NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is organising a special programme for school children called “YUva VIgyani KAryakram” (YUVIKA). The key objective of this initiative is to impart basic knowledge on space science, space technology and space applications to the younger students in emerging trends in space science and technology.
ISRO has chalked out this programme to “Catch them young”. YUVIKA programme is also expected to encourage more students to pursue in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) based research and aligned career.
The Young Scientist Programme was conceived to impart basic knowledge to the younger students with a preference to rural areas of the country. The programme envisages a two-week class room training, practical demonstration of experiments, hands on CANSAT, robotic kit, model rocketry interactions with ISRO scientists and field visits. The registration process for YUVIKA-2024 will be held from February 20 to March 20, 2024.
The programme was conducted successfully in 2019, 2022 and 2023 with the participation of 111, 153 and 337 students respectively, representing each and every state and Union Territory of India. The students were divided into five batches based on the geographical locations and imparted training at VSSC, URSC, SAC, NRSC, NESAC, SDSC SHAR & IIRS.
The ISRO received an overwhelming response for YUVIKA – 2023, as more than 1.25 lakhs students had registered from all corners of India. The students are selected based on marks scored in their last examination, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
Students studying in Class 9 as on January 1, 2024, within India are eligible to apply for the programme. Applicants are advised to review carefully all the details entered in the application form, uploaded documents and certificates before submitting the application form. Applications once submitted cannot be edited or modified later. For more information, applicant students can visit the website of ISRO Antariksha Jigyasa: https://jigyasa. iirs.gov.in/yuvika.
