The four-day
film festival of science successfully
concluded recently with the ‘Science Popularization Lecture’ and valedictory
function held at INOX, Panjim.
Dr Rajagopala
Chidambaram, Padma Vibushan, had his address as the climax of SCI-FFI 2019.
He was the Chief
Guest for the Valedictory function who delivered a lecture on ‘India’s Nuclear
Programme- A model for developing world’.
He conveyed facts on
the topic and also conducted a Q & A session with the audience to further
edify them.
Dr. R Chidambaram
quotes “India has single handedly developed its Technology and Nuclear weapons
without spying or stealing the knowledge from other countries. The other
nations whereas have shared the knowledge about nuclear weapons with each
other.”
He also goes on to
say that “having nuclear weapons makes a country stronger as the weapons act as
a deterrent.”
He cited his
appreciationstating that utmost work has been put in by the organizers to make
sure scientific awareness is spread well across the youth.
Other dignitaries
included Jayantrao Sahasrabuddhe, National Organizing Secretary of Vijana
Bharati, Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, Director NIO and Chairman of Organizing
committee, Prof. Suhas Godse, President of Vidnyan Parishad, Goa, and Abhay
Bhamaikar, Secretary of SCI-FFI 2019.
The four-day festival
included screenings of blockbuster films like Parmanu, Ice Age 4, Hidden
figures, First Man and many more.
This was followed by
expert interactions with prominent scientists like Dr. Shekhar Mande, Director
General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Govt. of India, Prof.
Sharmistha Banerjee, Senior faculty from University of Hyderabad, Dr. Arvind
Ranade, Scientist F, Vigyan Prasar, New Delhi, Dr. Sumeet K Mishra, Senior
Scientist, Environmental Sciences & Biomedical Metrology Division, National
Physical Laboratory and Dr.Tarkeshwar Singh, Professor, Department of
Mathematics, BITS – Pilani, Goa campus were also a part of the main event, that
discussed scientific concepts associated with films. This led to a better
comprehension of science through entertainment.
Apart from this,
three theme-based film tracks; ‘Future of the Oceans’ ‘Technology and
Innovation’ and Basic Sciences’ became a part of this year’s festival, that
presented scientific research and awareness conveniently and entertainingly to
a wide-ranging audience and demonstrated that science can be enjoyable.
Telescope-making and
Teachers’ workshop were exuberantly conducted to enlighten the educators and
those seeking education in the field. The all-inclusive experience provided
through this year’s program and activities received an overwhelming response
from not just the science enthusiasts but also professionals in the subjects.
Exhibitions by
well-known national institutes namely National Institute of Oceanography
(CSIR-NIO), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Indian
Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Goa State Innovation Council (GSIC),
Vikram Sarabhai Space Exhibition (SAC, ISRO), Nuclear Power Station, Kaiga and
‘Indian Scientist-Gallery’ were also held.
The vote of thanks
for the valedictory function was proposed by Manohar Pednekar, Secretary of
Vidnyan Parishad,Goa. His address marked the end of the event but not the love
for science.
This year the
pre-fest covered 125 institutions across Goa and 3 in the state of Maharashtra.
The main event saw
25,000 students across 210 institutions in 5 states benefiting from SCI-FFI
2019.
The
success stood inevitable with the opportunities it provided for tender minds
and it will continue to grow and get bigger with Vigyan Prasar collaborating
with Vidnyan Parishad for the next edition in 2020.
