India International Science Festival to be held in Kolkata from Nov 5-8

The fifth edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) will be held in Kolkata from November 5-8, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan announced on Tuesday.

More than 12,000 participants, including 8,000 students, are expected to attend the event, Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said.

He said 350 students will replicate the experiment of wireless communication conducted by Jagdish Chandra Bose.

The DST, Department of Biotechnology, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indian Council of Medical Research and the Ministry of Earth Sciences are major government sponsoring bodies for the event.

It is being organised in collaboration with Vigynana Bharati, an RSS-linked scientific body.

The IISF will also hosts 28 different events such as Agriculture Scientists' Meet, Vigyan Samagam, Young Scientists Conference, Vigyanika-International Science Literature Festival, International Science Film Festival of India.

"IISF 2019 will play a crucial role in promoting love and passion for science among students by bringing science outside the lab. It is time to make science a 'Jan Andolan' (mass movement)," Vardhan said.

The theme for this year's festival is 'RISEN India - Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation', Vardhan said.

"IISF is the largest science festival in the world. The focus will be on youth to inspire and motivate them to learn real science in motion. Real science cannot be learned in classroom atmosphere. IISF provides an opportunity to learn science in action and motion," Sharma said.

The IISF 2019 is the fifth edition since its inception in 2015. The first and second IISF were held in New Delhi, the third in Chennai and the fourth in Lucknow, which witnessed a widespread participation from over 10 lakh people worldwide.