Online brokerage firm Zerodha has funded the new research block, named after eminent space scientist Prof UR Rao, which includes labs for life sciences, physical sciences, chemical sciences, earth sciences and sophisticated instrumentation for multidisciplinary scientific research.
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Students from the high school level will have access to these labs, free of charge, Prayoga chief mentor HS Nagaraja said.
Zerodha’s chief technology officer Kailash Nadh opened the facility at Prayoga’s campus at Ravugodlu, off Kanakapura road, on Sunday in the presence of Justice MN Venkatachaliah and scientists P Balaram, PR Krishnaswamy, Guru Row and SN Omkar.
The new research block is critical to fostering an ecosystem of rigorous research, innovation, and collaboration, Nagaraja said, while thanking Zerodha founders Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath for their generous support.
“Our decision to back the institution was instant and unanimous. This one of its kind institutions raises creativity in science with its positive influence impacting the society for many years to come,” Kailash Nadh said.
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It was a school trip to the local planetarium in his hometown of Kozhikode, Kerala, that led him to pursue science, said Nadh, who holds a PhD in artificial intelligence & computational linguistics from Middlesex University, London.Prayoga operates under two broad verticals of Kriya, Prerana and Anveshana. The Kriya and Prerana programmes have, over the past three years, touched 75 government and private schools, 300 teachers and about 5000 students from all over the state, contributing to their teaching and learning capabilities, managing trustee Vallish Herur said.
By private schools, he meant, low-budget ones where poor children study. The labs are available at no cost to teachers and schools as well, he added.
The new labs will help researchers do advanced research in green chemistry & technologies, food & agriculture, wellness, advanced & functional materials and earth sciences. “These five are connected to the theme sustainability,” Herur said.
Prayoga was born as they saw a need to create research opportunities right from school to allow students to explore areas, push boundaries and discover new frontiers, said Nagaraja, a veteran teacher & educationist who founded BASE coaching centre before it was sold.
Anveshana, Prayoga’s Research Director KS Nagabhushana said, would provide students with a realistic and valuable experience of scientific research.
Students may also get the opportunity to present or publish their work in conferences and scientific journals. He requested schools to send students keen on pursuing a career in science research.
