Rourkela: The girl students of Class XII of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (Zinc Nagar, Sundargarh), Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sundargarh and Eklavya Model Residential School, Sundargarh (EMRS) along with their teachers recently visited NIT Rourkela for an exposure tour under the Vigyan Jyoti Programme. JNV Sundargarh is the nodal school for conducting programmes under the Vigyan Jyoti Scheme in collaboration with other regional schools of the district.
As NIT Rourkela is the knowledge partner of the JNV Sundargarh, it facilitated the team with science laboratories, centres and departmental visits for a day. SN Dash from the Dept of Physics and Astronomy is the nodal officer of Vigyan Jyoti Programme from NITR. A total of 49 female students attended this one day educational tour of NITR. Welcoming the students, and guests, Dash said, “Under this prestigious programme, this is the third visit of the school students to NIT Rourkela. Under-representation of women is a multi-dimensional problem and we need to address the problems from all angles and give a little push to get the desired result and Vigyan Jyoti Programme can also increase the number of women in science.”
Chief guest NIT R Director K Umamaheshwar Rao joined the session and said, “It is heartening to see a group of young girls participating in the Vigyan Jyoti Programme. As we stand in a world where women are breaking barriers in every field, I encourage each of you to dream big and work hard for it. I hope at the end of the day after the exposure visit many of you will explore different science streams and find your career possibilities.” TK Chattopadhyay, principal, JNV Sundargarh said, “It is indeed a great opportunity for students to explore one of the country’s premier institutes where they can explore the vast possibilities in science and technology, state-of-the-art facilities, laboratories, and resources that an engineering college of this stature offers.”
Addressing the event, Rohan Dhiman, Registrar of NITR, emphasised the importance of STEM subjects, encouraging students to make the most of initiatives under DST India’s programmes. After the interactional session, the students’ team visited departmental labs, the central research facility, the student activity centre, innovation cell and other units at NITR.