On 13 July, the 7th Inspire Internship programme was inaugurated at Shri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering & Technology (SRMSCET), Unnao. The chief guest at the programme was Professor Shyamal Gupta (Director, Administration). Welcoming the participants, Dr. Anant Kumar Srivastava (Principal, SRMSCET, Unnao) inspired them to pursue a career in science and research. Dr. Prabhakar Gupta (Dean, Academics, SRMSCET, Bareilly) and Inspire Coordinators Mr. Rateesh Agarwal and Mr. Sachin Agarwal also motivated the interns. In total 156 meritorious students from different prestigious schools in Uttar Pradesh attended the programme. During their five days (13–17 July) of stay at SRMSCET, Unnao, students received training from well-known academicians engaged with leading institutions.
On Day 1, the session opened with Professor Prabhakar Gupta as mentor. Discussing important aspects of the history and development of mathematics, Professor Gupta presented various historical mathematical problems with their solutions. Professor Laxmi Kant Sharma (Member, National Academy and Council for Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh) took the second session and spoke about the fundamentals of success. Professor Sharma has received the best science teacher award and is also associated as Senior Resource Person with Centre for Development of Physics, University of Jaipur. Focusing on the five fundamentals of success – imagination, creation, knowledge, skill, and action – he motivated the interns to embrace these attributes to succeed in life.
Professor Deepak Chandra (Department of Biochemistry, University of Lucknow) was the mentor for the first session on Day 2. He discussed drugs and medicines and their effective use. Later Professor Anant Kumar Srivastava spoke on exploring the scientific temperament. Demonstrating the usefulness of a daily timetable, he advised students to try and keep themselves engaged in innovative projects. Professor Srivastava also emphasized on the need to work hard in order to succeed in scientific research and development.
Talking about chemistry and life on Day 3, Professor S.K. Dogra (Department of Chemistry, IIT Kanpur)discussed intermolecular forces in detail. Focusing on the importance of the objective while performing any work, he advised students to try to find the answer to every what, why, and how.
Professor DhruvSen (Earth Science Department, Lucknow University) was the mentor for the first session on Day 4. His topic being environment and ecology, Professor Sen talked about the factors affecting climate change, shared diverse facts about the environment and ecology, and discussed the responsibility to save our earth. He motivated students to study and conduct research to save our planet for future generations. As mentor for the second session, Professor Manjul Gupta (Department of Mathematics & Statistics, IIT Kanpur) talked about various mathematical facts and their effective use. Using interesting experiments, she presented many real-time applications of mathematics.
On Day 5, as the mentor for the first session, Dr. Geetanjali Mishra (Department of Zoology, University of Lucknow) shared aspects of the interesting discipline including insect ecology and insect behaviour. The mentor for the second session was Professor Abhinav Kumar (Department of Chemistry, University of Lucknow). Talking about chemistry and its application in daily life, Professor Kumar shared thought provoking information through live, practical demonstrations.
Laboratory sessions involving physics, chemistry, electronics, and other subject areas were organized for the participants. There was also an engineering workshop. Alongside sports activities and scientific movies, different cultural programs were held where interns demonstrated their talent in dancing, singing, poetry, and more. To encourage unique technical thinking in students, an innovative idea competition was also organized.
The closing ceremony of the 7th Inspire Internship programme was held on 17 July in the presence of Professor Anant Kumar Srivastava and Inspire Coordinators Mr. Rateesh Agarwal and Mr. Sachin Agarwal. Motivating students to work hard and fulfil their dreams, Professor Anant Kumar Srivastava shared his hope that they would commit themselves to the betterment of society. While Mr. Sachin Agarwal presented the report of Inspire 2018, Mr. Rateesh Agarwal encouraged the students and wished them the best for the future. Curtains were drawn with the distribution of gifts, certificates, and prizes to the attending students.
