Celebrating science, outside the classroom

I spent last weekend in Pune at the India Science Festival and left with real confidence in the country’s future.

- Vivek Wadhwa

The event brought together students, scientists, teachers, policymakers, and families in a buzzing atmosphere of ideas and discovery. Young people from across the country, including children from the poorest villages, were talking about Al, sensors, and quantum computing, and proudly demonstrating their projects. They spoke openly about failed experiments, what they had learned, and what they would try next. This was learning by doing, not memorising; they were collaborating, tinkering, and thinking like builders.

This is exactly what India needs more of to inspire the next generation. For the first time in history, children in remote villages have access to the same knowledge and technologies as students in the West.

Their schools may lack resources and their teachers may not always show up, but that hasn‘t stopped them from learning or building. They may be poor, but they are digitally fluent. They use smartphones to watch tutorials, search for answers, join online communities, and increasingly explore with AI. They don’t wait to be taught, they teach themselves — and in today’s world, that may be the most important skill of all.