Women scientists receive intl. exposure through Indo-US Fellowship for WISTEMM

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Indo-U.S. Fellowship for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM)”programme of Department of Science and Technology (DST) in association with Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) have provided international exposure to several women scientists. Around 20 women scientists have visited 20 leading institutions across the USA for furthering their research work and to get trained in the state of the art technologies related to their research.

WISTEMM aims to provide opportunities to Indian Women Scientists, Engineers & Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in premier institutions in USA to enhance their research capacities and capabilities.The programme is run for two categories of women scientists— Women Overseas Student Internship (Module I) for women students pursuing PhD, and Women Overseas Fellowship (Module II) for women with PhD degree and holding regular position at any recognised institution/laboratory in India.

The first batch of women scientists comprising 20 women has completed their visit to 20 leading institutions across the USA. Selected from among the application from the women scientific community, second batch of 20 women is undergoing visit across premier institutions of USA this year. The fellowship is for bright Indian women Citizen within the age bracket of 21 to 45 years. Such a broad age criteria not only caters to those currently pursuing research but also to those outstanding women researchers who would want to return after having taken a break on to their research path.

DST has started several pioneering initiatives for promoting women in science. In 2014, DST restructured all women specific programmes under one umbrella called Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN), which encompasses women-exclusive schemes and encourages them to foster their career by not only undertaking research in Science and Technology (S&T) but also focusing on S&T solutions of issues and challenges at the grassroots level for social benefits. The mandate of KIRAN Programme is to bring gender parity in S&T through gender mainstreaming. Women Scientist Scheme (WOS) addresses challenges faced by S&T qualified women primarily due to social responsibilities, according to a PIB release.