Introducing female students from rural Indian schools to the world of advanced scientific research: Diversity in Science grant 2023

India, a country known for its vast and diverse demographics, reflects a significant divide between its rural and urban regions. Although nearly 65% of the population resides in rural India, opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields remain significantly limited compared to urban areas. Furthermore, women comprise only 27% of the total workforce in STEM, and unfortunately, this number is substantially lower for rural women. Such disparity is also evident in the proportion of female students pursuing STEM education. Sometimes, socio-economic and cultural challenges play a key role in limiting rural female learners from accessing quality education and research infrastructure. Numerous initiatives and strategies have been proposed and adopted to bring down this disparity in representation. One such conscious attempt was made through a project under the “Diversity in Science” grant offered by the Biochemical Society (2023).The project was a part of the 2024 batch of “Anveshana” (Anveṣhaṇā: Exploration), a flagship and one-of-a-kind programme hosted by Prayoga Institute of Education Research, a not-for-profit education research organisation (Figure 1). Anveshana is a unique programme aimed at understanding the impact of hands-on research as a pedagogy on the development of scientific temperament and competencies among students. Under Anveshana, high school students passionate about science participate in research projects guided by research mentors at Prayoga.Titled “Nature to Nanotech: Saponin-capped Green Nanoparticles for Environmental and Biomedical Applications”, the project offered an interdisciplinary experience to the participants by incorporating aspects of chemistry, biology, and materials science. The project presented an advanced-level scientific research opportunity to selected female school students (aged 14–16) from rural Karnataka, a southern Indian state. Out of more than 100 applications, 28 students were selected for 8 different projects under “Anveshana”. However, in line with the proposal funded through the “Diversity in Science” grant, we chose four female students from rural, underserved areas, some of them being first-generation learners. The four participants were screened to include academically aligned and highly motivated ones. These students had limited access to laboratory equipment and instruments in their schools, minimising their exposure to hands-on activities and scientific experiments. Throughout the project, the students explored various aspects of scientific research – literature review, designing, planning, conducting experiments, collecting and analysing data, interpreting results, and deriving conclusions. The course of the project also posed an interesting deviation from their curriculum, nurturing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.The selected students participated in the research activities for 8 weeks (April–May 2024). First, the students were acquainted with the background, objectives, research design, and fundamental concepts of the project through a few interactive sessions. After a mandatory safety training session, students started the experiments in the labs under the supervision of the mentors, with one female mentor from rural background (Figure 2). They were introduced to diverse research domains such as nanomaterials, green synthesis, thin-layer chromatography, photocatalysis, antioxidant activities, and antibacterial activities. They were also trained in standard operating procedures for the instruments and equipment used in the project – UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, centrifuge machine, and a few others. In addition, students acquired the opportunity to learn about two other advanced techniques – atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) – and interacted with some of the leading scientists and researchers during their visit to Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, one of the most prominent research institutes in India.Upon completion of the research project, students compiled, analysed, and interpreted their data, as well as documented the results in the form of a thesis. They presented their research work before an audience of eminent scientists and educationalists and defended their thesis in the “Anveshana Project Showcase 2024” (Figure 3).Despite the positive outcomes of the project, there were a few obstacles along the way. Because cutting-edge scientific research is often expensive requiring costly equipment, chemicals, and sample analyses, we were able to engage only four students in this project, a number that is minuscule compared to the millions of underserved rural female students. Encouraged by the current study, we aim to involve many more students in the coming year and have started applying for additional funding from government agencies and private entities.Another minor challenge was the language of communication. Since English was not the primary or even the secondary language of some of these students, all the discussions were essentially bilingual. As most modern scientific communications are English-based, students seemed to struggle with writing the report. Nonetheless, we were able to overcome the language barrier by translating the texts and instructions from English to their native language. The students eventually presented their project in languages they were comfortable with.The students were able to grasp a wide variety of scientific concepts, topics, and techniques through ‘project-based learning’ (PBL). To test the effectiveness of PBL, pre-tests and post-tests were administered before and after the project, respectively. All four students showed improved scores in the post-test, resulting in a superior average score in the post-test (7.25 ± 0.96) compared to the pre-test (5.25 ± 1.50) (Figure 4, left panel).The novel research findings were published in the journal “Sustainable Chemistry One World” in the form of a full research article titled “Green synthesis of saponin-capped copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanoparticles and their efficacy in photocatalytic dye degradation”, authored by the school students and their mentors (Figure 4, right panel).We are hopeful that the actual impact of the project could go well beyond the scores and the research publications. The positive impression on these students may encourage other rural students to pursue science, which, in turn, can lead to an increasing influx of underprivileged students in the fields of science education and jobs. Therefore, empowering these students can encourage them and their peers to consider STEM-related fields to help close the existing gender and rural–urban gaps in STEM education.The feedback from all the participant students after completion of the project was quite positive. “We were able to learn and explore so many things, (learn) that even a small thing around us can be so much more beneficial than we can even imagine…” said one of the students. Another student highlighted that access to advanced lab equipment and resources, which are usually not available in schools, made a significant impact on her learning journey. The research experience helped the students pick up crucial scientific skills, along with confidence and perseverance. Furthermore, the students also received appreciation from the audience, including eminent scientists and researchers. All the participant students expressed their eagerness about choosing science for higher education and career.To summarise, four female students from rural areas of India participated in a 2-month-long research project and showcased their research in front of renowned academicians, scientists, and industry delegates. These students participated in an interdisciplinary science project in labs equipped with modern facilities otherwise inaccessible to them. Their investigation led to original research findings, later published in a scientific journal. Moreover, through this project-based learning exercise, students appeared to assimilate an improved knowledge of the topics of interest, as evidenced by the post-test data. The research experience helped the students pick up scientific and some life skills, and motivated them to ponder over the thought of choosing science as a potential option for higher education and career. We appreciate the funding provided by the Biochemical Society that was crucial in partially covering the expenses associated with this project. We also acknowledge that we were able to reach out to only a handful of rural female students this year mostly due to budgetary constraints. Nevertheless, we are determined to provide more and more underrepresented students with access to innovative and superior research experience in the years to come.Subhadip Senapati is a Senior Researcher at Prayoga Institute of Education Research (Bengaluru, India). Upon completing his M.Sc. from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), he earned his Ph.D. from Arizona State University. Later he pursued postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University. At present, he is working on several academic and industrial challenges focused on green chemistry, biochemistry, and nanoscience. Email: [email protected] Rao K C is Research Associate at Prayoga Institute of Education Research (Bengaluru, India), specializing in phytochemistry, microbiology, and plant-based medicines. She completed her Bachelor's program in chemistry, botany, and zoology and a diploma in medicinal and aromatic plants. Vagdevi then completed M.Sc. in Botany from the University of Mysore (Karnataka). Email: [email protected] Kumar is a Research Associate at Prayoga, specializing in nanotechnology and nanomaterials for energy applications, sustainable materials development, and green chemistry and catalysis. He holds a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from BPUT (Orissa) and an M.Tech in Green Energy Technology from Pondicherry University (Puducherry). Email: [email protected].