TTT in Shimla, India results in 3 new International Master Trainers!

A Train-the-Trainer Workshop took place on April 11-19, 2005, at Himachel Pradesh University in Shimla, India. Tucked up in the foothills of the Himalayas, the workshop brought together 50 participants that included teachers, college instructors and researchers from across India with several participants attending from Germany, Nepal, New Zealand, and Thailand. The training team came from India, Thailand, Nepal, and the U.S. The opening ceremony was honored with a visit by the governor of Himachel Pradesh State, His Excellency V.S. Kokje.

Mr. Rajinder Mehta, GLOBE India.s Country Coordinator with India.s Ministry of the Environment and Forests supported the workshop and all costs associated with the Indian participants. Dr. Desh Bandhu, President of the Indian Environmental Society and members of his staff provided all of the organizational support for the workshop.

Mr. Mehta placed special emphasis on student-scientistcollaboration and research by including 19 researchers from around the country with the intentions of initiating research projects in-line with many of the current themes in discussion at the GLOBE Program Office. This direction promises to result in creative implementation models of GLOBE in India.

During the workshop, several trainers shared existing research projects with the participants incorporating students and scientists working together. John McLaughlin, representing the GLOBE Program Office Science Team, shared with the group about the GLOBE ONE Field Campaign in Iowa, United States (http://www.globe.gov/globeone). Professors Krisanadej and Mullica Jaroensutasinee gave a presentation detailing the tsunami project that they are currently conducting on coastal Thailand. These examples served as models for designing future research projects in India.

The participants were provided with a few days to process all the information presented and then ask to formulate plans for new projects that they could present to the group during the second week of the workshop. The researchers are now working on formal proposals to present to the Ministry regarding these future GLOBE projects. This initiative has potential to lead to some impressive student-scientist collaborations taking place in India.

The participants left the workshop energized by all of the possibilities that GLOBE presents. Several of the scientists also were excited by the possibilities of joint-projects working with GLOBE teachers and their students.