Class X student's non-animal leather project wins at Children Science Congress

Devesh Kumar, a student of Class X from Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, has made his alma mater proud by bagging the third position at the Delhi State Level Children Science Congress 2020. The competition was organised virtually on  February 20, 2021 and was adjudged by a panel of eminent scientists from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

National Children’s Science Congress is the flagship programme of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. The programme offers children a platform to conduct research work at a micro-level and promotes creativity and critical thinking among the students.

Devesh’s project, titled, The New Leather, received overwhelming praise from the judges. Devesh had been deeply concerned by the ruthless killing of animals for the production of leather, and it motivated him to find an alternative. He focused not only on minimising the killing of animals but also on making leather production more sustainable, which would result in the betterment of the environment as well. His idea revolved around making leather from Mycelium, which is the vegetative part of a fungus or fungus-like bacterial colony. His revolutionary idea left the viewers captivated and inspired many young innovative minds to come up with sustainable solutions of their own.

“According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the leather industry is responsible for about 14% of all greenhouse emissions from human activity. Cattle rearing, by itself, is responsible for 65% of those emissions. It is evident that this industry can be sustained to a large extent by the use of Mycelium. It would help to reduce the killing of animals to a large extent, would minimize the pollution, and help reduce greenhouse emissions,” stated Devesh, during his presentation of the concept.

Devesh was able to develop this idea to the level of execution under the mentorship of his guide teacher Naina Nagpal, who helped him every step of the way during project development.

Talking about the incredible achievement, Alka Kapur, Principal, Modern Public School, said, “At MPS, we have always focused on sustainability and we leave no stone unturned to inculcate this spirit among our students. It lifts the heart to see a student of ours being this sensitive towards the plight of the voiceless and putting his education to good use.”