Setting Up the Astrobiology Ecosystem in India: Pitching the Subject at
a Revamped Level.
Abstract
Though fascinating and multi-disciplinary in scientific horizon,
Astrobiology, till date has not managed to make a commendable mark in
Indian academia which raises the need of not reformation but
transformation in the education system. As per our recent survey,
30.88% of 2455 participants claimed to have heard about Astrobiology
for the first time, 47.01% reported to have scant knowledge, and
22.12% were familiar. In addition, the data suggests that more than
77% of enthusiasts have no access to proper guidance and resources to
pursue a career in Astrobiology. Hence, to tackle such issues,
Spaceonova conducted free webinars and two day workshops in
collaboration with 13 renowned institutions in India like IIST, DU, VIT
etc., that impacted 3869 students across 700+ unique colleges. Such an
initiative introduced them to the various career opportunities in the
field of Astrobiology using Bioinformatics tools like Artemis and RasMol
to carry out independent in-silico analysis. To carry the momentum
forward, Spaceonova seeks to collaborate with various organisations to
introduce research driven Astrobiology clubs, training programmes and
diplomas in India to create an Astrobiology ecosystem, where limit tends
to infinity. Here, we have discussed the required methodologies and
blueprint to execute the same.