UNESCO report: Major blind spot in ocean carbon research could undermine global climate predictions

PRESS RELEASE   UNESCO report: Major blind spot in ocean carbon research could undermine global climate predictions   Paris, 23 February 2026 – A new report by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO reveals a critical lack of understanding of how the ocean absorbs and stores carbon. This glaring uncertainty about our planet's largest carbon sink threatens to skew current climate predictions, and hamper our ability to develop effective mitigation and adaptation strategies in the coming decades. The report also lays out a roadmap to bolster international cooperation, strengthen ocean carbon monitoring and update climate models accordingly. Click here to view the full report. "The ocean is one of our strongest climate allies, absorbing a large share of the carbon we emit. Yet we still lack a full understanding of how this natural defense functions - or how long it can endure. Coordinated global monitoring of ocean carbon absorption is therefore essential and urgent. This report reaffirms UNESCO's commitment to supporting Member States in developing climate policies based on robust science to advance this goal," said Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO Director-General.   The ocean is storing around 25% of global CO₂ emissions. But according to the new report coordinated by the IOC of UNESCO, major blind spots remain in our scientific understanding of this process, with variations large enough to considerably affect how governments plan climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.   Climate models built on incomplete data The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research Report finds that scientific models differ widely in estimating how much carbon the ocean absorbs, with discrepancies of 10-20% globally and even greater in certain regions.   These differences stem from limited availability of long-term data, and gaps in understanding how key processes respond to climate change. This means quantifying how changes in ocean warming and circulation affect carbon uptake, how shifts in plankton and microbial life influence long-term storage, and how coastal and polar regions exchange carbon with the atmosphere. Industrial activities today, and the risks associated with climate engineering in the future may also alter the ocean's natural ability to absorb carbon.   Major implications for climate targets and adaptation All of this indicates that we are making climate decisions without knowing how the ocean will behave. If the ocean absorbs less carbon in the future, more CO₂ will remain in the atmosphere and accelerate global warming. This would have a direct impact on future emissions targets and national climate plans. Greater uncertainty in ocean carbon uptake also complicates adaptation planning, especially for coastal communities already vulnerable to storms, sea-level rise and warming waters. Decisions about potential carbon removal strategies and ocean-based climate interventions must also be grounded in more robust scientific evidence.   From uncertainty to action Prepared by 72 authors across 23 countries, the Integrated Ocean Carbon Research Report offers the most comprehensive synthesis to date of the uncertainties affecting our ocean carbon sink estimates. Beyond identifying research needs, the report also lays out a coordinated roadmap to strengthen monitoring, modelling and international cooperation so that ocean carbon science can more directly inform climate policy. To close these knowledge gaps, the report calls for a global ocean carbon observing system, combining satellites, autonomous platforms and sustained measurements from the surface to the deep ocean – while improved ocean and climate modelling should also include stronger capacity development in under-represented regions to ensure truly global monitoring coverage. Reducing carbon emissions remains the only long-term solution to protect the ocean and the climate. But without a clearer understanding of how the ocean carbon sink is changing, global mitigation and adaptation strategies risk being built on incomplete information. Since the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030), more than 500 projects have been launched worldwide, and over one billion dollars have been mobilized to advance ocean knowledge and transform it into measurable action. From strengthening global ocean observing systems and advancing seabed mapping to improving early warning for coastal hazards and supporting ecosystem-based climate solutions, IOC of UNESCO is helping build the scientific foundations required to protect ocean biodiversity and enhance climate resilience worldwide.   Learn more Full report: Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: a vision primed for implementation Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO About UNESCO   With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions, with a global network of 200 National Commissions. Its Director-General is Khaled El-Enany.   "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed" – UNESCO Constitution, 1945.   More information: www.unesco.org   Press contact François WIBAUX, f.wibaux@unesco.org, +33 (0) 1 45 68 07 46   UNESCO Newsroom All our press releases   Social media

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SPP Special Issue on Innovation-driven Knowledge Economies and Transformation in the Global South: What we have learned over the years of the Globelics network

Science and Public Policy, 53(1), 2026.

