Mahadevan International Centre for Water Resources Management

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Report on the Refresher Course for earth science teachers

Focal Theme: Natural Resources Management, Environment and Employment,
Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kukatpally campus, Hyderabad, India

Nov. 3 (MO) – 15 (SA), 2003

1. Statement of the problem:
2. General Assessment:
3.Themes of the course:
4.Evening lectures and colloquia:

That Geoscience education in India is in a serious crisis, is self-evident. Following the consensus document (read with the note in J.Geol. Soc. Ind., v. 62,p.503-506,Oct. 2003), the geoscience community is urged to come up with strategies to implement the paradigm shift, through the identification of alternate ways of broad-basing and employment orientation of geoscience education, potential job clusters, course ensembles, possible sources and modes of financing, linkages with industry, sponsorship by various agencies, management systems, etc. The suggestions may kindly be communicated to:
U. Aswathanarayana ([email protected]), under copy to K.V. Subbarao ([email protected]), who will then collate them and present them to appropriate fora (including J.Geol.Soc.Ind.) with due acknowledgement.

[Consensus of the Roundtable Discussion on “Natural Resources Management, Geoscience instruction and Jobs”, JNTU, Hyderabad, 1400 – 1640 hrs., Nov. 3 (MO)]

1. Statement of the problem:

The predicament in which geoscience instruction in India finds itself is best exemplified by the Dept. of Geology, University of Udaipur, Rajasthan, which reportedly has 25 senior teachers but no more than two students for M.Sc. Geology. This situation is obviously unsustainable. In tune with the objective of broad basing of geoscience instruction, the participants included not only teachers in geoscience, but also in civil engineering, environmental science, and economics. The course was interactive, and all participants were required to make presentations, which were moderated by experienced experts.

2. General Assessment:

The highlight of the course was the Roundtable Discussion on “Natural Resources Management, Geoscience Instruction and Jobs”, held on Nov. 3, 2003 with Prof. Arun Nigavekar, Chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi, as Moderator, which explored various ways and means of addressing the serious situation in geoscience instruction (vide encl.). Prof. Umberto Cordani, former President of the International Union of Geological Sciences, Sao Paulo, Brazil, gave the keynote address, and Dr. Claudio Caponi of World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, inaugurated the course. Dr. Caponi had discussions with the Mahadevan Centre about WMO-sponsored training programmes for the developing countries to be held under the auspices of the Centre during 2004-2008.

3.Themes of the course:

The themes of the course have been specifically chosen to address the twin objectives of broad-basing and employment orientation of geoscience instruction. Each lecturer was specifically asked to indicate how teaching in his/her area of expertise could be so oriented as to lead to jobs. The following themes were covered: Internet-based geoscience instruction, linkage subjects, such as geomorphology, meteorology, Coastal Resources Management, Land-use planning, Remote sensing, GIS and GPS, Agriculture, and geophysical approaches. Ways of incorporating the Water, Soil and Mineral Resources Management issues in geoscience instruction in order to lead to jobs, constituted the core of the course.

4. Evening lectures and colloquia on geoscience topics, which are also of public interest:

U.Cordani (Brazil): Mahadevan Memorial Lecture - International Cooperation in teaching and research in geosciences.
R.N. Bastia (Reliance, Bombay): East Coast gas deposit.
P. Ramarao: Paradigm of knowledge-driven economic developmen.
Harsh Gupta (Dept. of Ocean Development, Govt. of India): Ocean development, and geosciences.
Colloquia on “Are large scale water transfers necessary?” and “ How to use R. & D. in geosciences to create new jobs”

5. Field-work:

There were two whole-day field excursions dealing respectively with water and soil issues, and no-waste technologies in the mineral industries.

U. Aswathanarayana (Mahadevan Centre, Hyderabad) & K.V. Subbarao (IIT, Mumbai)
Course Directors

B. Venkateswararao (JNTU)
Course Coordinator

[Consensus of the Roundtable Discussion on “Natural Resources Management, Geoscience instruction and Jobs”, JNTU, Hyderabad, 1400 – 1640 hrs., Nov. 3 (MO)]

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