“When I first became a journalist, I did not want to write about celebrities, gossip, and fashion, which many editors would want you to. There is nothing wrong with these topics; however, because a majority of the country does not have access to these lifestyles, it was always on my conscience to bring out untold stories. Journalists are in a position to give voices to a large number of people who otherwise don’t get heard.”
The following article, originally published in News Karnataka, covers the Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute’s Boston Bangalore Biosciences Beginning Program (B4)’s most recent workshop. B4 aims to build a scientific research corridor and will engage scientists from India and Harvard through exchange programs: 1) Science and Technology Fellowships at Harvard and other peer institutions in the Boston area. 2) Two-week courses on Biosciences in Bangalore.
The 25 selected candidates are from all over India and represent research backgrounds ranging from pharmacology to rice genomics. The intensive two-week workshop includes daily lectures and hands-on sessions, culminating in a valedictory event featuring a key note by Dr. Vijay Raghavan (Secretary of Department of Biotechnology, India.)
All are invited to our special Partition events in August – the discussions, exhibitions and performances are free and open to the public.
Our India Country Director, Sanjay Kumar, has written a powerful op-ed in The Hindu newspaper about the issue of food wastage in the country.
The South Asia Institute’s Director, Tarun Khanna, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at the Harvard Business School, spoke in June 2017 about our Partition project at the World Economic Forum in China.
The Startup Wednesday show on India’s NDTV explores the challenges of home-based working women and startups that are employing and empowering women in India. Watch as experts, entrepreneurs and the working women themselves talk about the issues they face.
The B4 Fellows explain how this program has helped their careers and research.
At the SAI, we have embarked on a major research project to understand the history, context and continuing impact of Partition, as its 70th anniversary approaches. Our Director, Tarun Khanna, looks ahead to new research.
Dr Satchit Balsari received a prestigious Dr BC Roy National Award from Pranab Mukherjee, President of India, at a ceremony in New Delhi earlier this month. He was honored for outstanding services in the field of sociomedical relief.
Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology’s professor Venkatesh Murthy and Advisor/Preceptor Laura Magnotti reflect on the B4 Program.