Educators

Funded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching, MHRD, IndiaBioscience aims to facilitate networking of undergraduate teachers in Life Sciences to share their ideas, experience and expertise in pedagogy and research. We invite you to participate in relevant discussions.

We also invite you to write for us on any aspect of undergraduate biology education in India. Some topics can be found here. Just send your idea, in 100-200 words, to hello@indiabioscience.org, with “Pitch- Education” as the Subject.

If you wish to receive regular updates about our latest content, especially for educators, subscribe to our “Educators’ Newsletter”.

Columns

Common Misconceptions in Biology – Species Richness and Diversity are the same?
Abhijeet Bayani
What’s the measure of species diversity of a habitat? Is it the number of inhabitants? Is it the number of species? Or is it the presence of a rare species? In this article, field biologist Abhijeet Bayani throws light on how he approaches this question of species ‘diversity’ in his classroom (a.k.a nature), while ensuring that his undergraduate students do not confuse it with a very related concept of species ‘richness’.
Posted on Jan 11, 2021 in Ecology, Conservation Biology, Wildlife Biology, Teaching, Undergraduate & Education
Getting an in-house science journal up and going – an academic adventure
Bhavna Daswani & Hema Subramaniam
Science writing is a skill that takes a lot of practice to hone. So why not start early? The faculty of Sophia College (Autonomous), Mumbai, decided to give their undergraduate and masters’ students the full experience of writing and publishing an article, by starting their very own scientific journal. Here's an article about their journey, in their own words.
Posted on Jan 06, 2021

Resources

iBiology
iBiology offers free biology videos from the world's leading scientists, with talks by over 25 Nobel laureates. It also offers free online courses that help researchers do good science and enhance career and professional development
Drowsy Drosophila : Rapid Evolution in the Face of Climate Change
University of Florida (Center for Precollegiate Education and Training) present a set of interesting experiments with sleepy Drosophila!
Great tool for teachers to discuss climate change and its impact on genetic variation.
In case, teachers can't obtain Drosophila lines to put to sleep - the resource has a dataset to allow analyses and learning.
Find the entire module here: Drowsy Drosophila
Module obtained with permission from Julie Bokor.
Geniverse: Learn and teach genetics by breeding dragons!
New to genetics? Here is an interactive game that lets you breed dragons! The game produced by the Concord Consortium is an exciting tool for students and teachers to get started with genetics. The beautiful graphics create an engaging experience.
Teachers - use this game in your classrooms for a fun experience! The genes used in this game have been picked from the real world genetics of model organisms!

News

A go-to guide for good academic practices
Manupriya
The need for more transparent, comprehensive, and practical guidelines for carrying out quality research has been recognized time and again in the Indian scientific ecosystem. To address this lacuna, the University Grants Commission (UGC) recently released a document titled “Good Academic Research Practices (GARP)”, which lists best practices for researchers and institutions to maintain excellent standards of ethical research.
Posted on Jan 20, 2021 in Policy & Ethics
Mapping the biophysics of early events in Parkinson’s disease
Edna George
Aggregation of amyloid proteins is believed to play a central role in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease. Now, a collaborative study by Indian researchers has explored certain key biophysical processes that are involved in the initial steps of this process, providing us with an important clue about the early stages of Parkinson's disease progression.
Posted on Jan 18, 2021 in Neuroscience, Biophysics & Research

IndiaBiospeaks Episodes

Crafting your Career
Crafting Your Career (CYC) | 18 Cover Letters and Interviews
Shreya Ghosh
In this episode, Lakshmi, Shreya and Smita discuss the art of writing quality cover letters and the difference they make to a job application. They also discuss some practical tips to keep in mind while preparing and appearing for an interview.

Crafting your Career
Crafting Your Career (CYC) | 17 The Science and Art of Networking
Lakshmi Ganesan
In this episode, Lakshmi, Shreya and Smita talk about a very important survival skill in one’s career progression - professional networking. Find out from this podcast: (1) What is professional networking? (2) What unique advantages does it provide? (3) What are networks made up of? (4) What are the different types of networks? (5) How can you study into your own network and diagnose any common pitfalls? (6) Is networking a natural skill or is it cultivable? What (baby steps) can you take to build, expand and actively manage your network?

