A workshop on Design Thinking and Mathematics was organised at Dr. BMN College of Home Science, with the college taking the lead in organising the event and the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) collaborating by conducting sessions. As part of the workshop, a mathematics task was facilitated that focused on a missing-area problem, which was conceptually linked to the Fibonacci sequence. Through this task, students actively explored mathematical ideas by engaging in hands-on problem-solving, pattern recognition, and discussion. The activity encouraged collaboration among students and supported exploratory learning, allowing them to construct conceptual understanding rather than rely on formulaic approaches. Overall, the session fostered meaningful engagement with mathematics, and students participated enthusiastically, reflecting enjoyment as well as deeper conceptual learning.

India proudly hosted the 18th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) in Mumbai from 11 to 21 August 2025, organized by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), a national centre of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). As part of the HBCSE Design and Technology Lab, I had the opportunity to contribute to this international event as a member of the IOAA Newsletter Team. Our main responsibility was to interview delegates, students, and teachers from 65 participating countries and document their experiences, reflections, and stories for publication in the official IOAA newsletter. In addition to this, I created engaging content such as puzzles for the newsletter, captured photographs during the event, and also made a promotional video for social media.

Being part of this diverse and intellectually stimulating environment was an enriching experience. Meeting people from so many different cultures, listening to their journeys in astronomy and astrophysics, and understanding their perspectives gave me valuable insights into how science connects people globally. It was both exciting and rewarding to be part of such a large international collaboration, and the entire experience was truly memorable and inspiring.

The 21st Century Skills Summer Camp unfolded over five enriching and action-packed days, each designed to spark curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. Day 1 kicked off with a hands-on structural engineering challenge where campers built spaghetti towers, followed by a survival-themed critical thinking task that promoted reasoning, teamwork, and decision-making. On Day 2, the focus shifted to data literacy—campers visualized information using color maps, identified patterns, and turned real-time class data into vibrant digital graphs, learning to make sense of numbers in meaningful ways. Day 3 blended craftsmanship with design thinking as participants explored the traditional Japanese art of bookbinding, creating personalized, hand-stitched books while developing precision, aesthetic awareness, and problem-solving skills. Day 4 was an outdoor adventure like no other—The Great Tree Quest—a multidisciplinary treasure hunt through nature that engaged campers as explorers, scientists, and codebreakers using tools like chromatography, graph paper, and environmental clues. The camp concluded on Day 5 with meaningful reflections on sustainability, a hilarious yet insightful “Worst Idea Challenge” about eco-conscious advertising, and a heartwarming certificate ceremony recognizing each camper’s unique contributions. Across all five days, the camp fostered a spirit of joyful learning through making, thinking, and doing—preparing young minds for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Every year, HBCSE celebrates National Science Day (NSD) as an open-house event, attracting over 3,000 participants. The event showcases engaging and interactive demonstrations in physics, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, and design. It aims to nurture children's curiosity and introduce them to various aspects of the scientific world. NSD is held annually on the last day of February. 

On National Science Day at TIFR, I had the opportunity to conduct a session on Jungle Safari, a maths and wildlife module, with 8th and 9th-grade school students. This module integrates mathematics and wildlife, challenging the common belief that maths and biology don’t connect. It enhances students’ mathematical abilities through real-world applications in ecology. The session provided valuable insights into how students engage with the module, deepening my understanding of its impact. These also insights are now motivating me to write a paper exploring how Jungle Safari fosters mathematical thinking in an interdisciplinary context.

This workshop was conducted for 25 undergraduate students who were curious about how we designed waste management systems on our campus and how such actions take shape. Through design as a problem-solving approach, we demonstrated how sustainability can be achieved step by step.

We began by identifying the problem, exploring various solutions, and implementing waste segregation into dry and wet waste. Students learned the composting process through hands-on activities.

To make waste management more engaging, we introduced "Trace the Waste", a board game designed using the design-thinking process, helping students understand waste management through play.