Special Issue on Innovation-driven Knowledge Economies and Transformation in the Global South: What we have learned over the years of the Globelics network

Articles

• Editorial 'Innovation-driven knowledge economies and transformation in the Global South' | Gabriela Dutrénit and others
• Coevolution of subsystems of society, innovation systems, and development: Chris Freeman and the Latin-American structuralists | Gabriela Dutrénit and others
• A dynamic view on the Latin American innovation system at continental, national, and local level | Carlos Bianchi and others
• An indicator framework for assessing innovation capabilities in the informal sector | Il-haam Petersen and others
• Conditions for a successful latecomer development in green technologies | Rainer Walz and others
• The evolution of environmental technologies integration in industrial knowledge bases: centrality, coherence, and convergence| Ana Urraca-Ruiz and others
• 4IR technology adoption in the South African airline industry: drivers, constraints and labour market effects | Alexis Habiyaremye and Lorenza Monaco
• Innovation and knowledge-based inclusive transformation of rural areas in Algeria: examining the PPDRI programme | Abdelkader Djeflat
• Steering the wheel to deliver what? Innovation, coalitions, and directionality in Latin American biologics | Gabriela Bortz and others
• Conceptualising inclusive in inclusive innovations: evidence from the AI-based MedTech for cancer detection in India | Pallavi Joshi and others
• Exploring role, actions, and influence of industry associations in politics of health innovation in India | Dinar Kale and Theo Papaioannou
• International partnerships for building STI capabilities: insights from centres of excellence in Latin America | Pavel Gabriel Corilloclla Terbullino

JNU LEC Workshop 'From Idea to Impact: Academic Writing and Research Communication in the AI Era | 25 February

LEC Workshop titled 'From Idea to Impact: Academic Writing and Research Communication in the AI Era | Wednesday 25 February 2026

Kindly fill out the details in this form (https://scan.page/84xIRg) for registering for the one-day academic writing workshop.

Please note:

1. Details can be filled out ONLY by current JNU students. Zero semester students are not allowed.

2. Join the given WhatsApp group for instant updates: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KpLn0yE0V9l62E5smGBDjc

3. Remember to submit a copy of your JNU I-card.

Date: Wednesday, 25 February, 2026

Venue: Committee Room no. 128, SIS - II (new building), JNU

Time: 1:30 p.m. onwards

For any query:

- Dr Sandesha Rayapa (LEC Faculty): sandesha.rayapa.jnu@gmail.com  

--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Anup Kumar Das
Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi - 110067, India

डॉ. अनुप कुमार दास 

विज्ञान नीति अध्ययन केंद्र, सामाजिक विज्ञान विद्यालय,

जवाहरलाल नेहरू विश्वविद्यालय, नई दिल्ली - 110067, भारत

Editor-in-Chief: Journal of Data Science, Informetrics, and Citation Studies (jcitation.org)

Editor/Book Review Editor, Journal of Scientometric Research (JSCIRES) (Scopus-indexed). 

Associate Editor, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development (AJSTID) (Scopus-indexed).

Information Coordinator-cum-Member, IFLA Library History Special Interest Group

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9490-7938

Web: www.anupkumardas.blogspot.com

X: @AannuuppK | @IndiaSTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2027-2028 Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral & Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

2027-2028 Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships
The Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships are designed to build long-term capacity to address global challenges and develop innovative solutions in key priority areas in both India and the USA. They encourage proposals that are futuristic, innovative and technology focused. Selected scholars will have the opportunity to conduct research, audit non-degree courses at USA academic institutions to enhance their knowledge and gain practical work experience in suitable settings in the USA. These fellowships are designed for Indian scholars who are registered for a PhD at an Indian institution. These fellowships are for six to nine months. Application Deadline: July 1, 2026

2027-2028 Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

The Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are designed for early-career faculty and researchers in India, offering an opportunity to enhance their research capabilities. Postdoctoral fellows will have access to some of the finest resources in their areas of interest and will help build long-term collaborative relationships with U.S. faculty and institutions. These fellowships are for eight to 24 months. Application Deadline: July 15, 2026

2027-2028 Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships | Application Deadline: July 1, 2026

CfPs: 18th International Asian Urbanization Conference 2026 | SCU Ladakh, India; 5-8 August

The 18th International Asian Urbanization Conference 2026

Theme: Resilient Futures: Urbanization, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development Policy in a Changing World

Venue: Sindhu Central University, UT of Ladakh, India

Dates: August 5-8, 2026

Registration Form

About the Conference: Urbanization and climate change are among the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. Cities are at the frontline of environmental, social, and economic transformation, facing extreme weather events, resource scarcity, and inequitable growth. The 18th International Asian Urbanization Conference brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to explore how urban areas can become resilient to climate change while promoting sustainable development. Global case studies, theoretical frameworks, and practical solutions are integrated to provide actionable insights for researchers, policymakers, and students.

Notes for Contributors: The 18th International Asian Urbanization Conference (IAUC) welcomes original contributions that have not been submitted, published, or accepted for publication elsewhere for their edited volume/ proceedings. Contributors must specify the same in the article submission email. Contributors are urged to follow the Asian Urban Research Association (AURA) stylesheet that is available at the end of this note. All contributions must be sent to asianurbanresearch.association@gmail.com accompanied by:

• An abstract of 150–200 words
• Six to eight keywords
• Author name, email address and contact email for correspondence, one-line author notes for each author stating current designation and affiliation. We include the email address provided in the author note.