Mind Matters in Academia
MH-01 | Mind Matters in Academia - for PhDs and Postdocs | Part 2 of 2
Lakshmi Ganesan, Karishma Kaushik & Mayuri Rege
This discussion addressed issues around mental health, particular those that are relevant to PhD students and postdocs. Featuring Shubha Tole and Soumitra Pathare as panelists, this discussion was moderated by Karishma Kaushik and Mayuri Rege. In part 2 of this conversation, the panellists and moderators discuss barriers to getting help and future prospects.

IndiaBiostreams Episodes

Crafting your Career Online Series
IndiaBiostreams: Tooling up for an Interview and Exploring Careers in Science Communication
IndiaBioscience
In this fourth session, we discussed various aspects of navigating the job application process, including crafting quality CVs and resumes, writing cover letters, and preparing for an interview.
We were joined by Shivani Shah, Senior Managing Editor, Impact Science, Cactus Communications, and Siddharth Kankaria, Science Communication & Outreach Manager, Simons Centre, NCBS Bangalore, who discussed their individual journeys in the field of science communication.

Crafting your Career Online Series
IndiaBiostreams: Professional Networking and the Entrepreneurial Journey (From Ideation to Implementation)
IndiaBioscience
In our third session, we talked about the science and art of professional networking, including strategies for building, maintaining, and expanding your networks. We were also joined by Nusrat J M Sanghamitra, Founder & CEO, CyCa OncoSolutions, and Nelson Vadassery, Cofounder and Director of Engineering, Sea6 Energy, who both discussed their individual entrepreneurial journeys.

IUBS Centenary Lectures
IndiaBiostreams: IUBS Centenary Lecture 1 | In Conversation with Prof. Rattan Lal
IndiaBioscience
A conversation with this year’s World Food Prize winner Prof. Rattan Lal, moderated by the ISC Communications Director Alison Meston.

Events

Events
Webinar on Infectious Diseases & How To Think About Them
21 Jan 2021
Official Website →
Webinarin Online
Registrations/applications Deadline 21 January
Events
Faculty Enrichment Webinar for Life Science Teachers in Higher Education
14 Jan 2021
Official Website →
Webinarin Online
Registrations/applications Closed on 14 January

Jobs

Biology Laboratory Superintendent
Ashoka University
Project Undergraduate Teaching and Research
Open Deadline
Senior Teaching Associate
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research - Pune
Project Centre of Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education at IISER Pune
Closed on 31 May 2020

Teacher Developer Royal Society of Chemistry
Royal Society of Chemistry
Bengaluru, Karnataka Closed on 12 December 2019
Senior Teaching Associate
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research - Pune
Pune, Maharashtra Closed on 13 June 2019
Program Coordinator
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research - Pune
Pune, Maharashtra Closed on 13 June 2019
Walk-in-interview for the post of Assistant Professor
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Closed on 22 May 2019

Grants

Science Academies’ Summer Research Fellowship Programme for Students and Teachers 2021
Indian Academy of Sciences
Indian National Science Academy
The National Academy of Sciences India
The three national Science Academies — Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi and The National Academy of Sciences, India, Prayagraj — offer several two-month Summer Fellowships to enable students/teachers (studying/teaching in India) to work with …
Closed on 30 November 2020
Call for proposals under strengthening component of star college scheme from UG colleges of India
Department of Biotechnology
Department of Biotechnology invites applications from colleges of all the states and union territories of India offering undergraduate education in Sciences under ‘STAR COLLEGE’ Scheme to brand and nurture excellence in UG Science education. The program emphasizes holistic improvement of …
Closed on 15 June 2020

INSA Teachers Award – 2019
Closed on 15 May 2019
One-Year Fellowship in Advancing Undergraduate Science Education
Closed on 15 May 2019
DBT-BIRAC Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG)
Closed on 16 February 2019
Teacher Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE)
Closed on 15 March 2018

Meena Kharatmal, Nagarjuna G & Kiran Yadav

Project Undergraduate Teaching and Research

Project Centre of Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education at IISER Pune