As a part of 75th Year of India’s independence, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh, Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST) launched the first-ever Mentorship Programme for Young Innovators on November 8, 2021, namely ‘DBT-Star College Mentorship Programme’
- It is a pan India Scheme envisaging Star College in every district supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
What will be done under this program?
i.Under this Mentorship Programme, the Star Status Colleges under the Star College Scheme will organize workshops, meetings per month; handhold at colleges particularly in the rural areas or lesser endowed areas and conduct outreach activities with government schools.
ii.The program will enhance scientific and technological innovations and enable newer colleges to come up as per the mandate of Star College scheme.
What is a star college scheme?
It is a pan India scheme initiated by DBT in 2008 to support colleges and universities offering undergraduate education to strengthen science teaching across the country. It also encourages more students to take up higher education in science.
- Through this scheme DBT identifies colleges with potential for excellence and provides support for developing infrastructure for academics and laboratory activities.
- Starting with 30 colleges in 2008, this scheme has supported science departments in more than 300 colleges all over the country till date.
Key Points:
i.In 2018-19, star college scheme was categorized into urban and rural categories.
- Presently, 55 colleges from rural areas and 15 colleges in Aspirational districts are supported under the scheme.
ii.More than 1.5 lakh students were supported in the last five years and also comprehensive support was provided to colleges participating in the Star College Scheme.
Other similar schemes:
Skill Vigyan Programme (Skill Development Programme) in Biotechnology, Biotech Industrial Training Programme and doctoral & post-doctoral and Re-entry Schemes & Fellowships
Recent Related News:
Dr Jitendra Singh, released ‘Biotech-PRIDE (Promotion of Research and Innovation through Data Exchange) Guidelines’ developed by DBT. These Guidelines will be implemented through the Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) at the Regional Centre for Biotechnology supported by DBT.
About Department of Biotechnology (DBT):
Establishment– 1986 under the Ministry of Science & Technology
Secretary– Rajesh S Gokhale
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
