Dear All,

FOSS in Science [www.space-kerala.org/fsc] is a national workshop being organised by the Union Christian College[http://www.uccollege.edu.in/], Aluva, Kerala State, in collaboration with the Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment (SPACE)[www.space-kerala.org] and Free Software Foundation of India (FSFI)[www.gnu.org.in].

The three-day workshop will focus on the relevance of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in science education, scientific research and scientific computing. This is the first such workshop to be conducted in India, and is aimed at introducing FOSS to college teachers, doctoral students, research workers and others.

The workshop will have as speakers, eminent FOSS experts from leading institutions like IIT Bombay, TIFR, Institute of Plasma Research, Bhaskaracharya Pratishthana, Free Software Foundation of India and Geological Survey of India. Participants will also have an opportunity to get hands on experience in using some of the software that is introduced by the speakers. A CD containing the GNU/Linux operating system, along with a number of applications that can be used in scientific research, will be given to all participants. The CD may be used to install the software on any number of computers and may also be freely copied and distributed.

Schedule ------------- Dates January 4 to 6, 2007 Detailed schedule available at workshop website: http://www.space-kerala.org/fsc

Venue --------- Union Christian College, Alwaye, Ernakulam, Kerala

Registration: ------------------ Last date: December 15, 2006

Please see the registration page (http://www.space-kerala.org/fsc) for more details

FOSS in Science Mailing list -----------------------------------------

Please join the online discussion mailing list for FOSS in Science at http://mm.gnu.org.in/mailman/listinfo/foss-in-science

About Union Christian College, Alwaye --------------------------------------------------------

Union Christian College, established in 1921, is a premier educational institution in Kerala imparting quality higher education. The idyllic campus, spread out in 42 acres, is located close to the banks of River Periyar, Aluva, hardly 8 kms from the Kochi International Airport.

The college has made significant contributions over several decades in providing to the society and industry talented and dedicated individuals who have strived untiringly for the national objectives of peace, freedom and prosperity. The present eminence is a function of its history, tradition, quality of academic output and contributions to public life.

About SPACE ---------------------

SPACE, the Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment is a registered society that has members from academia, IT industry, professional societies such as IEEE and Computer Society of India, and IT Administration of the Government of Kerala. The vision of SPACE is to promote Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in academics, governance and individual use, and supporting the use FOSS for employment generation in Kerala.

About FSF India -----------------------

FSF India, Free Software Foundation of India is a non-profit organisation committed to advocating, promoting and propagating the use and development of swatantra software in India. Its goal is to ensure the long term adoption of free software, and aim for the day when all software will be free. This includes educating people about software freedom and convincing them that it is the freedom that matters.

Press contact -------------------- To get more information about this Workshop, please contact Bruce Mathew at the Union Christian College (+91 9447209932) or Vimal Joseph at the SPACE (vimal (at) space-kerala.org)

regards,

~vimal