Supporting India's scientific development
Dr Vibhuti Patel, Royal Society of Chemistry
The recent general elections in India made headlines around the world. Widely reported as the largest-ever election in the world, 814 million people were eligible to vote in the five-week-long polling process this spring. Around 66% of them did vote, and the result was a resounding victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Since then the new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has appointed Dr Jitendra Singh, who was professor of diabetes and endocrinology prior to entering politics, as science minister.
We’ll be watching how this new government will shape Indian politics, but for the Royal Society of Chemistry, India has been of interest for some time. The previous government funded an ambitious plan to make the country a world leader in science and technology – something that we saw as an opportunity. But our connection with India goes back further than that. We’ve had member sections there since 1947, have held many events in various cities, and publish content from Indian authors in our books and journals. However, recently we shifted up gears. In 2012, Council approved a significant investment to expand our activities in India. Which raised a very important question: what shape should this take?
Research led the way
In September 2013, we conducted research to help us understand the needs and concerns of the Indian chemical science community. We held 30 in-depth interviews with representative individuals, including academic researchers in different career stages, industrial scientists and postgraduate students.
The results of this research gave us some key themes for tailoring our engagement with the Indian scientific community. These align closely to what we already do, but the most important thing is context. The research also gave us important cultural insights, such as how student life works in Indian universities, the pace at which change is adopted, how consumers prefer to buy things and the value of face-to-face interactions. These will help us develop how we deliver activities in India at the same as looking at what they should be.
Rajesh Parishwad, RSC Manager, India, gives his view: “Our initiatives in research, education, strengthening industry-academia relationships, developing skills and supporting career development based on our report Developing Talent in the Chemical Sciences: Driving Growth in India and the UK has been instrumental in strengthening our relationship with India. This relationship dates back to late 19th century when Acharya P.C. Ray, one of the country’s first modern chemists, published his paper in one of our journals. But I feel that our journey in India has just begun.”
Education, education, education
One of the major insights from our research in India is that education is power, and a good education is seen as the single most important thing that parents can give their children. This is one of the reasons that we are taking our education activities to India. Given its colonial history, the education system of India maps quite well to that of the UK, and a significant number of pupils are taught in English. Whilst we don’t initially intend to develop resources specifically for India, we are working to make Learn Chemistry more accessible by making the search relevant to Indian students.
The most exciting, and possibly most challenging, development of our activities in India is the Royal Society of Chemistry-Hamied Inspirational Chemistry Programme. Dr Yusuf Hamied, Chairman of the Indian pharmaceutical company Cipla, has donated a substantial amount of money that will fund a teacher training programme for 8,000 teachers and the delivery of chemistry camps for school students in partnership with the Salters’ Institute over the next five years.
Both activities are currently in the planning stages. From a UK-based perspective, it is worth remembering the difference in scale in India: the country has 42,500 science teachers, nearly 800,000 schools and 145.5 million primary and 59.4 million secondary students. Ershad Abubacker, RSC Education Coordinator, India, explains: “The most challenging aspect of my job will be to spread the teacher training programme to rural parts of India.”
Keeping it local
Our Local Sections are vital for our connections with the Indian chemical science community, and we’re working closely to include them in our plans. We already brought together representatives from all five Local Sections, alongside staff members, at two meetings this year to discuss successes, challenges and ideas for development.
With approximately 55,000 chemists in industry and around 100 chemistry departments at academic institutes, we hope to grow our membership as we put our activities into the right context for India. Dr Abhiram Prabhu, Membership Executive, India, is working closely with colleagues and the Local Sections to promote membership across India and to develop university and company accreditation. He says: “India holds great prospects in member development, and this would be best achieved by developing and strengthening our relationships with the scientific community in India.”
Showcasing Indian science
A significant indicator of the rise of Indian science is the leap in papers by Indian authors in our journals. In 2009, India was the 12th highest country in terms of papers published. Just four years later, it has become the third-biggest with regards to publications and the second-biggest in terms of submissions. This reflects not only the development of Indian research, but also our commitment to engage with Indian scientists. 45 Indian scientists are on our journal Editorial and Advisory Boards and we have visited around 20 of the top-ranked Indian institutes. This engagement with Indian researchers puts us in a strong position to develop other areas, such as membership and skills training.
What’s next?
We’re tremendously proud of our association with Indian science, and excited about the developments we intend to make in the coming months and years. The support of partners such as the Chemical Research Society of India, industrial companies and academic institutions, encourages us to deliver programmes not just for India but ones that will put Indian science in an international context. There’s no denying that countries such as Brazil, China and India are rising superpowers. Supporting their scientific development and collaborating with their scientists can only be a good thing for us all.
