ISRO tour kicks off: First batch of 13 Northeast Science students depart Manipur
Under NE-SPARKS, science students from Northeast will visit ISRO in batches to explore India’s space science & research first-hand
The first batch of 13 students at the flagging off ceremony at Imphal, on Monday. (Photo:@MDoNER_India/X)
Imphal, April 22: The first group of science students from the Northeast embarked on a study tour to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bangalore on Monday, under the North East Student Programme for Awareness, Reach and Knowledge on Space (NE-SPARKS).
The delegation, comprising 13 students and an accompanying coordinator, was flagged off by Bisheshwar Khumukcham, Additional Director of Education, Government of Manipur, at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport, Imphal.
Parents, teachers, and education department officials were present on the occasion.
The NE-SPARKS initiative, being implemented by the North East Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC), is an outreach programme of the Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
As a part of the initiative, at least 100 science students from each of the eight northeastern states would get an opportunity to visit ISRO in different batches till December 2025.
It aims to provide talented science students from the eight northeastern states an opportunity to interact with leading scientists and gain first-hand exposure to India's space research and technology.
According to officials, the visits will be organised in phases between April 2024 and December 2025, with 100 students from each northeastern state expected to participate.
NE-SAC, headquartered near Shillong, is a collaborative initiative of the Department of Space and the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The centre has been instrumental in extending space-based technological support to the Northeast in sectors such as natural resource management, infrastructure development, health, education, disaster preparedness, and atmospheric sciences.
In addition to coordinating with State Remote Sensing Application Centres, NE-SAC has implemented several major national and regional projects and continues to contribute to various ISRO programmes including the Earth Observation Applications Mission and Disaster Management Support.
The NESAC Society is chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while the Chairman of ISRO leads its Governing Council.
With inputs from agencies.