·       Meldal delivers lecture at RGCB Research Conference

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 31:  Education is the most promising investment that brings the highest returns for a society that aspires to progress, according to Prof. Morten P Meldal, Nobel laureate for Chemistry.

Prof. Meldal was delivering an online lecture in 3rd RGCB Research Conference organized by BRIC- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) at Munnar on Saturday.

Prof. Chandrabhas Narayana, Director of RGCB, moderated the session addressed by Meldal, which was a highlight of the August 28-31conference.

“Countries like Vietnam, Poland, Finland, Denmark, have invested in education and yielded success in 10 or 20 years in terms of economy and development, " said Prof. Meldal.

The Denmark-born scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022 for his contribution in ‘click chemistry’, a method that uses simple, high-yielding reactions to easily construct complex molecules.

Suggesting that learning must be made a pleasurable activity from lower classes onwards, he said education should generate curiosity and interest in children.

“I suggest educators should make short videos, starting with a five minutes video for the first graders that generates interest in children about how things work in our environment and slowly increase the length and complexity of the videos with ascending grades,” he said.

“As academicians, we have to lead and educate more people about what’s going on in the world, about consequences of wars, global warming, environmental pollution etc. I think it’s the only way to enable next generation to take the right political decision, to understand what’s right for environment and to understand about resources, about wealth distribution and about importance of peace in general,” Prof. Meldal said.

Noting that excellence is built on freedom, and not by force, he said “Excellence is not limited to an individual, but is a collective process.”