Draft:Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation

The Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI) also known as NIRI-Nepal (Nepali: निरी-नेपाल) is a non-profit institution based in Nepal, founded in 2020 with the goal of advancing high-quality research and innovation nationally and internationally.

Background
NIRI was established by a diverse team of Nepalese professionals, and majority of them live abroad. The main goal of NIRI Nepal conducting and enhancing multi-disciplinary research in natural and applied, and social sciences, fostering collaborations with both domestic and international research institutions. NIRI's core focus is on serving as a research institution, facilitating workshops, education, and training activities relevant to Nepal. For this NIRI organizes webinar series, bootcamps, annual research symposium , and talk programs . In addition, it aims to play a vital role in utilizing Nepal's resources for evidence-based policymaking at local and national levels, thereby contributing to various sectors. In order to contribute to local government, NIRI has initiated working with the local government in various sectors such it helped Gadhimai Municipality of Rautahat district to organize a drowning prevention program, a first of its kind in the country. The institute envisions being a key link in establishing a robust network among research communities in Nepal and beyond. Similarly, mentoring and training young researchers, and nurturing them into future academicians and leaders is at NIRI’s core, which would help in creating a significant impact on research, innovation, and policymaking in Nepal.

In addition to the research work, NIRI has been actively involved in community especially in mentoring high school students, transferring skills to younger generation, and other awareness campaigns. Recently, NIRI Nepal organized a month-long lung health awareness campaign through various media resources, public webinars and community dialogues .Among the programs, the programs, one of such examples of community dialogue on lung health awareness program organized was at Lumbini Sanskritik Municipality.

Collaborative avenues and community impacts
NIRI's major essence is to promote collaborative culture among researchers, professionals and research organizations in Nepal working on various sectors including those involved in research. In its formative years, NIRI has partnered with organizations such as Kathmandu Cancer center to work on establishing Cancer bio-bank and research on Cancer epidemiology. Similarly, NIRI has partnered with with Lokopakar, a not-for-profit organization, and has run sessions in various parts of Nepal such as Dolpa, Khotang, Palpa, Kaski, Synagja and Surkhet and for the students of Dolpa currently residing in Kathmandu for their further education after SEE(Secondary Education Examination . . These sessions were conducted on the topic “Stories About Us” where moderators from NIRI and Lokopakr, and the participants shared their stories. This is a two way learning process where both the moderators and participants learn through each other’s experience, which has created a deeper impacts in students lives and learning process..