Leh: The State-Level Inspire Manak Award Competition for the academic years 2023–24 and 2024–25 was held yesterday at the DIET Leh Exhibition Hall. The event was organized under the guidelines of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Directorate of School Education, UT Ladakh, with DIET Leh overseeing the execution of the competition.
The competition saw students from across Ladakh presenting innovative projects registered online through the Inspire Manak portal. After evaluation by DST, 25 projects were selected for the year 2023–24 and 21 projects for the year 2024–25 to participate at the state level.
Following the exhibition and evaluation, five students from each batch were selected to represent Ladakh at the National Level Inspire Manak Competition. Judges for the event included Dr. Niyas Ali and Dr. Irfan Qadir from Degree College Leh. The UT Nodal Officer of DST/National Innovation Foundation J&K & Ladakh, Ms. Shareen Shakel, was also present to oversee the proceedings.
Secretary, School Education UT Ladakh, Bhanu Prabha (IAS), graced the event as the Chief Guest. She distributed mementos to the selected students and commended their creativity and scientific thinking. In her address, she emphasized the importance of the Inspire Manak platform in cultivating scientific temper among school students. She also assured that in the coming years, more students from Ladakh would be encouraged to participate and benefit from the initiative.
The event concluded with a mentoring session for the selected national-level candidates, led by the judges and UT Nodal Officer Ms. Shakel, to prepare them for the upcoming national competition.
