Yusuf Hamied, Chairman of Cipla, announced ₹8 crore donation to the Royal Society of Chemistry to support an innovative chemistry education programme in India for school students.
The programme will be managed by the Royal Society of Chemistry in partnership with the UK’s Salters Institute and leading Indian academic institutes to enhance the skills and knowledge of Indian chemistry teachers and inspire school students to study chemistry at university. The programme, spread over five years, aims to equip 8,000 teachers across India with the specialist knowledge and skills to deliver exciting and engaging chemistry lessons, and to pass this knowledge on to their colleagues; provide 1,600 of the brightest chemistry students from all backgrounds with places at chemistry camps to motivate them to reach the necessary standards to study chemistry at university.
Hamied said: “I am very pleased to be working in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry to support the Hamied Inspirational Chemistry Programme. I believe the programme will make a real difference to the education and experience of students studying chemistry in schools all across India.”
He added: “To inspire the next generation of great Indian scientists we must equip our teachers with the specialist knowledge and practical skills they need to show their students that chemistry is a fascinating and stimulating subject that has many important applications in modern life. “Just as teachers pass on their knowledge to their pupils, this programme will support the most talented chemistry teachers in India to train their colleagues to deliver informative and exciting chemistry lessons country – a “train the trainer” approach. I am very pleased to support this sustainable model for teacher training which will allow the programme to reach thousands of teachers across the country.”
Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Robert Parker, said: “We are delighted to be working with Hamied and grateful for his generous donation to enable us to bring together leading organisations from the UK and India to deliver this education programme and make a real impact.”