ITANAGAR, Jan 29: The three-day residential chemistry camp programme popularly known as Salters’ Chemistry Camp commenced today at Rajiv Gandhi University, Doimukh.

Seventy 9th standard school students from fifteen different government schools from various parts of Papum Pare districts such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Nirjuli and Doimukh are taking part in the programme that aims to infuse fun in learning chemistry and motivate students to develop both – an awareness of and a long term interest in chemical sciences.

The students will be interacting with the senior researchers like- Prof. Panna Lal Goswami, Retd Professor from Cotton University Guwahati and a well known science communicator of North-east, and Dr. Kandarpa Phukan, Prof. Handique Girls College.

Each group of 12 students will be supervised by one faculty member of the university. They will be accommodated together for three days to ensure each hour of these 3 days is productive.

Inaugurating the camp, Dr. Md. Harunar Rashid, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry and chief coordinator said  students should make the best of this opportunity to interact with scientists from the Rajiv Gandhi University to learn more about science. The camp activities are conducted in the state’s local language, Hindi and jointly organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry India, Salters’ Institute UK and Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU).

The Salters’ Chemistry Camps India, part of the “Inspirational Chemistry Programme” project in India, has been supported by Dr. Yusuf Hamied (Non-executive Chairman- Cipla Limited) a leading Indian philanthropist and pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Hamied has committed INR 8 crore for this five-year programme which includes training school science teachers as well.

This is the first Chemistry camp being conducted in Arunachal Pradesh. In total, twenty three Salters’ Chemistry camps training covering 1300 students from over 400 schools across 14 states have been completed, since the launch of this programme in 2015. Professor Sir John Holman, Chairman, Salters’ Institute and past President of the Royal Society of Chemistry said: “The Salters’ Chemistry Camps have been very successful in the UK as a way of sparking interest and enthusiasm among young people for the future study of chemistry. The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Salters’ Institute are pleased to have this opportunity to extend the Salters Camps’ concept to India. We are most grateful to Dr. Yusuf Hamied for his generosity in making this programme possible.”

Prof. Saket Kushwaha, Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU), Itanagar expressed happiness over RGU’s association with the Royal Society of Chemistry and Salters’ Institute, UK.

Dr. Rajesh Chakrabarty, Head of Chemistry Department, Rajiv Gandhi University also expressed his happiness over their department’s association in organising this unique endeavour.

Arunachal Pradesh, which is home to 26 major and 110 sub-tribes each having their unique cultural tradition and lifestyle has seen very slow pace of institutional education due to geographical constraints. The programme which aims to bring exciting world of chemistry through fun will inspire the young underprivileged students of Arunachal Pradesh and act as a catalyst for the growth of chemistry education in the state. PRO of RGU