The precursor events of the 4th G20 Education Working Group Meeting and G20 Education ministers meeting kick started in Pune on Saturday with a discussion on “Accessible Science: Fostering Collaboration” organised at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in collaboration with Elsevier, that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance.
Nick Fowler, Chief Academic Officer at Elsevier, cited India’s stellar performance and remarkable achievements in scientific research. He noted that India’s scholarly output has been steadily increasing. “India is the 3rd largest producer of scientific research, overtaking the UK in 2022. But, India has not only succeeded in volume of research output, it also boasts achievements in academic quality. Field Weighted Citation Impact has jumped up from 0.85 in 2019 to 1.05 in 2021, putting India above the global average for publication citations,” Fowler said.
Fowler further added the Indian government is focused on driving qualitative research to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in global research and innovation, resulting in India climbing to the 40th rank in WIPO’s Global Innovation Index 2022.
Report highlights were also presented by the Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, Senior VP, Elsevier. He noted India’s surge in the global scientific community. He mentioned in his presentation that India is bound to become to be the 2nd largest publisher in AI related topics with oldest AI article with Indian authors dating back to August 1968.
Union Minister of state for Education Subhas Sarkar while speaking at the inaugural session, emphasised on the importance of removing barriers to knowledge, promoting transparency, and fostering multidisciplinary collaborations. MoS (Education) cited several ‘accessible science’ initiatives of the Government of India, such as the Vaccine Maitri, Genome India Project, Bhuvan by the Indian Space Research Organisation, e-Shodhganga, and others, as examples of collaborative efforts that have led to meaningful change and sustainable development. He further emphasized the potential for collaborative efforts to explore multidimensional aspects of Indian Knowledge Systems, including Ganita and Jyamiti (Indian system of Mathematics and Geometry) and Vastu Vidya (Indian System of Architecture).
The seminar is part of the on-going 4th and final Education Working Group (EDWG) meeting in Pune taking place from June 19 to 21, 2023. The overarching theme of the meeting is “Ensuring Foundation Literacy and Numeracy, especially in the context of blended learning.”
The EDWG meeting comprises various precursor events, seminars, exhibitions, heritage excursions, and will culminate with the Education Ministerial meeting on June 22. In course of the 4th Education Working Group meeting, attendees will engage in dynamic seminars and enriching workshops, painting a vision of innovation in education
