New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS): To make India an ideal nation in the field of science and technology, science centres in the country must engage with the local community and create local ecosystems to own, support and nurture these "innovation hubs", National Innovation Council chairman Sam Pitroda said Thursday.

Students have to understand that the best way of learning is from the environment, Pitroda said during the inauguration of an innovation hub, an initiative to meet the requirements of budding scientists at the National Science Centre in the capital.

"If we can encourage school children to learn from the surroundings and the natural environment, India can be an ideal nation by the next decade," Pitroda said addressing hundreds of students and teachers.

Similar hubs have been launched at the Bangalore and Kolkata science centres under the National Council for Science Museum.

Teachers should not just rely on the government for setting up laboratories in schools, but instead they should themselves make efforts for developments in their schools so that students get opportunities to learn in the best way.

Appreciating the "innovation hubs" and the facilities available at the National Science Centre, Pitroda said students should never stick to the fact that if a invention has been made, they can't work on it for its further development.

Students should rather work on some invention and try to make it better, he said.

Innovation in every arena is the demand of the era and students should start working on it, he said.

The innovation hub has a hall of fame with stories of inventions and inventors, multimedia kiosks to explore major inventions, online access to innovation-centric resources and e-books on grassroots innovations.

It also has innovative laboratories to carry out activities, experiments and projects.

Pitroda also witnessed several demonstrations of various scientific models of physics, chemistry and biology.