Mondays are immensely hectic for Jhansi Lakshmi. She wakes up as early as 3 am in the morning and at 6 am, boards the Ispat Express at Howrah, in Kolkata, for Kharagpur. She must reach the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) on time.
It takes extraordinary commitment but Lakshmi, 41, is working on a postdoctoral project on herbal wound dressing. “I am working on this product which will not only be patient-friendly but also cost-effective,” she said.
Lakshmi, originally from Hyderabad, always dreamt of becoming a scientist. But her plans were derailed after she married and her family responsibilities took priority. A newspaper advertisement by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) that she spotted quite by accident gave her hope. “I had a career-break of seven years after I got married and wanted to make a comeback,” she explained.
A way back in is exactly what the DST’s Project KIRAN – Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing – is for women scientists who’ve had a career break. Involving a bridge course and training, the Women Scientist Scheme under Project KIRAN has helped over 1,300 women scholars get back on track.
Lakshmi was looking for a technology platform between pharmacy and healthcare and she found it at IIT Kharagpur with the help of the project.
Women in science
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Careers 360.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Careers 360.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The 50 colleges in 5 countries where most Indians go for MBBS abroad
Data on countries and colleges from the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE) 2022 - the latest available - shows that most Indians who completed medical degrees abroad and wrote the FMGE went to five countries.
Foreign medical colleges: Look before you leap
A close look at foreign medical colleges that thousands of Indians have graduated from shows that many are unaccredited, don’t have hospitals or even their own websites
'Either I clear FMGE or leave the country'
After spending lakhs on MBBS degrees abroad, thousands spend years trying to clear the FMGE. That is the only option for Indian graduates of foreign medical colleges to build a career in India
Why hundreds of nursing graduates leave India each year
There has been an increase in nursing institutes over the past two decades but policy gaps, lax regulations, poor pay and opportunities are pushing a large number of nursing staff to seek opportunities abroad
In Kashmir, why NEET and JEE candidates flock to private reading halls to prepare for exams
These are accessible round-the-clock, even on public holidays, have private cabins and booths, kitchen, discussion area and some, even places for napping
Battling despair and depression in medical school
Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC
This father-daughter duo uncovered a scam in NEET admissions in West Bengal
Several generalcategory students had secured admission in medical colleges with forged ST certificates. Ishita Soren spotted the names, and her father followed up
'Forced to take up bonded labour
There's massive resistance to a state policy in Karnataka that requires even private medical college graduates to do one year's mandatory rural service
‘A routine circus': PG medical students lobby, move court to get stipends
Despite NMC orders, many medical colleges still seriously underpay resident doctors and threaten them into silence. In government colleges, stipends can be delayed for months
Why Mizoram wants centre to take over its only medical college
Mizoram got its first state medical college in 2018. In 2023, it asked the union government to take over. Mixed up in this are questions of funding, MBBS seat distribution
