As part of World Youth Skills Day Activities, IIIM-BioNEST Bio-incubation Centre under the aegis of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu. This 10-day-long Karyashala has started today and will culminate on 25^th July 2024 in which 160 students from 03 colleges of Jammu & Udhampur districts are participating in the workshop/hands-on training in the areas of Industrial Biotechnology, Medical Microbiology, and Natural Products Chemistry at CSIR-IIIM, Jammu.

Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM, (Chairman, BioNEST Bioincubation Centre) in his presidential address, welcomed students at CSIR-IIIM on World Youth Skills Day and highlighted the importance, and the need of such Karyashala (workshop) in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir. While addressing the audience, he said that CSIR-IIIM is constantly working for the promotion of skill development and entrepreneurship ecosystem in this region. Further, he emphasized that the aim of the workshop is to inculcate scientific temperament among the budding students and this workshop is specifically designed for the students with an immersive experience of hands on trainings and provide them an exposure in scientific and technological interventions in chemistry, biotechnology and allied sciences, in the line of NEP-2020. Dr. Ahmed also said that the institute is committed to nurturing scientific temperament and innovation among the students by providing the opportunities for them with unrestricted access to state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities. He underscored the significant role of the IIIM Technology Business incubator in creating awareness among the local community in Jammu & Kashmir by roadshows, hackathons, city camps, workshops and similar initiatives. Such workshops and hands on trainings are pivotal for achieving the goals of Viksit Bharat-2047, he added.

Earlier, Dr. Saurabh Saran, Principal Scientist & Principal Investigator, IIIM-TBI, in his welcome address gave an overview of the workshop organized and informed the audience about the initiatives taken by the IIIM incubator to support the skill development and startup ecosystem in J&K. He further encouraged participants to take maximum benefit of 10 days workshop at CSIR-IIIM, Jammu. He emphasized on the importance of the workshop by providing an overview of Yuva Kaushal Karyashala. He further said that these kinds of workshops and trainings also provide a flavour of enthusiasm to young college students and encourage them to take up research as a career.

The program included a technical session where domain experts, Dr. Love Sharma, Scientist, delivered a talk on CSIR-IIIM, Dr Ravi Shankar, Sr. Principal Scientist, gave detailed presentation on Research Methodology, and Er. Ankush Varma, Coordinator/CEO, IIIM-TBI delivered a talk on Entrepreneurship, Startup Ecosystem, and Hackathon 4.0. The workshop aimed to empower youth with knowledge and resources, contributing to the IPRs and Startup India initiative in the region. During the sessions, students and their faculty listened the lectures enthusiastically. 

This 10 days workshop has inaugurated under the patronage of Dr. Zabeer Ahmed, Director, CSIR-IIIM & Chairman, BioNEST Bioincubation Centre (IIIM-TBI) and under the overall supervision of Er. Abdul Rahim, Chief Scientist and Vice Chairman, BioNEST Bioincubation Centre (IIIM-TBI). Prominent other present were Dr. Asha Chaubey, Sr. Principal Scientist, Head, FMB Division, Dr. Sumit G Gandhi, Sr. Principal Scientist, Head, Infectious Diseases, Dr. Deepika Singh, Pr. Scientist & Head, QMI, Dr. P.P. Singh, Principal Scientist and Dr. Bhawal Ali Shah, Principal Scientist, Natural Product Chemistry. The proceeding of inauguration session was conducted by Dr. Saurabh Saran, Principal Scientist, while Er. Ankush Varma, Coordinator, TBI presented the formal vote of thanks.