Shweta Kulkarni
AstronEra is the world’s first Astronomy dedicated elearning platform. I, Shweta Kulkarni, FRAS, Founder of AstronEra, have been working for the popularisation of Astronomy since the age of 16. AstronEra has developed innovative methods for Astronomy popularisation.
Inculcating scientific temperament in a creative way is the motto of AstronEra and we aim to provide the knowledge of Astronomy to everyone and everywhere.
Astronomy can be used as a tool to incubate STEM literacy for the underprivileged communities such as the tribals who do not have access to such information.
By collaborating with the Government, AstronEra has been actively working with the tribal students. Online Astronomy courses were distributed to 500+ tribal schools having elearning facilities. Our efforts to train the students with telescope handling and stargazing skills were also appreciated by the IAU and we were awarded the first prize for the “innovative project” category. We have organised events all across India and also in the UK and Israel. Astronomy workshops are arranged for the youths to gain the stargazing and telescope handling skills as well as communication skills to develop them as Astronomy communicators.
Online courses are hosted which assists in remote learning. We have more than 4000 students from about 90 countries studying online with us.
Due to the pandemic, AstronEra initiated webinars to promote academic learning for various schools and their students. So far, 500 students have been a part of this initiative.
AstronEra is currently expanding towards agricultural science since Indian mythology about Astronomy focuses on agriculture also.
AstronEra has also worked towards the conservation of Lonar meteorite impact crater. The crater carries a lot of importance for the astronomical, biological, historical and architectural communities and it deserves to be a world heritage site.
Since 2011, we have been conducting various activities for the Astronomy popularisation across the age groups, and for a diverse audience as well. Our activities include Overnight stargazing programs, Astronomy Camps, Hands-on model making workshops, Astro-Guide Training workshops. We also produce eLearning Astronomy videos for which we were also supported by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
The Director of AstronEra, Shweta Kulkarni, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, is an undergraduate student at UCLan and is one of the consultant members of the advisory council of the principal scientific advisor’s office, Government of India.
A key initiative of AstronEra is providing astronomical education to tribal communities of India who are deprived of the necessary knowledge about the universe
The students of tribal communities were given an opportunity by AstronEra to watch the heavenly objects through the telescope. This initiative "Chandranomy" was awarded by the international astronomical union as the "Most Innovative Program"
The government tribal schools were provided with basic level audio-visual Astronomy courses to educate the students further. This initiative benefitted about 50000 tribal students so far.
AstronEra’s initiative to educate the young tribals kids and teach them hands-on skills to handle the telescope and make their own observations in the night sky.
We offer e-learning courses that allow individuals from all age groups to get answers for their questions while interacting with experts and fellow astronomers.
AstronEra has developed an online e-learning platform, www.astronera.org, specifically dedicated to promoting Astronomy outreach which is the first of its kind. We produce eLearning content with creative visuals for a better understanding of astronomical concepts and make short video courses available on this port. These courses offer answers to the questions that we all wonder about. Currently, we have 4000+ students enrolled on our eLearning platform from 90+ countries across the globe.
We also run live streams from the experts around the globe where the students can directly ask their questions to the instructor and get more exposure to the field.
Astronera has developed programs that allow people to interact with Astronomy through recreation and tourism. Right from stargazing nights at the dark skies in the Himalayas to showing the planets through the telescope on the sidewalks of the cities, we have interacted with diverse geographies and cultures in India and beyond. We have conducted events across India for the popularisation of Astronomy and have also visited countries, UK and Israel.
Astrotourism has seen a steady rise in popularity and AstronEra has successfully catered to the same. Visiting tourist sites, collaborating with various organizations, and providing the tourists a unique experience through Astronomy became one of the major initiatives of AstronEra. We have been lucky to conduct Astronomy outreach at world heritage sites such as Hampi to the 3000-year-old crater at Lonar, one of the highest altitudes, Spiti, amongst coffee plantations at Chikmagalur, and even at hills occupied by leopards at Jawai Bandh.