SINners best bits of 2012

Keeping in line with the many ‘highlights of the year’ lists that are released during December we thought we would do a ‘best bits of 2012’ blog.  It has been a busy year with a huge number of visits facilitated, workshops run, events attended and collaborations formed.

My highlight has been getting the opportunity to see all of this fantastic work in action. I have been overwhelmed with the number of projects the team are involved in and the impact that their work has. All you need to do is look through the blog to get a taste! So now over to them for their best bits of 2012…

Head of SIN India Mark Sinclair has a few memorable highlights. The first is the Science and Innovation Council meeting, held in a chilly London this year, it sets the broad agenda for UK-India science and innovation collaboration. It was also an opportunity to celebrate all the progress that has been made since the last Council in 2010. His second best bit got us out and about throughout September, presenting in 13 cities around the country for the EU S&T campaign. These events were a great opportunity to meet new people and highlight some of the fantastic opportunities to work with the UK. And Mark’s final best bit was a member of the SIN team’s wedding, which I am sure is also Kinchit’s highlight of the year!

For Swati the highlight has been the way BBSRC made strong inroads into bioscience research collaborations with India. The year began with the launch of pre-announcement of the call for bioenergy research proposals. Soon to follow was the joint workshop on livestock health with the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The resulting call for research proposals in the third quarter is in fact the first such call for DBT in this area. The final workshop on crop genomics in May led to a clear consensus on potential areas of partnering. So a year with two research calls worth up to £20m from BBSRC in matched partnership with Government of India has been quite productive.

Catherine’s highlight was the release of Our Frugal Futures, a report undertaken by NESTA to map India’s research and innovation landscape. A lot of work went into helping plan the report and line up the interviews so it was great to see the finished product, which is an important toolkit for UK and Indian stakeholders on topics like prioritising research themes, identifying suitable research partners, mapping Centres of Excellence, and recognising Higher Education opportunities.

One of the highlights for Sunil was sitting in the Tata Auditorium, towards the end of the Bangalore – Cambridge Innovation Event , with the Cambridge Vice Chancellor telling the audience he expected to see progress come next year. Often running projects involving busy people can mean a lot of us chasing, cajoling and persuading. After all the goodwill built up throughout the delegation to Cambridge, or the many parallel sessions on the day, hearing the Vice Chancellor take on the mantle of holding feet to the fire was a real boost. Watch this space for news of how we’re meeting the challenge he set in 2013!

Rita, a long standing member of the SIN team, was seconded to the South Asia Research Hub (SARH) this year. SARH is an arm of DFID’s central Research and Evidence Division with an aim to improve ways of helping the poorest. She has been able to be part of some fascinating work in their environment sciences portfolio, including climate change and parts of operational research being funded by them.  Working with SARH has been a great opportunity for Rita in terms of her own professional development goals.

And lastly Tom who has nearly reached the end of his first, fantastic year in India. His highlight is simply seeing the breadth of opportunity and excitement in this huge country. Whether it’s been seeing great work at places like NIIIST ; working with researchers in Bangalore on everything from space research to biomedical engineering; or with colleagues across the British Network in India to promote research and innovation collaborations; he said, “I am always struck by a sense I cannot possibly see and do everything I should be to make the most of the opportunities that exist. There are just so many, it’s a really invigorating place to be working. Roll on 2013!” I am not sure I could have put it any better myself.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone from the SIN India team.

Update 25/01/13: We’ve now uploaded more details of the highlights for the Science & innovation team in India thoughout 2012 on our website. Please check them out.