Messages on National Science Day Celebrations

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar celebrated the National Science Day on 28th February 2023. There was a competition on ‘Poster Presentation by the Research Scholars.’ Dr. Satyanarayan Panigrahi, Associate Dean (PGSR), gave a brief overview of this poster presentation. This was followed by speeches by Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, and Mr Deepak Chaudhary, a Guest Speaker.

Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director, emphasized that to do good scientific research, a PhD student should be aware of the difference between course based learning and research. As compared to course based education, research requires a much higher level of skills in thinking, communication, experimentation and management. These skills, like any other, can only be developed through practice and feedback. Over the next month, IIT BBS will undertake a training program for the Research scholars in communication skills. Peter Medavar, a Nobel laureate, suggested that a researcher spend 30% of the time spent on research on how to present it, while Richard Hamming, another well known scientist, opined this fraction to be as high as 50%.   

The training program was initiated with a talk titled "6 Secrets of Master Presenters" by Mr Deepak Chaudhary. In his talk, Mr Chaudhary, said a communicator must have a clear idea about the composition of the audience, and rehearse the talk a number of times, revising the script as many times as necessary. He said he prepared for almost six months to deliver a one hour keynote talk. One can begin with a couple of questions to grab the audience's attention. Further, he/she should pay attention to body language, pauses and intonation to improve engagement with the audience. He also mentioned the importance of feeling and influencing the emotions of the audience in a positive way.