India, Young Academy of India (YAI)

YAI has zero-budget not-for-profit status and is a democratic community operating principally through virtual mode, based in India, to freely exchange knowledge and partnerships. It aims to be the highest think-tank of the young intelligentsia of the country.

Mission

1. To recognize the young talent of India in the form of three memberships: Fellows who are elected by existing fellows and those who successfully mentor a candidate in response to the academy’s MentX program; Associates who are the persons who successfully complete MentX, and Members who are general public interested in the academy.
2. To provide a virtual platform for ‘match-making’ between mentees (students/general public) and mentors (established professionals, academicians, and scientists). The program is called #MentX, Mentor-Mentee Exchange.
3. To foster trans-disciplinary dialogues and brainstorm issues of national and global importance and generate thematic white papers enlisting policy-related recommendations.
4. To foster Science Communication, especially in regional languages of India.
5. To support marginalized communities for ensuring inclusivity with STEM education. YAI welcomes participation from socio-economically privileged groups, women, ethnically displaced persons, and members from LGBTQ+ communities.
6. To work for fostering scientific thinking and rational scepticism in the country. An important mission of YAI is science education and outreach. The academy will bust superstitions, myths, pseudoscience and fake news. The academy will strive to uphold article 51 A(h) of the constitution of India, which is concerned with promoting scientific temperament, humanism, the spirit of inquiry and reform.

Core Committee Members (2023)

1. Prof. Felix Bast (Founder and President)
2. Prof. Shaktivel Vaiyapuri (Vice-President and Core Committee Member, Medicine)
3. Dr. Shalini Dhyani (Core Committee Member, Environmental Sciences and membership convener)
4. Dr. Sinosh Skariyachan (Core Committee Member, Life Sciences and in-charge, MentX Program)
5. Dr. Yasin JK (Core Committee Member, Agricultural Sciences and Outreach Convener)
6. Ms. Aparajita Chakraborty (Representative, Members and Associates)

Visit the YAI website

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