A billion, but not quite top-notch

It’s a country of a billion people, and not winning one Nobel Prize in science in a hundred years would be a shame for a country so vast, said Prof S Sadagopan, director of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, speaking at the 17th national annual Sahodaya conference, where teachers of CBSE schools from across the country had gathered. He urged the teachers to enthuse students to take up scientific research.

Prof Sadagopan reminded his audience that the last Nobel Prize in science that went to an Indian was in 1930, when Bangalorean CV Raman was awarded the prize in physics for observing the change in the wavelength of light as it traversed transparent material. Prof Sadagopan said that youngsters today are not inspired by such achievements. “Lots of kids are just not so excited about breaking the next frontier. For them, what is more important is making a billion dollars,” the professor said.

Speaking of the role of technology in learning, Sadagopan said that teachers ought not to glorify the potential that technology has in the classroom. “It should become invisible technology, else it could come between teacher and taught,” said Sadagopan, who underlined the four important ‘L’s in learning: lectures, library, laboratory and life.

“There could be a set of tools that could orchestrate events across different internet tools,” the professor said, adding that teachers should also be careful to limit the use of technological tools that do not actually aid learning.

Professor L Prasad, chairperson of the executive post-graduate programme of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, rose to speak and said, “I feel like Elizabeth Taylor’s tenth husband, on the wedding night. I know what to do, but don’t quite know how to make it interesting and different.” Even as the audience burst into laughter, the professor plunged into serious reflection. “We need people who are able to tolerate ambiguity, and who can both adapt and innovate,” he said, commenting on how Indians work well as individuals, but often fail to pull together as a team.