Contributors are cautioned against plagiarism and excessive self-referencing. Figures, graphs and tables must be used sparingly to avoid repetition of content. All supplementary files such as figures, tables, maps, etc., must be provided in MS Office (Word/ Excel) or other editable formats, wherever possible.  The organizers intend to compile a proceedings-style edited volume drawn from a curated set of conference papers. Early submission of abstracts and full paper is encouraged.
Notes for Contributors: https://bit.ly/NotesforContributors

Timeline

• Deadline for Paper Abstracts/ Session proposals: February 25, 2026
• Notification of Acceptance of Paper Abstracts: March 1, 2026
• Full Paper Submission: May 1, 2026

Conference Schedule

• Tuesday, August 4: Half-Day Field Visit; Social Reception and Mixer
• Wednesday, August 5 Conference Inaugural | Plenary Session A | Paper and Policy Sessions
• Thursday, August 6 Plenary Session B | Paper and Policy Sessions
• Friday, August 7 Paper and Policy Sessions | Conference Roundtable | Valedictory Session
• Saturday, August 8: Full Day Field Trip

New Book "India’s High-Tech Leap, Industrial Policy and Future of Innovation" by S. Mani, 2026

India's High-Tech Leap, Industrial Policy and Future of Innovation
by Shri Sunil Mani; Edward Elgar, UK, 2026 ISBN: 9781035382309.

Summary: This incisive book explores how strategic government support can drive innovation and competitiveness, especially in emerging economies. Sunil Mani highlights India's industrial successes, such as global IT software services, pharmaceutical industries and sustainable technologies, as well as the drawbacks of their reliance on imports and weak coordination. This incisive book explores how strategic government support can drive innovation and competitiveness, especially in emerging economies. Sunil Mani highlights India's industrial successes, such as global IT software services, pharmaceutical industries and sustainable technologies, as well as the drawbacks of their reliance on imports and weak coordination. Mani investigates how India has used government policies to boost high-tech industries, and assesses a variety of strategies including funding research, tax breaks and promoting local manufacturing. He incorporates in-depth sectoral case studies to present a detailed analysis of high-tech industries and their economic impact. Chapters showcase industry-specific insights and a global comparative approach to reveal lessons on effective state intervention. The book proposes an actionable policy roadmap with concrete steps for India's high-tech future, from strengthening supply chains and boosting skill advancement to fostering public-private research and development partnerships. India's High-Tech Leap, Industrial Policy and Future of Innovation is an enlightening read for scholars and students of industrial policy, innovation studies and economic development, as well as science and technology studies. It is also a beneficial resource for policymakers and practitioners in pharmaceuticals, IT services and renewables for its practical recommendations.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction: India's high-tech leap, industrial policy and future of innovation

2 Pharmaceutical manufacturing and computer software services industries

3 R&D and manufacturing of vaccines for COVID-19

4 Wind turbine manufacturing industry

5 Solar photovoltaic manufacturing industry

6 Electric vehicle manufacturing industry

7 Conclusion: reflections on India's high-technology manufacturing and policy pathways

More Information

CfPs: International Seminar on India on the World Stage: Soft Power, Policy & Youth Diplomacy | 26-28 March | NU, Bihar

International Seminar on India on the World Stage: Soft Power, Policy & Youth Diplomacy

 26-28 March 2026

Hosted by Nalanda University (Institution of National Importance), Bihar, in partnership with the Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India.

Call for Papers

Nalanda University, revived as a global center of learning rooted in India's civilizational ethos, stands as a symbol of dialogue, cultural exchange, and knowledge-sharing. In the 21st century, as India redefines its global identity, youth engagement through soft power, diplomacy, and policy innovation is indispensable.
The International Seminar series initiated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports provides an opportunity to situate Nalanda University at the forefront of these conversations. By integrating India's heritage of knowledge diplomacy with contemporary policy debates, Nalanda can contribute substantively to shaping youth leadership for a multipolar world. "'Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah'" (Let noble thoughts come to us from all directions) this timeless Vedic ideal underpins Nalanda's philosophy of open dialogue and cross-cultural learning.
Young Scholars, practitioners, and policymakers below the age of 35 years from around the world are invited to submit original research papers based on the themes given in the theme section. The following are illustrative of the scope of the seminar and are not meant to be exhaustive.
Conference sub-themes  

• Youth diplomacy for a sustainable and just world
• Youth climate advocacy
• Cultural and educational diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific
• Role of youth in humanitarian and environmental diplomacy
• Heritage, Conservation & Cultural Corridors and Civilization
• Dialogue, Diplomacy and Peace
• Translation and Narratives; multilingual public diplomacy
• Literary exchanges, soft power and digital humanities.

