Two post-graduate students from the city have been chosen to pursue a three-month long fellowship in Germany after winning a Science Slam competition organised by the German House for Research and Innovation at Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad recently.
Jyothi S C and Maithri M, both final year students of integrated MSc biological sciences from Bangalore University, are excited about the trip.
While they were born and brought up in the city, they have different stories behind their success. Maithri, who was runner-up in the competition, comes from a family of academicians with her father being a professor of civil engineering at Ambedkar Institute of Technology. On the other hand, Jyothi’s father is a retired government employee.
Jyothi, who won first place in the competition, said, “I studied in Basaveshwara Girl’s High School in Rajaji Nagar and later at Vidyamandir Pre-University College, Malleswaram. Institutions like Prerana and Sarala Education Trust have helped me throughout my education. They even took care of my travel expenses to Ahmedabad. I have grown up with students from economically weaker sections of society, which inspired me to get involved with NGOs. I started teaching children at Prerana when I was in Class 8.”
Bucking the popular trend of taking up engineering or medicine, Maithri opted for biological sciences.
“I gave up my seat in engineering because I wanted to pursue research in biology. Though my family comes from a small town in Shimoga, they allowed me the freedom to choose my career path. Growing up in the city had its own pressures,” she said.
Jyothi and Maithri had two different topics to prove their research abilities at the competition. Maithri explained, “We were given 10 minutes to translate a difficult topic into funny and easy language. My topic was ‘Drug Delivery Hits the Bull’s Eye’, while Jyothi’s was ‘Suicide Dream Therapy, an Attempt to Murder Cancer Cells’.”
Both girls want to pursue a PhD in biological sciences and continue research. “I want to learn more and implement the techniques in India and also continue teaching,” Jyothi added.