Looking ahead in 2026 | India Science Festival at IISER Pune and lots more in store for connecting minds, shaping future through science and innovation

Focus on inspiring youth towards SciTech, early conversations

Varun Aggarwal, trustee and co-founder, Foundation for Advancing Science and Technology (FAST India), said they are stepping up efforts to strengthen the science, innovation, and evidence ecosystem with an aim to inspire the country’s youth towards science and technology.

“Progress is impossible without deep scientific capability and technological leadership, and this can be achieved if young minds are excited, curious, and inspired to pursue science,” Aggarwal told The Indian Express.

A science theatre on India’s space journey has also been planned.

Early conversations at platforms such as the Pune Public Policy Festival (PPPF) on technology point out the significance of knowing what lies ahead for science and innovation.

“The emphasis is shifting toward execution: aligning research priorities with regulatory preparedness, strengthening public–private partnerships, and building pathways that move emerging technologies — particularly AI, climate solutions, health biotechnology, and advanced and bio-manufacturing—from labs into society. The direction for 2026 is clear: innovation will increasingly be judged not by novelty alone, but by its readiness for deployment and governance,” Professor Anu Raghunathan, chief scientist at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), said.

Why mathematical thinking underpins today’s scientific progress

The same month also features the Indo-European Conference on Mathematics at IISER Pune (from January 12 to 16). According to Dr Kishore M Paknikar, noted scientist who was recently selected as one of the first recipients of the Prime Minister Professorship, the conference will reinforce Pune’s strength in the fundamentals and remind us that mathematical thinking quietly underpins much of today’s scientific and technological progress.

“What is particularly noteworthy is the balance Pune achieves between outreach and rigor, where public-facing festivals coexist with intensive training schools that shape the next generation of researchers. Collectively, these events underscore Pune’s role not only as a centre for scientific discourse and innovation, but also as a city that values mentorship, continuity, and public trust in science throughout 2026,” Dr Paknikar said.

Across Pune’s academic institutions, a series of specialised scientific gatherings has been planned in the upcoming calendar year. Sameer Dhurde, Public Outreach Officer at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, said that a symposium for communicating astronomy in India at IUCAA will bring together astronomy outreach experts for dialogue on effective public engagement in January.

One of the first events of its kind, the symposium is being anchored by the Public Outreach and Education Committee (POEC) of the Astronomical Society of India (ASI). It will be held from January 22 to 24. Later in the year, the Army Institute of Technology will host the IEEE ICNDIA-2026, an international conference in September, bringing global experts together to explore the nexus of digitalisation, intelligence, and technological applications. Professor Raghunathan is also keen about the synthetic biology workshop that signals not only the growing centrality of this field to India’s science and technology agenda but also the need for increased science communication of futuristic breakthroughs.

Energising research at Anusandhan National Research Foundation

Dr Sunil Bhagwat, Director, IISER-Pune, said that the academic and research ecosystem has witnessed key reforms and transformation over the past few years.

“As envisaged by the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 of India, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation has been operational over the past year. We are hopeful that this will lead to a more streamlined flow of research funds for students and faculty, which in turn will strengthen and energise the research ecosystem. As an institute, we look forward to strengthening our engagement with the industry and building on existing synergies. More broadly, with advances in Artificial Intelligence and quantum technology, the computational limitations, which may have restricted our understanding of complex systems such as climate and biological systems, are anticipated to be addressed at an accelerated pace in the future,” Dr Bhagwat added.

According to experts, these early 2026 forums signal a year in which policy, science, industry, and communication begin to co-evolve. “This will set the stage for 2026 to be a year of consolidation, scale, and systems-level thinking in Indian science and technology,” Professor Raghunathan said.