Context: Recently, Department of Science & Technology(DST) and IBM India have announced collaborations to scale up two DST initiatives–Vigyan Jyoti and Engage with Science (Vigyan Prasar).

• Both DST and IBM India aim to create a robust STEM ecosystem that nurtures critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and next-generation innovators.
• DST and IBM India will work together to further integrate and develop science and technology in the education ecosystem with short term courses, workshops, mentoring, and online science content communication for teachers and students in India.

Key Facts
Vigyan Jyoti:

• Launched Year: 2019
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Science & Technology (DST).
• Coverage: The programme covers girl students from grade 9 to 12.
• Aim: To create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education and become self-reliant.
• Implementation: The program is currently implemented by Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in 58 districts with the participation of about 2900 students.

Vigyan Prasar: It is an autonomous body under the DST to help India’s science popularization agenda through several strategic initiatives, including ‘Engage With Science’.

• Engage With Science: It is an interactive platform that will be built on top of the India Science Over-The-Top (OTT) platform to encourage and inspire high school students to pursue Science & Technology (S&T) for a career.