Student opinion: Teachers are sustainability heroes sparking curiosity
Outreach Perspectives Research Social responsibility 21st October 2024
Words by Sanya Panda, Earth and Environmental Science student specialising in Earth & Planetary Science (Geochemistry)
Recently, a beam of hope and inspiration has emerged within science education. Earth and Environmental Scientists from The University of Manchester have been making moves on a grassroots level in India, making Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) accessible on a global scale.
Teachers play an instrumental role in shaping the future of our society, being the torchbearers of knowledge transfer, and STEM education is crucial in the global efforts towards sustainable development and innovation. This rings especially true in developing nations.
In just four months across four cities, Dr Laura Richards and Professor David Polya have trained over 850 teachers through STEM conferences conducted by the Indian Development Foundation (IDF). They have been remotely volunteering their subject knowledge and post-seminar support to help spark curiosity among children.
The increasing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has created some major challenges for socio-economic progress. It is the honing of essential skills like thinking, creativity, and indigenous innovation, that is needed to mitigate these hurdles. Teachers can help bridge this gap by fostering these skills in their students from an early age.
The IDF is a national Non-Governmental Organisation based in India committed to health, education and development. Their one-of-a-kind conferences are the brainchild of Dr. A. P. Jayaraman, a renown nuclear scientist. With his captivating storytelling capabilities, he has reformed science communication, through practical experiments and hands-on demonstrations.
These conferences have ignited the passion for STEM education within numerous communities, marking a notable milestone in enriching this field. With proactive participation from academics, IDF aims to empower 20,000 teachers through this initiative by March 2026.
Indian media and academics alike are already acknowledging the selfless contributions made by these researchers, especially the efforts of Dr Richards and Professor Polya whose ethos is clear: the wealth of knowledge is meant to be shared. These exemplary leaders are paving the way for internationalisation of knowledge transfer and creating a difference in today’s technologically-evolving world.
The efforts of the IDF and volunteer researchers like Dr Richards and Professor Polya are shaping millions of young minds into future problem-solvers tackling global challenges. This includes improving public health, wellbeing, and driving forward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The success of this collaboration between the University and the IDF only emphases the importance of STEM training programmes for teachers, to ensure the upskilling of their knowledge consistently.
As an international student, witnessing this remarkable collaboration across borders fills me with pride as a global citizen and STEM student. I really encourage others to further the cultivation of a collaborative and global knowledge-sharing culture.
climate changeEarth and Environmental Sciencessustainability