Authors who wish to present their research at the seminar must submit the extended abstract in the following format:
Title of the paper, names, affiliations and emails of authors, extended abstract of 2000 - 2500 words, and 4–5 keywords in Times New Roman font size 12, single spaced. Email id and contact number of corresponding author should be given as a footnote. All accepted extended abstracts will undergo peer review and upon acceptance will be published as the compendium. Acceptance of abstracts implies the work will be presented in the conference and at least one author will attend the conference.
Accommodation and Travel: Accommodation and travel for participants whose papers will be accepted for the presentation will be supported by the Host (Nalanda University).

Important Dates:

• Extended Abstract Deadline: February 24, 2026
• Acceptance Notification: February 28, 2026.

Submission Link for Abstracts

PMML invites Applications for Fellowship 2026

PRIME MINISTERS MUSEUM AND LIBRARY

TEEN MURTI HOUSE, NEW DELHI-110011

Applications for Fellowship

Applications are invited by Prime Ministers Museum and Library, Teen Murti House, New Delhi for the award of Fellowships to outstanding scholars to pursue research in (i) India: Recent Geopolitical, Historical, Economic & Social Trends and Developments (ii) Post-Independence India: Domestic Issues & Challenges (iii) India in the Global context particularly postSecond World War era and (iv) Democracy, Governance and Statecraft: Past and Present.
Applications are also invited for the award of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Fellowship on Prime Ministers of India and newly launched Scholar in Residence Programme.
Further details of the Fellowships such as Terms and Conditions, eligibility criteria and application form are available on the PMML website. Applications along with all the relevant documents should be e-mailed in one single PDF file to fellowship.nmml@gov.in on or before 28 February 2026 11:59 p.m. Applications will be accepted through e-mail only. Members of the PMML Society, the Executive Council and PMML staff cannot be a referee. For any query, call 011-23010666. Source: https://pmml.nic.in/static/pdfs/1770017499307_Fellowship_Ad_2026.pdf.

SCSNEI-JNU Talk on Getting Published| 12 February

SPECIAL CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF NORTH EAST INDIA

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

 THE BOOK CLUB

Invites you to a Talk on Getting Published

 Speaker: R. Chandra Sekhar, Publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing India

 Date: Thursday, 12 February 2026

Time: 3-5 pm

Venue: Room 324, 3rd Floor, SSS-I, JNU

 ALL ARE INVITED

CFA: 'Problems of Growth', Ischia Summer School on the History of the Life Sciences, 28 June – 5 July, Italy

---------- Forwarded message ---------
**Deadline for applications is Friday 27 February 2026 **

Call for applications 

Problems of Growth: Nineteenth Ischia Summer School on the History of the Life Sciences
Biblioteca Antoniana, Ischia, Italy, 28 June – 5 July 2026

Applications are invited for this week-long summer school, which provides advanced training in history of the life sciences through lectures, seminars and discussions in a historically rich and naturally beautiful setting. The theme for 2026 is 'Problems of Growth'. The deadline is Friday 27 February 2026.

Organizers: Christiane Groeben (Naples, local organizer), Nick Hopwood (Cambridge), Erika L. Milam (Princeton), Staffan Müller-Wille (Cambridge) and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn

Confirmed faculty: Daryn Lehoux (Queen's, Canada), Dániel Margócsy (Cambridge), He Bian (Princeton), Patrick Anthony (Uppsala), Alison Bashford (UNSW), Hannah Landecker (UCLA), Edna Suárez-Díaz (UNAM), Sabina Leonelli (TU München)

For funding we are most grateful to Cambridge HPS, Cambridge Intesa Sanpaolo Fund, George Loudon, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Dohrn Foundation, Science History Institute, Centro Etnografico delle Isole Campane, Center on Science and Technology at Princeton University and the Italian Society for the History of Science. 

More information: <https://ischiasummerschool.org/theme>

About the school
The Ischia Summer School on the History of the Life Sciences provides advanced training in a lively international field that offers a long-term perspective on some of the most significant ideas, practices and institutions in the world today. The school, which has a tradition of association with the Naples Zoological Station, was revived in 2005 after a break of two decades and has run every other year since then other than during the coronavirus pandemic. We can accommodate up to 26 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The event provides a structured learning experience plus extensive opportunities for participation and interaction. English is the working language and we encourage exchange of ideas across disciplinary boundaries, national cultures and historical periods. Spending the week on an island, staying in the same hotel and sharing breaks and meals maximizes opportunities for exchange. These are enhanced through social events, including a welcome reception and a day trip to Naples, the morning spent learning about the history and current research of the Station, the afternoon free for sightseeing. There will also be a free afternoon to explore Ischia itself.

