Trendspotting: Why Things Matter, a collaboration between the India Habitat Centre and Hearth Advisors, presents discussions about an evolving future. The monthly series connects the frontiers of academia, research, societal concerns, technology and evolving thought with issues that matter to people’s lives. Discover insights and predictions to be prepared for a thriving tomorrow by breaking down silos between education, employability, research, technology, and sustainability.

India is the world’s third-largest producer of research. Yet, we have not fully embraced a research-oriented ethos in public life, public understanding or public policy. Statistics indicate that a third of research papers from India face retractions for ethical reasons, and an additional 30% are never cited in other research. India has 26 researchers per 100,000 people, a ratio considerably lower than similar large economies and academic systems.

A few critical questions emerge. Why does India produce so much research yet show no signs of being a research-oriented or research-led society? Should the onus fall on researchers to make their work publicly accessible and widespread through simplification, open access, and proactive knowledge sharing?

Join us as we gather leading Indian academics for the seventh edition of Trendspotting to grapple with these questions and more. Together, we’ll contemplate whether academia should liberate itself from its traditional confines, embracing individuals from all walks of life in its dissemination and, perhaps, even the collaborative generation of knowledge.

 

Panellists:

Prof. Ambuj Sagar (Deputy Director – Strategy & Planning, the Vipula and Mahesh Chaturvedi Professor of Policy Studies, Founding Head – School of Public Policy, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi)

Dr. Shipra Misra (CEO & MD, CKIC-DRIIV, Delhi Science and Technology Cluster, Department of Science & Technology)

Shobhini Mukerji (Executive Director, J-PAL)

* To be finalised – another eminent academic

 

Moderator:

Shashank Vira (Managing Director, Hearth Advisors Group)

 

* Download or read an annotated bibliography for more details – coming shortly