The eighth edition of the International Conference on Women In Physics (ICWIP) will be the first to be organised in India when it happens next week on July 10-14.
The conference is an event of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. It was first held in 2002 in France, to address the gender imbalance in physics education and research worldwide.
The Gender in Physics Working Group of the Indian Physics Association and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, are organising it together. The conference will be virtual and will be hosted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, a National Centre of TIFR in Mumbai.
The office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, the three national science academies, the National Institute for Science Education and Research, and the Indian Association of Physics Teachers are supporting the event.
This edition will be “strongly focused on promoting quality and equity in science and mathematics education from primary school to introductory college levels,” according to the official webpage.
This year’s ICWIP is expected to be attended by nearly 500 participants from 70 countries, including students, teachers, researchers, academicians, and scientists, to deliberate on matters related to gender in physics.
There will also be a large contingent from India, according to the organisers, including physicists Rohini Godbole, Prajval Shastri, Tanusri Saha-Dasgupta, Sudeshna Sinha, and Srubabati Goswami, among others.
The conference schedule includes lectures, networking sessions, and interactive workshops, which will cover “women’s leadership in physics”, “teaching physics online”, and “combating biases”, among other topics.
“Organising ICWIP2023 in India is a unique opportunity to further India’s commitment to the cause of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in physics in particular and science in general,” the organisers said in a statement.