Introduction to the theme

Growth affords hope and attracts fear. Balanced growth feeds populations, fuels prosperity and imparts purpose to individual and collective lives. The unfettered growth of cells, pathogens, parasites and populations threatens physiological, economic and ecological collapse. Even balance may be a problematic ideal: norms of flourishing and beauty have guided discrimination by vaunting harmonious over retarded, excessive or monstrous growth. The sustainability of life on Earth, attempts 'to change the story of cancer' and the politics of human diversity: growth is at the heart of them all. Yet compared with other vital processes, notably inheritance, development and reproduction, growth in the life sciences has lacked status and attention. This summer school provides an opportunity to explore knowledges and practices of growth between antiquity and the present day while bringing together problems usually kept apart.

For Aristotle, vegetative growth was the lowest function of the soul and for that reason fundamental to plants, beasts and humans. Unlike fire, vegetative growth had a natural limit. Where minerals grew by external accretion or juxtaposition, living beings had the distinctive ability to expand by assimilation of nutrients from the inside out, whether organ by organ or from a preformed seed. Surgeons tried to remove those tumours, cankers and warts that resulted from an imbalance of humours among other causes. Generation, which was hard to imagine in mechanical terms, was often framed as a special form of growth. Late medieval philosophers brought together generation, projectile movement and the accumulation of capital as sharing the same basic problem, how a movement severed from its mover could continue to produce. In a balanced world, gain in one part was compensated by loss elsewhere. Large animals, according to Aristotle, produced fewer offspring, and the relative growth of one organ entailed the diminution of another. At Italian universities during the Renaissance, these ancient ideas were taken up and reformed by scholars including Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, Andrea Cesalpino and Marcello Malpighi in attempts to reground the systematic study of nature and naturalize growth and development.

By contrast, it seems, modern approaches to growth, in biology as in economics, aimed for an overall increase—in size, in number of individuals and in productivity. As the ultimate source of economic progress the physiocrats postulated an inherent capacity of nature to reproduce. Naturalists like Lazzaro Spallanzani located the same reproductive and regenerative capacities in minute parts that made up animal bodies. But proper growth was also reckoned to occur within certain limits. In the principle of population, Thomas Robert Malthus expressed the limit set for the potentially geometric growth of human numbers by the merely arithmetic growth of food supplied from the land. More generally, in the hands of the population biologist Raymond Pearl the S-shaped curve came to capture the colonization of a new space, with slow initial acceleration towards exponential growth and then deceleration as environmental resistance increased and the 'carrying capacity' was reached. Based on computer simulations of the catastrophic consequences of runaway population and economic growth, the Club of Rome's bestselling report The Limits to Growth (1972) is a point of origin for debate over 'degrowth' and 'sustainable growth'.

Classical discussion of growth within organisms had been informed by the canons of beauty appropriate to each stage of life, with more attention to proportion than size. Beginning in the eighteenth century, longitudinal measurements of human growth aligned with demands for military manpower and projects of social reform. Measurement fed debate over the roles of heredity and environment. On the one hand, anthropometry ultimately produced distinct growth equations for groups defined by age, sex and race. Unbalanced growth was associated with monstrosity and other ways of falling short of the white, male model. On the other, failure to grow became an index of deprivation, most obviously, as physiologist Angelo Mosso argued, in the stunting of factory children. Eugenicists, notably criminologist Cesare Lombroso, were concerned with imbalance at the level of populations.

Standards justified clinical intervention in pathologies of growth. James Tanner, who led the Harpenden study into growth through puberty into adulthood, pioneered the treatment with growth hormone of children who looked set to miss out on the advantages of height. Since the 1980s ultrasound measurements of fetuses have identified growth restrictions on an ever larger scale. Yet even after major surveys from Turin to Nairobi, it is controversial to what extent the standards should be universal or tailored to demographic groups.

In the nineteenth century the knotty issues involved in defining individuals that were explored productively at the Stazione Zoologica di Napoli made growth hard to distinguish from maintenance and reproduction. An influential formulation held that reproduction represented growth beyond the individual limit. From the 1860s embryonic development was discussed in terms of the differential growth of parts. Inspired by D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form (1917), Julian Huxley set an agenda with Problems of Relative Growth (1932) and the notion of allometry, or the shape-changing growth of a part at a different rate from the organism as a whole. Mechanisms could be studied in ontogeny or changing patterns traced in phylogeny. In a famous essay, 'On being the right size', J.B.S. Haldane proposed that 'Comparative anatomy is largely the story of the struggle to increase surface in proportion to volume': more complicated forms enable the larger sizes that maintain body temperature at lower metabolic rates.

Within a species, tissues and organs must somehow 'know' when to stop growing. The cell theory framed organismal growth as the division and expansion of these elementary parts. Cancer, the disease that made biomedicine, came to be understood as a pathology of malignant growth. Research elucidated factors, not least growth factors, notably nerve growth factor discovered by Stanley Cohen and Rita Levi-Montalcini, that promoted, regulated and interfered with cell division. Alongside chemotherapies, weedkillers were developed that acted by causing rapid, uncontrolled growth. Synthetic auxins, the hormones that regulate cell division and expansion in plants, became notorious as the defoliant Agent Orange used by the British in the Malayan Emergency and the United States in the Vietnam War.

