With the Queen’s Baton in India, University of Birmingham Batonbearer Vinisha Umashankar presents the hi-tech Baton to visiting dignitary
13th January, New Delhi: Teenage innovator and environmentalist Vinisha Umashankar marked the arrival in India of the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay by presenting the Queen’s Baton to UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan.
The University is an official partner of the Queen’s Baton Relay and selected 15-year-old Vinisha as its Batonbearer in India. Vinisha previously spoke at COP26, shortlisted for the Earthshot prize for her solar ironing cart invention, which uses solar panels to eliminate the need for street vendors to use polluting coal for ironing.
British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis welcomed invited guests to the British High Commission, in New Delhi, where Vinisha presented the Queen’s Baton to the visiting Secretary of State.
Talking about the honour, Vinisha said: “Being the University of Birmingham’s Batonbearer in India is fantastic and I’d like to thank the University for this awesome opportunity. The University’s scientists are really inspirational – they are living my dream of finding solutions to the big challenges that we face. I like the way the experts at University of Birmingham work with partners in India forming this unique living bridge of UK-India experts in fields like surgical hygiene, environmental pollution and sustainable cooling – fields of research that can help improve people’s lives.”.
University of Birmingham experts are leading a series of high-profile events exploring how researchers can help to solve global challenges affecting the people of India. The events celebrate the Baton’s arrival in India.
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In India, the events feature a range of top British and Indian experts, and cover areas such as: Future of Work, Gender Equality, Women in STEMM, Sports Science for Performance amongst others. These events will be underpinned by Commonwealth-wide celebrations for staff, students and alumni and campaign #gamechangingbirmingham.
Through its India Institute, the University of Birmingham works with partners across India to deliver impact in areas such as surgical hygiene, environmental pollution, sustainable cooling and applied sports science. It is also creating new education initiatives, notably a partnership with the National Rail Training Institute (NRTI) to train India’s future railway experts.
The University’s environmental scientists have helped create a hi-tech ‘heart’ for the Queen’s Baton, which contains atmospheric sensors with laser technology that analyses the environmental conditions wherever it is in the world. Augmented Reality (AR) will be used to visualise creatively data captured throughout the journey to invite conversations around air quality across the Commonwealth.
Data collected on the Baton’s journey will contribute to ongoing research projects being conducted across the globe by a team led by atmospheric scientist Professor Francis Pope who said, “Atmospheric data captured during the Baton’s global journey will be highly valuable in starting important conversations around air quality across the Commonwealth. We have several air quality research programmes in India and look forward to receiving data from the Baton during its time in country.”
About the Birmingham 2022 Queen’s Baton Relay
- The Queen’s Baton Relay is a Games tradition that celebrates, connects and excites communities from across Commonwealth during the build up to the Games.
- Birmingham 2022 is staging the 16th official Queen’s Baton Relay – an epic journey across the Commonwealth, with The Queen’s Baton visiting all 72 nations and territories, reaching Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean and the Americas.
- The Relay began on 7 October 2021 at a special event at Buckingham Palace, where Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II placed Her message to the Commonwealth into the Baton.
- The Baton will travel for 294 days, visiting all 72 nations and territories and connecting communities in every corner of the Commonwealth, embracing unique cultures and sharing stories.
- This collective journey will ignite hope, solidarity and collaboration for the next generation, with these stories leaving us all inspired to take on the challenges that matter most to us.
About the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
- The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be held from 28 July until 8 August 2022, will be a major opportunity to feature the city, the region, and its people on the global stage.
- The Games is already proving to be a catalyst for transformation across the West Midlands, attracting new investment and funding, creating jobs and apprenticeships for local people and new opportunities for local businesses, as well as accelerating projects that will ensure the region is ready to host a fantastic sports and cultural celebration.
- Birmingham 2022 will be the Games for everyone, bringing people together from across Birmingham and the region, to provide a warm welcome to millions of visitors during the summer of 2022.
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