Events
Events:
Public Talk on Science and Media: The Twain Shall Meet Oct 12, 2017
The Science Media Centre at IISEr Pune invites you to a public talk on:
Science and Media: The Twain Shall Meet
Date: October 12, 2017
Time: 5.00 pm
Venue: Seminar Room 24, Main building, IISER Pune
Abstract: The foundation of modern scientific research in India was laid in the mid-19th century, as a part of the Indian renaissance. The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) was established in Calcutta as the first indigenous effort in scientific research. It was also the first formal platform for science communication and popularization in the country. Inspired by IACS, similar initiatives were launched in other parts of the country. The Indian Science News Association was among them. All these initiatives were pioneered by scientists and rooted in firm belief that public understanding and communication of science was necessary for cultivation of scientific temper. After the independence, science was recognized as a key input for national development as laid down in the Scientific Policy Resolution of 1958. However, the spirit waned slowly as scientific research became a function of state-funded laboratories. Despite the tremendous growth of media – print, television and digital – coverage of science remains a neglected area both in terms of quality and quantity. There are institutional problems responsible for this situation in both media and scientific institutions. While these larger issues are yet to be addressed, some green shoots of change are getting visible. This is a positive sign.
About the Speaker: Dinesh C Sharma is award winning journalist and author with over 30 years’ experience of reporting on science and technology for national and international media outlets. Currently, his columns appear in several Indian dailies and digital media outlets including Mail Today, Indiatoday.in, FirstPost and Metro India. He is the Managing Editor of India Science Wire (ISW). He has taught a course in development journalism for MA students at the Ateneo de Manila University, and been a Visiting Fellow at the JNU. His latest book “The Outsourcer: the story of India's IT Revolution” (MIT Press, 2015) won him the Computer History Museum Book Prize for 2016.