This sketch raises large questions. Should understandings and practices of growth be seen as having first sought balance, then promoted unlimited increase before recognition of the costs of growth called the whole framework into question? Or did gospels of growth acknowledge the need for some balance? Should we grasp growth as a modern or capitalist imperative, a potentially relentless power and a creative one through the transformation of quantity into quality? Or is a reason for its neglect in reflection on the life sciences (as distinct from economics and agronomy) that growth implies mere increase in size or number while the truly remarkable changes have seemed to result from qualitative alterations? Reflexively, reservations about growth apply to knowledge, too; simply accumulating data has seemed inadequate when we might need a whole new paradigm. A long-term theme and implicated in urgent problems, growth in and around the life sciences provides a rich field for historical deliberation and for trade between disciplines.

Programme
The school starts with registration and a reception on the afternoon of Sunday 28 June, and ends after dinner the following Saturday night. Departure is on Sunday 5 July. Lectures last for up to 30 minutes in one-hour slots, leaving at least 30 minutes for discussion. Seminars focus on pre-circulated texts. Groups of students will prepare each one with the seminar leader.

Daryn Lehoux (Queen's, Canada)

Lecture: Aristotle on nutrition, growth, residues and seed

Seminar: The 'faculty' of growth in Galen

 

Dániel Margócsy (Cambridge)

Lecture: Soil, vermin and ghosts: The limits to growth in agriculture and medicine in early modern Europe and Indonesia

Seminar: Humans and horses: Theorising size in early modern European Medicine

 

He Bian (Princeton)

Lecture: Growth and regeneration in early modern Chinese thought

Seminar: Growing empire, coining new names: Manchu as a language for flora and fauna nomenclature

 

Patrick Anthony (Uppsala)

Lecture: Toward a history of extractive sciences—and the end of the mineral frontier

Seminar: From bio-geography to necro-geography: Sciences of life and death during the Circassian genocide 

 

Alison Bashford (UNSW) 

Lecture: Growth, limits and the afterlife of Malthus

Seminar: Fertility decline and modernity's great deceleration: Where is reproduction/population in degrowth scholarship?

 

Hannah Landecker (UCLA)

Lecture: The butcher's philosophy: Transmuting knowledge of life into knowledge of growth in modern agriculture and medicine

Seminar: Practical approaches to working with visual documents: Exploring cases and patterns in an industrial trade journal archive

 

Edna Suárez-Díaz (UNAM)

Lecture: Geographies of malnutrition: The clinic, the lab and the committee

Seminar: Traditions of knowledge and intervention: Studying malnutrition and mental development in the land of Zapata

 

Sabina Leonelli (TU München)

Lecture: Growing data crops: Extractivism and agriculture

Seminar: Colonial trends in agricultural data sharing

Public lecture: Intelligenza ambientale: Come usarla per salvare il pianeta

Cost
The fee for students is €400 each, which includes hotel accommodation and all meals for the week. Students need to pay for their own travel to Ischia. The directors will consider requests to waive the fee for accepted students unable to raise the money themselves, when supported by a detailed financial statement and a letter from their department head.

Applications
Applications should be sent by email to <administrator@ischiasummerschool.org> and should include, please:

• a statement specifying academic experience and interest in the course topic (max. 300 words),

• a brief CV,

• a letter of recommendation.

The deadline for applications is midnight CET on Friday 27 February and applicants will be notified of the outcome by 13 March 2026.

Applications are invited for Namaste Governor Acharya Award 2026

NAMASTE GOVERNOR ACHARYA AWARD 2026

Applications are invited for five NAMASTE GOVERNOR ACHARYA AWARD 2025-26 from the PhD students of different Centers/Schools of JNU working on different aspects of research (e.g. political, social, ecological, environmental, gender, poverty, health, geography, literature, biodiversity, etc.) and welfare of the Eight States of North East India.

The applications should fulfill the following criteria:
1. The applicant must have got his/her PhD synopsis approved, between 1st January 2025 to 31st December 2025.
2. The applicant can submit, in addition, any other publications on North East India.
3. The applicant has to provide documentary evidence of the work done on North East India.
4. Those who have received this award in previous years will not be eligible.

• Duly filled and signed application forms along with necessary documentary evidences must reach the office of the Special Centre for the Study of North East India (SCSNEI) on or before 15th February 2026, 5:00 pm.
• For any clarification, kindly contact Ms. Asha Joshi, SCSNEI/SSS-I, Room no.416, 4th floor, SSS-1, JNU. Contact no: 0ll-26704786, Email Id: scsnei@jnu.ac.in. For detailed information kindly visit SCSNEI Web page at JNU website (https://www.jnu.ac.in/scsnei) or contact the Office of SCSNEI.

