“If scientists don’t communicate, non-experts will, and then there would be a cloud of disinformation and disinformation, so it’s imperative that our scientists engage in the important work of science communication.” Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NIScPR (National Institute for Science Communication and Policy Research) shared these thoughts during her inaugural address at the ‘Contact Session on Health Communication’ organized by CSIR-NIScPR in association with ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) on 16 November 2022.
She said that we have learned a lot from the COVID-19 pandemic in the recent past and we have seen how science communication has played a very vital role in eradicating unscientific things during these days of uncertainty. 30 scientists from various laboratories of ICMR participated in this programme. A glimpse of the inaugural function of the Contact Session on Health Communication organized by CSIR-NIScPR in association with ICMR (R-L: Dr. Rajni Kant, Scientist-G, ICMR, Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NIScPR & Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist , CSIR-NIScPR)
The guest of honor of the program was Dr. Rajni Kant, Scientist-G and Director, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Gorakhpur. During the inaugural function of Dr. Kant said that these are “Super 30” scientists from ICMR labs and I am sure they will become proficient science communicators after this science communication course. He said ICMR first started health communication course and it is need of the hour.
In the first technical session at CSIR-NIScPR, four experts delivered lectures on various topics. Shri R.S. Jayasomu, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR delivered a talk on “Research Communication Vs. communication in science: the need of the hour”. The topic of the lecture Dr. Y. Madhavi, Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR was ‘Health Communication in the Post Covid Era’. Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR delivered his talk on ‘Popular Science Writing for Various Media’. Shri Ashwani Brahmi, Chief Technical Officer, CSIR-NIScPR discussed the know-how of manufacturing and printing in scientific communication with participating scientists of ICMR.
After the first technical session, all the participants visited the scientific facilities of CSIR-NIScPR. During this visit, all participants of the program went through the Printing Unit-Machines, Ayur Vatika of Medicinal Plants and Herbarium of plant, animal and mineral based ingredients. CSIR-NIScPR is one of CSIR’s core laboratories with two key mandates of STI-based policy studies – research and science communication. NIScPR publishes 16 peer-reviewed open access journals in various prominent S&T fields. CSIR-NIScPR publishes three of the most popular scientific journals in the country. These magazines are Science Reporter (in English), Vigyan Pragati (in Hindi) and Science ki Duniya (in Urdu).
Three experts gave lectures during the second technical session. Senior Science Communicator and Photojournalist Shri Pallav Bagla interacted with the participants on “Smart Ways of Communicating Science”. Dr. Paramananda Barman, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR delivered his talk on “SVASTIK and its Media Coverage Insights” focusing on Scientific Validation of Indian Traditional Knowledge. The topic of the lecture Dr. Meher Wan, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR was ‘How to communicate your research to the general public’.
All participating scientists from ICMR laboratories learned a lot from the inspiring talks by the experts of both sessions. It was also planned that each participant would write a popular science article on their area of expertise and submit it to CSIR-NIScPR for publication in Science Reporter and Vigyan Pragati (Popular Science Magazines of CSIR-NIScPR). At the end of the program Dr. Enna Dogra and Dr. Priya, scientists at ICMR, coordinated the feedback and self-meeting. Dr. Manish Mohan Gore, Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR proposed the vote of thanks. The entire program was handled by Ms. Shubhada Kapil, Technical Assistant, CSIR-NIScPR.
