Preparing the next generation of researchers

Abstract

This report covers a June 2020 webinar hosted by the K4C Raipur hub, known as Sangwari, part of the Knowledge for Change Global Consortium that Rajesh Tandon and Budd Hall established in 2017. The session drew on presentations from hub coordinators, PRSU Vice-Chancellor Keshari Lal Verma, and student researchers, set against the backdrop of COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities. The hub turns to its focus on training the next generation of community-based researchers, holding that integrating community-university engagement into core academic work, rather than treating it as a side activity, is what strengthens a university's social responsibility. The report reviews student-led projects tied to SDG 5, SDG 8, and SDG 17, including a study on antenatal healthcare access among rural women in Chhattisgarh, work on sexual harassment awareness among young female athletes, and a planned study on the pandemic's impact on informal women workers. It closes with remarks from Hall pointing to the hub's use of arts-based methods and local language as a model other K4C hubs can draw from.