I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology, and Engineering facilities Map), an initiative from the Office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, recently organised ‘Samavesha’, a national event to revolutionise research collaboration in India.

The event was held on 16th Jan 2024 at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to connect Researchers, Industry, and Startups with Lab facilities. I-STEM provides a platform to provide research infrastructure and labs that can be availed by users across India.

The project targets connecting researchers with scientific institutes through an online portal. The researcher or the industry looking to avail advanced scientific equipment can connect with the institution that has the equipment they are looking for and rent it to conduct their experiments, through the I-STEM Portal.

This saves the researchers, industry, and startups the prohibitive capital expenditure of purchasing advanced equipment. At the national level, this prevents duplication of resources in the research institutions.

The I-STEM network already has 27,730 ‘Users’ such as researchers, industry, & startups, alongside 2,350 Research and Academic Institutes across India that lend their scientific infrastructure such as labs to the ‘Users’.

Delivering the Inaugural Address, Chief Guest Dr Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary in the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said, “I urge I-STEM to see that researchers from the economically weaker sections get an edge. We must try and reserve 10 to 15% of funds for the economically weaker sections and give them free of cost."

By 2024, I-STEM aims not only to connect individuals to equipment but also to ignite a collaborative ecosystem where startups, industries, and academia co-create the next wave of innovation.