Thought Capital

 An essential part of learning in schools should go beyond textbooks. Learning outside the classrooms provides a framework  for students to develop interests that span beyond the traditional curriculum boundaries which are frequently difficult to teach using classroom methods alone.  

With this in mind, the Department of DIScern took the initiative to launch ``Thought Capital”, a platform to explore topics from different fields. The sessions at Thought Capital consist of meaningful discussions on a predetermined topic. Students get to interact and share their thoughts with industry experts across various fields of work. The platform provides a context for learning in many areas: both general and subject based knowledge.  

These sessions are envisaged to enable our students to think, develop an ability to take part in intellectual conversations, become cutting edge and make a meaningful impact in the society when they pass out of our school. 

 As a part of the inaugural  session, we had Dr. Santosh Bhargav, founder and Director of two award winning start-ups: BendFlex Research and SPovum Technologies, gracing the occasion as a guest speaker.  

Dr. Santosh has completed B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from NIT, Durgapur. He also has a postdoc and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.  

Currently, he runs two start-ups that are into assisted reproductive technology activities and making medical devices for the same.  The topic for discussion was “Can you palpate a single biological cell?” 

Main Points covered in the session:

1.      Interdisciplinary approach required in cell biology

2.      The nitty gritties of palpating a single biological cell-how significant/effective it is

3.      Technology used in palpating single cell-virtual or physical

4.      How to scale down machines for such small cells?

5.      Treatment costs involving cell biology

6.      Risk of using palpated cells in biological warfare

 

Conclusion: His words were truly inspiring to many and the way he explained how two completely different fields can help develop spectacular things was indeed wonderful. Not just the student, but the teachers were also so engrossed in the topic that they came up with many questions. Dr. Santosh was able to break the information down into relatable terms and explain it to us in the simplest way possible. An excellent start to our new initiative of Thought Capital.