Conducting Outreach Programmes in Various Fields

What is the Conducting Outreach Programmes in Various Fields scheme?

Conducting Outreach Programmes in Various Fields is a science awareness programme of the Uttarakhand Science Education and Research Centre (USERC), an autonomous institution under the Department of Information Technology, Good Governance and Science Technology, Government of Uttarakhand. Under the programme USERC organises outreach events and activities across many fields of science, through both online and offline modes, so that science education and research become accessible across the state.

The programme is listed on the department's portal together with USERC's research work, under the heading "R&D Projects / Outreach Programmes", dated from 1 April 2024. The department describes the aim as promoting science education, innovation and research through collaborative research projects, patents, publications and MoUs, and fostering scientific and environmental awareness through the USERC Vigyan Chetna Kendra, which has been established in 200 schools. The named beneficiaries are researchers and local people, and the stated benefit is the preparation of science and technology plans that contribute to sustainable development.

The scheme description on the national scheme directory puts the citizen-facing side more directly: the programme promotes scientific awareness among students, teachers and the general public by conducting outreach programmes and activities in various fields of science, through online and offline modes. Information about these activities is disseminated through social media, the USERC science awareness centres, and USERC nodal officers working in higher education institutions.

USERC has been running programmes of this kind since it was set up in 2005. Over the years its outreach work has covered water science and water quality testing, biodiversity and Himalaya Diwas, disaster management and public participation, cyber security awareness, health awareness, forest fire and human-wildlife conflict, mathematics in daily life, and science teacher conclaves. Its Vigyan Chetna Kendras: science, environment and awareness centres attached to schools: are the standing infrastructure through which this reaches a village-level audience rather than only a city audience.

How USERC reaches people

• 200 Vigyan Chetna Kendras in schools across the state.
• USERC nodal officers appointed in government higher education colleges.
• Social media channels where programme announcements are posted.
• Online lectures and webinars, which are the practical way to include hill districts where travel is slow and expensive.

Who can take part in USERC outreach programmes?

You can take part if:

• You are a student in Uttarakhand, at school or in higher education.
• You are a teacher, since teacher-facing conclaves, orientation programmes and faculty development sessions are a regular part of the outreach calendar.
• You are a member of the general public in Uttarakhand. The eligibility line published for this scheme covers the general public explicitly, which is unusual among state science schemes.
• You are a researcher working in the state, for the research-linked side of the same programme.

You are not eligible, and cannot apply, in these situations:

• You are looking for a cash benefit, stipend or scholarship. This programme has no cash component for individuals. There is nothing to claim in money.
• You want a grant to run your own event. USERC conducts the outreach programmes itself. A separate route exists at the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), which invites proposals for science popularization events from academic, research and development organisations and NGOs, that is a different institution and a different scheme.
• You are outside Uttarakhand. The programme is a state initiative aimed at the state's students, teachers and public.
• You are trying to register on a state benefit portal. No such portal exists for this programme; registration is programme by programme.

What do you need to register?

The official entry records the documents as those "required as per the guidelines of the conducted outreach programme", which is a fair description, what a one-day public lecture needs is not what a multi-day hands-on training needs.

How to apply for and join an outreach programme

1. Find the announcement. Watch USERC announcements on the state IT department portal at it.uk.gov.in under the USERC menu, and the notices passed on by your school, college or the nearest Vigyan Chetna Kendra.
2. Fill the registration form USERC circulates. For most programmes USERC solicits applications through a Google form; after submission, students are free to join.
3. Join online or attend the venue. Online programmes run as lectures and sessions; for offline programmes, students of nearby schools and members of the public can participate, with information given by the host venue or the USERC science awareness centre.
4. Attend for the full duration. There is no fixed duration for outreach programmes, some last a single day, others run over several days.
5. Collect the participation certificate, where the programme issues one.
6. If you want a programme in your area, ask your school, college or the USERC nodal officer for higher education to send a written request to USERC. Institutional requests, not individual ones, are what shape the calendar.

What kinds of outreach programmes does USERC run?

USERC's outreach work has, in practice, clustered around a few themes that matter in a Himalayan state:

• Water science; water quality testing training, water conservation and spring rejuvenation programmes, and water education lecture series.
• Environment and biodiversity — Himalaya Diwas programmes, biodiversity day events, Harela plantation and awareness campaigns.
• Disaster preparedness, sessions on the role of public participation in disaster management, a live subject in a state with recurring landslide and flood risk.
• Health and safety awareness; first aid and CPR in schools, health awareness workshops, and programmes on identifying children with invisible disabilities.
• Digital and emerging technology; cyber security awareness programmes and ICT orientation for teachers.
• Mathematics and basic sciences: workshops on applications of mathematics in daily life and national conferences on mathematics in science.

The point of the list is not to promise any one of them in any one year. It is to show the shape of the programme: broad subject coverage, short formats, and a mixed audience of students, teachers and the public.

Common problems and how to fix them

• "I cannot find a Google form." Forms are released per programme, not permanently. If nothing is open, there is nothing to fill.
• "The userc.in website does not open properly." That domain no longer belongs to USERC and now carries unrelated commercial content, although some older government pages still link to it. Use it.uk.gov.in for current USERC information.
• "No programme has come to my district." Ask the school or college to route a written request to USERC. Vigyan Chetna Kendra schools are usually the first to be scheduled.
• "I was told to pay for registration." Do not pay. Participation in USERC outreach programmes is free.

Where to ask questions and raise a grievance

• USERC pages on it.uk.gov.in, under the USERC menu: About USERC, the Schemes/Programmes list, annual reports, government orders and contact details.
• Telephone number published on the USERC contact page: 0135-2976266.
• Department of Information Technology, Good Governance and Science Technology, Vishwakarma Bhawan, Uttarakhand Secretariat, 4 Subhash Road, Dehradun 248001.
• CM Helpline at cmhelpline.uk.gov.in, for a formal grievance if a departmental query gets no response.