FDP on Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Bibliometrics, and Responsible AI in Scientific Research | 16-22 February; Kolkata, India

FDP on Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Bibliometrics, and Responsible AI in Scientific Research

Date: 16-22 February 2026

Venue: Institute of Development Studies Kolkata, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK), the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, and Presidency University, Kolkata jointly invite applications from scholars, faculty members, and postgraduate students from all disciplines for a seven-day Workshop-cum-Faculty Development Programme on Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Bibliometrics, and Responsible AI in Scientific Research, scheduled for 16–22 February 2026.
Objectives:
The programme is designed to strengthen the methodological competencies of early-career researchers in systematic review, meta-analysis, and bibliometric techniques, with a focus on open-source analytical environments. It integrates training in scientific writing, research integrity, and responsible AI to support transparent and high-quality scholarly communication. Participants will receive hands-on training in data management, analysis, and visualisation. The curriculum introduces structured and reproducible review methodologies aligned with PRISMA standards, including protocol development, advanced search strategies, data extraction, critical appraisal, effect size estimation, and research mapping. Training will incorporate R- and Python-based workflows, VOSviewer, Biblioshiny, ASReview, and other open platforms to promote openness, reproducibility, and robust research practices.
Target Participants:  This intensive, hands-on, and methodology-driven programme is designed to strengthen participants' competencies in PRISMA-aligned systematic reviews, meta-analytic techniques, and bibliometric research mapping, using open-source tools and reproducible workflows. A distinctive feature of the FDP is its strong emphasis on Responsible AI, research integrity, and transparent scholarly communication, addressing contemporary challenges in evidence synthesis.The workshop is intended for the faculty members, doctoral researchers, and postgraduate students including those preparing for doctoral enrolment, as well as independent researchers across STEM fields, medicine and public health, social sciences, business studies, and interdisciplinary domains. Librarians, information professionals, data stewards, and practitioners engaged in evidence synthesis, research evaluation, or research support services are also encouraged to apply. No prior experience is required, although basic familiarity with research design will be helpful.

Intake Capacity: 30 (Thirty)
How to Apply:
Applications must be submitted through the following link: https://forms.gle/4rCQbHPHty6mZoeC7. Selected applicants will be required to pay the registration fee (Payment details will be shared with selected participants in due course).  Registration Fee: INR 4,499/- for Faculty and Working Professionals; INR 3,999/- for Scholars, Students, and Others. What we provide: Workshop Kits; Tea/coffee and Lunch on all seven days; Certificate of participation. Note: Participants should bring their own laptops. Accommodation: Participants must arrange their own accommodation; however, assistance in getting nearby options can be provided upon request.

Participants are encouraged to come with a research idea and leave with a near-submission-ready manuscript, supported through structured protocol development, advanced search strategies, data extraction, critical appraisal, effect size estimation, and visualization. Selected participants will also have the opportunity to contribute chapters to an edited volume with Routledge/Springer, subject to scholarly quality and thematic alignment.

Last date for application: 06 February 2026

Further Details | Registration Form

CfPs: International Conference on "Youth Narratives and Cultural Practices Across the Globe in the 20th and 21st Century" | 28–30 October, JNU New Delhi

Centre of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian & Latin American Studies
School of Language Literature & Culture Studies
Jawaharlal Nehru University

 is organising an International Conference on

Youth Narratives and Cultural Practices Across the Globe in the 20th and 21st Century

28–30 October 2026
JNU, New Delhi 

CALL FOR PAPERS

Youth, at present, occupies a major demographic share around the world, especially in the developing nations. Their role has been crucial in the realisation of ideologies, governance, economics and socio-cultural contexts in earlier centuries as well but more so in the 20th and 21st century. Literature, cinema, music, digital media, art, activism, and everyday cultural expressions produced by and about young people have consistently articulated experiences of inequality, justice, aspiration, resistance, and belonging. This international conference seeks to examine these youth narratives and cultural practices from a global and comparative perspective, situating them within the broader framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

From the greatest and silent generation who lived through the great depression and the two world wars, to the baby boomers who protested against the Vietnam war, all found solidarity and strength through cultural expressions. While the earlier navigated the challenges of their times and popularized jazz and swing music, the latter led to the creation of "Summer of Love". On the other hand, Gen X subtly paved its way through MTV culture. The millennials who constitute the largest generation group and are the connection between the Gen Z, Gen Alpha, Gen Beta and the earlier generations, articulate their aspirations, anxieties, and political consciousness through alternative public platforms like graffiti and street play. The later generations are born equipped with the smartness of the gadgets and know that the solution to a problem is just a click-away. They have created a whole virtual ecosystem of expression, activism, mobilisation wherein this ecosystem is one of the sites of movements. Across the world, youth movements have consistently emerged across hierarchical intersections of social belonging, some examples are the 2013 Gezi Park Protests in Turkey, Sunflower Student Movement of Taiwan and 2019 student rebellion in Hong Kong. 

