India Science Wire
Science and Engineering Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) with the mandate to plan, promote, and fund internationally competitive research in emerging areas, has set up a portal that offers real time information on the various research projects supported by it.
Called ‘SERB – PRoject Information System & Management (SERB – PRISM)’, the e-platform will provide a whole range of information regarding all projects sanctioned by SERB from 2011 onwards, including funding details, status, research summary, and project output details such as publications and patents.
Search facilities enable retrieval of information about projects by the names of Principal Investigators (PIs), institutions, topics and other keywords, as well as year-wise listing and project equipment that have been sanctioned by the Board for them.
The portal is expected to work as a comprehensive tool to help forge stronger scientist-scientist, and science-society connections. Among other things, it will help researchers to look at research trends, learn about cutting-edge science, locate critical equipment in their vicinity, and help seek collaborations across disciplines.
Launching the portal, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST, & Chairman, SERB, suggested that it may be linked with important sectors such as water, energy, and climate and with the new concept of Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR). Prof. Sandeep Verma, Secretary, SERB, highlighted its utility in the context of democratization of Research &Development funding trends since the inception of SERB.
