Kollegala Sharma has been a science communicator for over forty years. His most recent venture is Janasuddi, a weekly podcast about science in Kannada, which is circulated amongst thousands of people. In this invited article, he writes about how his early experiences and interests led him to science communication and what keeps him going.

Narmadha Devi writes about mathematics for children in the Tamil student’s daily – ‘Pattam’, a product of Dinamalar groups. In this article, she discusses the importance of presenting science to children in an interesting, attractive and rational manner in order to build scientific temper for the future.

Gaiti Hasan is a Professor at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore. In this editorial, first published in Current Science, she speaks about the importance of setting up mechanisms to provide formal mentorship to researchers at all stages in their career, whether they are graduate students, postdoctoral fellows or young investigators.

Anindita Bhadra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, IISER Kolkata. In this opinion piece, which first appeared on Confluence, an editorially moderated discussion forum by the Indian Academy of Sciences, she writes about the collective responsibility that scientists bear for making their science accessible to the general public, and the consequences of failing to engage with the society at large.

A recent memorandum from the Department of Science and Technology suggested incentivizing publications and patents by doctoral research scholars through a monetary reward scheme. In this opinion article, Shambhavi Naik, Takshashila Institution, and Megha, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), discuss the implications and possible repercussions of such a policy.