About Us

A proposal for the creation of a BRICS Young Scientist Forum (BRICS YSF) was adopted at the 2nd BRICS STI Ministerial Meeting in Brasília in March 2015. During the VII BRICS Summit in Ufa, Russia, BRICS countries decided to host the Forum annually, beginning in 2016, with the country holding the BRICS Presidency hosting the event.

The Young Scientist Forum is an important platform for expanding international contacts among young scientists, including through the exchange of experience and best practices in supporting scientific research, with the participation of young scientists and postgraduate students from the BRICS countries.

The Forum promotes initiatives and contributes to establishing an integral system of international cooperation among future representatives of the science, technology and innovation systems of BRICS countries. These activities contribute to the sustainable development of BRICS cooperation and strengthen the role of young scientists and innovators in advancing science, technology and innovation.

The 9th BRICS Young Innovators Prize will be organized as an integral component of the Young Scientist Forum. The Prize will recognize outstanding young innovators whose technological innovations, products, applications and services demonstrate potential for addressing important societal, environmental and economic challenges and contributing to sustainable development in BRICS countries.

The BRICS Young Innovators Prize provides a platform for young BRICS scientists and entrepreneurs to showcase innovative ideas, products and services and to exchange experiences in innovation and entrepreneurship. The initiative was introduced in 2018 during South Africa’s BRICS Presidency and has subsequently become an important platform for young innovators from BRICS countries.

India is among the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research. Indian science has come to be regarded as “one of the most powerful instruments of growth and development,” especially in an emerging and competitive economy.

New demands on the science and technology system call for major science projects that serve national needs and prepare for the technologies of the future. The Department of Science & Technology (DST) plays a pivotal role in promoting science and technology in the country, in a wide range of activities, from high-end basic research and cutting-edge technology development to serving the needs of the common man through skills and technologies.

DST was established on 3 May 1971, following the success of the Green Revolution, which showed the innovative use of scientific methods. Over the following forty-three years, several DST programme streams grew into separate departments or ministries:

These approaches aim at a holistic and systemic influence, with immediate, medium- and long-term relevance, impact across sectors, and synergies that optimise time, human, institutional and financial resources.

The National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) was conceived and founded in 1988 by the late J. R. D. Tata, as an institution for advanced multidisciplinary research.

Located in a green campus in Bangalore, NIAS serves as a forum that brings together people from varied intellectual backgrounds: administrators and managers from industry and government, leaders in public affairs, eminent people from various walks of life, and academics in the natural and life sciences, the humanities and the social sciences.

Its research teams span the natural and social sciences, the humanities and the arts, and the Institute is unique in its integrated approach to the intersections of science and technology, philosophy, social issues and leadership.

Its objective is to develop scholars, managers and leaders who can respond to the complex challenges that face contemporary India and global society.