CRF-NIT Rourkela organises its first workshop to provide training on using sophisticated and advanced scientific instruments
The Central Research Facility (CRF), NIT Rourkela, has organised a workshop entitled “Skill Development Workshop & Training on Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)” from 11-13th September 2023. A total of 50 participants comprising students and researchers (From IITs, NITs, Central Universities, State Institutes and Top Private Institutes), faculties, industry professionals and scientist from different parts of the country have come to NIT Rourkela to participate in the workshop.
The inaugural ceremony of this workshop was held today in the seminar hall of the mechanical building, NIT Rourkela. Prof. Dayal R. Parhi (Head of CRF and coordinator of the workshop) welcomed the invited guests, and participants were briefed about the centre. He said, “Through establishing the ‘Central Research Facility’ at the institute, NITR has created a massive infrastructure for research and development. The aim is to house modern equipment for scientific research or testing to keep pace with developments taking place globally. For the very first time CRF is organising this kind of workshop for students/researchers/professionals, so that they can be skilled to use these machines and equipment and get new findings for their research work.”
Inaugurating the workshop, Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao (Director, NITR) said, “In this era of technology, knowledge is insufficient if the required skills do not accompany it. Global universities are looking for skilled students/professionals who have hands-on experience with the equipment related to their area of study or research. CRF-NIT Rourkela is one of the most highly equipped centres among technical institutes in the country in terms of procuring high-end sophisticated instruments, allowing for experimentation and analysis. Now, the use of technology has facilitated collaborative research among institutes. For example, A researcher from any remote area or country can send the sample and know its findings through CRF. With this workshop, participants should explore the ways of using samples, as this can add a universally acceptable skill to their scholarly profile.
During the session, Prof. Rohan Dhiman (Registrar) also addressed the participants and said, “We welcome all the participants from different parts of the country. This workshop is an opportunity for all those who are searching for career options in this area. Technical Manpower demand is high in the industry, and technical institutions are recruiting skilled people. This workshop can help you to enable yourself for many career options like Scientific Officers or Technical Managers of different grades. CRF at NITR was created to optimise the institute’s scientific resources and funds in one place. Rather than individually using the funds for various departments, we have collaborations between the departments through an online management system. This idea has reduced the cost and time for the institute. As NITR takes pride in sharing knowledge and resources, we are now also providing this facility to outsiders with a nominal fee. I encourage everyone to discover your findings during this 3-day workshop.”
Speaking at the inaugural session, Prof. Arnab Sarkar (coordinator of this workshop) said, “By introducing this kind of series, we want to contribute to helping the scientific community by gathering the resources in one place and promoting science, technology, research and development with a practical and skill-based approach to it. Detailing more on the equipment, the co-coordinator of the workshop, Dr. Smrutisikha Bal (Senior Scientific Officer, CRF-NITR), said that among many high-end instruments available at the CRF, 35 advanced instruments are worth Rs.50 lakhs each. Anyone can avail of the sample testing service on these instruments after completing the required procedures at the CRF website.
Informing the participants briefly on the schedule for the 3-day workshop, the inaugural programme was concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Smrutisikha Bal. During the workshop, the participants will have hands-on experiments with equipment like Transmission and Scanning Electron microscopes, Mass spectrometers, Single Crystal X-ray diffraction, Different types of Calorimeter, Liquid Nitrogen Production Systems, etc.