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.

Receiving a certificate of excellence after an immersive learning experience or a job well done can be quite gratifying. But is a free-for-all distribution of certificates without evaluating the recipients justified? Are we chasing (or worse, fueling) a culture where certificates seem to trump learning gains? This article highlights the systematic spread of falsehoods associated with certificates in the Indian education system and the ways in which students can be protected from it.