We-Chemie, a collaborative program between Somaiya Vidyavihar University (SVU), BASF India, and Indian Chemical Council (ICC), is set to be inaugurated on 17 November, 2023.

The program is organised by the Somaiya Vidyavihar University’s Industry Strategic Partnership Department and the objective is to build a talent pipeline of women in the chemical industry by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and attitude through a structured approach.

The programme is designed for women students from underprivileged backgrounds studying in the final year of BSc and MSc Chemistry or Chemical Sciences. The first batch of 50 women students for We-Chemie 2023-24 have been selected from different colleges under the Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai University, and Kolhapur University.

The Colleges represented are: KJ Somaiya College of Science and Commerce; Somaiya Vidyavihar University Department of Polymer Science; SK Somaiya College; Vivekanand College, Chembur; Kirti College, Mumbai; Vaze College, Mulund; BK Birla College, Kalyan; and Department of Chemistry, Kolhapur University.

Congratulating Dr. Achala Danait, Director, Somaiya Institute of Research and Consultancy (SIRAC), who has taken up this initiative in collaboration with the University’ Management Institute, Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, SVU said, “It is a laudable academia-industry initiative for bridging the gender gap in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, which has been alarmingly widening during the last two decades. Even though there is significant, major, female presence in undergraduate and post-graduate courses in chemistry, chemical engineering, and allied disciplines, women who opt for chemical industry professions at the lab, factory, and leadership are less than 20% in our country and about 30% all over the world." 

"The BASF-SVU program analysed the technical, managerial, safety, and cultural dimensions of these trends and devised this training program for economically backward girl students in the Universities and Colleges in and around. The University considers it as a very significant program to connect between its strong chemistry teaching and research Departments and the giant global chemical industry BASF,” added Pillai.