History and activities of the centre

The Astronomy Centre for Educators was established in 2018, with support from the PMMMNMTT programme, initially hosting the Teaching Learning Centre (TLC) and the National Resource Centre (NRC) for astronomy and astrophysics. Its activities contribute towards one of the core objectives of IUCAA, namely improving pedagogic processes and enhancing research activity in astronomy and astrophysics in institutions of higher education in the country. The activities include

1. workshops and competitions to promote experimental facilities and expertise,
2. designing and producing courses at both the introductory and advanced levels,
3. organising a variety of workshops including pedagogic ones,
4. a collaboration with the Maharashtra State Faculty Development Academy (MSFDA) to organise short workshops on ‘Astronomy, Science and Society’ for faculty members across disciplines in Maharashtra, and more recently
5. the National Education Policy Orientation and Sensitization (NEP – OS) Programme.

The activities of the NRC started with the online courses of the Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT) in 2018 which continued during the pandemic years. The TLC has been renamed as the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre (MMTTC) by the University Grants Commission in 2023.

Current members

• Dhruba J. Saikia

• Prakash Arumugasamy

• Jameer Manur

• Aniket Kadu

• Avinash Deshpande

• Nishant Singh