Jawhar C T, a Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been selected for the two-week STEPS Centre Summer School. This international summer school on Path-ways to Sustainability is organized by the Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability Centre (STEPS Centre) at the University of Sussex. The STEPS Centre is a flagship initiative of the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is a joint initiative of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and SPRU – Science and Technology Policy Research.

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The Summer School will be held from 12-23 May 2014 in Brighton, UK will explore and apply the cross-disciplinary concepts, analytical frameworks, empirical methods and policy strategies. Participants will join the wider team of STEPS researchers in lectures, seminars, interactive exercises and innovative ‘walkshop’ events in the beautiful nearby Sussex countryside. The emphasis will be on grounded theory, collaborative learning and participatory experience. Students are encouraged to bring current research projects offering particular opportunities for applying the STEPS Centre ‘pathways approach’. Founded in 2006, the STEPS Centre is part of a global network of institutes and organisations concerned with the key roles played in development and social change by science and technology.

Working with partner institutes in twenty countries across five continents the STEPS Centre has pioneered a number of highly policy-engaged initiatives aiming at radical rethinking of the contributions made by knowledge and innovation towards social equity, democratic empowerment and environmental integrity. To this end, the STEPS Centre is building an innovative portfolio of interdisciplinary theory, analytical frameworks and practical tools to strengthen academic research and policy appraisal alike – prioritising the interests of the most marginal groups.

Jawhar has been granted a full scholarship to attend this course that includes return flight to the UK, local accommodation, and a stipend to cover subsistence expenses during the two weeks of the course. The stipend totals £450 which includes a contribution to the cost of his visa.

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Jawhar has completed his MA and MPhil from UoH. In his MPhil dissertation, he looked at People’s Science Movement in India and mapped the transition of the movement from public understanding of science to public engagement with science, under the supervision of Prof. E Haribabu, Department of Sociology and Centre for Knowledge, Culture and Innovation Studies. His principle research interests include the political sociology of science and technology, science communication and role of civil society movement in enhancing scientific temper, the co-production of science and the state in the developing societies, development of biotechnoscience and its socio-political effect on the public, and technoscience and changing aesthetics of cinema. His current research work focuses on the socio-political development in and around the emerging technoscience in general and biotechnoscience in particular. The development of new genetics has triggered diverse issues and questions regarding democracy, citizenship and governance in the context of India.

Jawahar can be reached on email id: jawharct@gmail.com