As part of a series of initiatives by the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), Government of India (GoI), Cactus Communications (CACTUS) was invited to partner with FAST India and Vigyan Prasar, a GoI entity, for the creation of advanced science communication courses.
The first onsite course, titled Science Connect, was a three-day immersive science communication course for scientists held in Hyderabad, India, on May 25-27, 2023. It was jointly organized by the CBC, Vigyan Prasar, FAST India, and CACTUS. The course saw participation from senior to mid-career scientists from seven GoI departments, namely, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
CACTUS was also invited to make its upskilling courses available on the GoI’s iGOT Karmayogi platform, a comprehensive online platform to guide individual civil service officials in their capacity-building journey, and was chosen as a subject-matter expert and digital course creation partner for the advanced science communication course, the first of its kind in India.