Many good things could come out of having a few hundred lectures a year by good scientists. I would hope that they would inspire many students every year to select their careers based on knowledge and go on reach the highest levels of achievement as mathematicians, scientists, or technologists.

Now, I will go on to list a few relevant events and institutions interested in such events. These are mostly Bangalore based, but any reader can add one or more institutions from anywhere in the comments following this blog post. Anyone trying to create the networking website can use the list of all these events/institutions to get the effort going.  

Science Forum at the National Pre-University College https://npucbasavanagudi.com/bangalore-science-forum-r/ 

Kapi with Kuriosity,
https://www.icts.res.in/outreach/kaapi-with-kuriosity
organized by International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS-TIFR) in collaboration with the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium and other educational institutions in Bengaluru.

Lectures that can be held in one’s apartment block: Organized by National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru,
https://www.thebetterindia.com/137444/bengaluru-apartments-science-lectures-free-right-your-home/

Popular lectures on science organized by Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium,
http://www.taralaya.org/special-lecture.html

Archives at the National Centre for Biological Sciences Public Lecture Series

https://www.ncbs.res.in/events/apls

India’s multi-venue-mega-science-exhibition
https://dst.gov.in/indias-multi-venue-mega-science-exhibition-vigyan-samagam-bangalore

Science and Beyond: A Lecture Series from the British Council
https://www.britishcouncil.in/programmes/higher-education/ScienceAndBeyond

Popular Science Science Lecture Series
https://tnsfchennai.github.io/  Co-organized by Anna Centenary Library
& Tamilnadu Science Forum

Srinivasan Ramani