The results of the Fellowship program were evident at the first-ever Pune Science Festival on 24th March, 2018 where students from Pune Municipal Corporation schools, trained by Science for All put up a science exhibition at Fergusson College. Sahil, a standard 8th student from a PMC school was amongst 95 students who exhibited their projects at a Science Fair in Fergusson College on 24th of March. He says, “It was really interesting to learn about Simple Machines by building our own models and exhibiting them in front of thousands of people including professors and renowned scientists. It made me want to study science more seriously.” He is one among more than 4000 students who have been trained by Science for All. “Why do we see an eclipse only on new moon days and not on other days? I can explain it to anyone!”, said Dnyaneshwari excitedly, another student from a PMC school who was part of the exhibition.

The festival also included a panel discussion with renowned scientists and educators Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar (Chair, Reliance Innovation Council and former member of the Scientific Advisory Council to the PM of India) and Dr. Madhav Chavan (Founder, Pratham and former member of the National Advisory Council to the PM of India) centered around the theme of ‘Inclusive Innovation in India: Why Science for All is an imperative’. “India has 1.3 billion minds. What is stopping us from channeling these minds towards innovation is our mindset. I don’t like the mindset of jugaad, because it implies a lack of aspiration for excellence. What India needs to aspire to instead is excellence that is both affordable and inclusive.”, said Dr. Mashelkar during the panel discussion.