The culture and literature that developed around these generations have overlapping tropes that hint at the universality of human development. While the cultural practices and perspective of each of the generations are different, the common denominator is their resilient approach and the hope with which they navigate the challenges. They have been instrumental in shaping social consciousness, collective memory, and future imaginaries. The Mexican Tlatelolco movement, the French Revolution, the Cuban revolution, the Emergency in India, Arab Springs are some popular examples. Their aspirations and articulations influence civil society, government, and human rights discourse. The sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations are a manifestation of this influence. 

Youth are actors of change and resistance and the recent youth-led protests in Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Peru, Argentina are examples of their awareness and power. The conference will provide an interdisciplinary platform for scholars to analyse youth-led cultural practices as sites of informal learning, social critique, civic engagement, and ecological consciousness. It will examine both historical and contemporary case studies, enabling an internationally situated dialogue between twentieth-century youth movements and twenty-first-century digital and transnational youth cultures.

The conference is premised on the understanding that sustainable development is not solely a technocratic or economic endeavour, but also a deeply cultural and narrative process. Youth cultures play a crucial role in interpreting social realities, questioning dominant development paradigms, and imagining alternative, more inclusive and sustainable futures. By foregrounding youth voices and cultural expressions from diverse regions of the world, the conference aims to explore how issues such as education, gender equality, social inequality, urban sustainability, climate action, and peace are negotiated, represented, and transformed through narrative and culture, as such the conference invokes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations. 

In particular, the conference will look at six SDGs- 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 13 (Climate Action), and 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). The conference aims to contribute to broader academic and policy discussions on youth engagement, cultural sustainability, and inclusive development. It seeks to demonstrate how youth narratives and cultural practices can inform more socially grounded, culturally sensitive, and supplement sustainable development frameworks. To realise this aim applicants should preferably situate their papers in alignment with at least one of the SDGs mentioned contextualised within sub-themes listed below. 

 

Themes and sub-themes

Youth and Politics

Youth as Agents of Political Transformation in the 20th and 21st Century

Student Movements and Democratisation: Comparative Perspectives from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe

Youth Activism in the Age of Precarity: Unemployment, Inequality, and Political Expression

Campus Politics and the Making of Public Intellectual Culture

Youth and Literature

Literary Representations of Youth in Novels and Short Stories

Coming-of-Age Narratives across Cultures: A Comparative Study

Youth, Identity and Migration in Global Literature 

Literature as Social Memory: Writing Youth Movements and Student Struggles

Youth and Cinema

Cinematic Depictions of Youth Cultures in Global Cinema

Counterculture, Rebellion and the Youth Hero on Screen 

Streaming Platforms and the New Visual Aesthetics of Youth

Cinematic Portrayals of Youth Identity, Rebellion, and Desire 

Youth and Music

Hip-Hop, Rock, Folk, and Indie Cultures: Youth Music Movements Worldwide

Digital Music Cultures and the Globalisation of Youth Taste

Music as Resistance and Identity

Youth and Social/Digital Media

Influencers reach and outreach defining Young Publics

Digital Youth Cultures

Memes, Movements, and Online Political Expression

Digital Citizenship and Youth Participation in Public Debate

Youth and Alternative Expressions

Graffiti, Street Art, and the Politics of Public Space

Eco-Activism, Slow Living, and Minimalist Youth Movements

Spiritual Alternatives: Neo-mysticism, Yoga Subcultures and New-Age Youth Groups

Embodied and Performance-Based Expressions

Who Can Participate? Scholars, educators, policymakers, practitioners engaged in, but not limited to, the field of Literature, Cultural Studies, Sociology, History, Media and Film Studies, Anthropology, Gender Studies, Urban Studies, Environmental Humanities, and Development Studies. 

Conference Highlights: The conference will have keynote and plenary speakers from academia, industry and government. It will have roundtable discussions, workshop, as well as a cultural program and exhibition. 

Format: Hybrid mode 

Language (Abstract): English (Compulsory) & any one of these (Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Italian, French, Russian) 

Language (Paper Presentation): English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Italian, French, Russian. 

Publication: Details of the same will be updated on the webpage. 

Important Dates (keep checking webpage for updates)

Abstract submission: 30th March 2026

Acceptance notification: 30th April 2026

Last date for registration: 30th June 2026

Last date for full-paper submission: 30th August 2026

Abstract Submission: Click here for Youth Conference Abstract Submission