It is perhaps too well known to students, parents and educators alike that the Indian higher education system is highly competitive. While some competition may be unavoidable, the question is - are some aspects of this competitive environment unnecessary, or even toxic? In this article, biology researcher and educator Anil Kumar Challa, from the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi NCR presents a perspective on why a collaborative environment is better than a competitive one.

Are we living ‘beings’? Or are we living ‘becomings’—constantly changing due to life processes occurring across levels of time and space? In the second (and final) part of this article series, Vasudev Menon, an Assistant Professor of Biology and Performing Arts (Theatre) at the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, explains the worldview held by a school of philosophers that is central to understand the diversity and dynamicity of our biosphere.

What is the living world made up of? In a series of two articles, Vasudev Menon, an Assistant Professor of Biology and Performing Arts (Theatre) at the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune, contrasts the way two philosophical views answer this question. He opines that understanding these views would help students place what they study in the ‘life sciences’ in context. This article is the first part of the two-part series.

Networking among educators can strengthen the entire education community. In this article, educator Anupma Harshal shares how a pedagogy workshop gave her and many other educators from across the country the opportunity to network and how the entire education community benefitted from it.

Sabuj Bhattacharyya is the Research Ethics and Integrity Officer at the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council-Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (BRIC-inStem), Bengaluru. In this interview, he speaks to Bharti Dharapuram, an ecologist and science writer, about the multiple facets of research ethics, the joys and challenges of teaching it, and building a more mindful research culture.