Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) hosted a two-day Science Camp for two Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar under the Gujarat region of the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) as a part of the DST-Vigyan Jyoti Initiative on January 08 – 09, 2024. A total of 91 high school and higher secondary school girl students attended the residential event along with four teachers of JNVs.

The aim of this camp was to provide these students with an opportunity to go beyond the limits of school, develop their experimental, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, and inspire them to pursue their curiosity and creativity in science. Over the two days, the students were engaged in a plethora of exciting activities, including science experiments, visits to the world-class labs, interaction with eminent faculty and scientists at IITGN, activities by CCL-IITGN, yoga, sports, and so on, which allowed them to be part of the exciting student life at IITGN.

The lab session on the first day covered visits to the Physics, Chemistry, and Biological Engineering labs at IITGN, wherein students were engaged in various kinds of experiments and hands-on practical experience. They also immersed themselves in various amusing experiments during a session with the Centre for Creative Learning that sparked their curiosity to learn STEM with fun. Later in the evening, Odyssey - the Astronomy Club of the Institute - organised a planet observation and star-gazing session for girl students.

On the second day, the participants got an opportunity to interact with eminent faculty of the Institute as well as some visiting scientists who delivered insightful talks on various topics, ranging from what is Cancer to Nikola Tesla and Albert Einstein to various research by NASA. The students were very excited to listen to these interesting talks and participated enthusiastically in the question-and-answer session.

In the second half, Prof Rajat Moona, Director of IITGN, also interacted with the female students about how science and technology are interlinked and how science is spread all around us. Prof Moona encouraged them to proactively participate in STEM activities to learn more about basic technologies used in our day-to-day life.

Talking about the programme and interacting with the female students, Prof Sivapriya Kirubakaran, Dean of Student Affairs at IITGN, said, “Empowering girls stands for empowering our country. This exercise starts from school, and we are glad to host the female students of JNV for a science camp at IITGN to spark their curiosity not only for science and engineering but also for everyday life skills. We are very glad to see the enthusiasm of so many girls for STEM subjects. If you really love science and technology, it can offer you endless possibilities to learn, collaborate and grow. Engage, persist, and keep learning new things because science is also about discovering and rediscovering. I am sure this programme provided you with an enriching experience, and we hope to see many of you come back to IITGN as graduate students.”

Shelly, Jiya, and Aakanksha, three of the visiting students of JNV shared their experience and said, “We had an opportunity to visit several labs at IITGN and learnt many things regarding science and technology. Our interaction at CCL lab was also most memorable as we got to meet Mrs Rajni Moona and Prof Sivapriya Kirubakaran, who encouraged us towards the field of science. We thank everyone for providing us this opportunity to visit IITGN.”

The event ended with a plantation drive in the student hostels, wherein the students participated in the drive that not only contributes to environmental conservation but also fosters a sense of responsibility and eco-consciousness within the community.