Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Bhopal

Motto	विद्ययाऽमृतमश्नुते (vidyayā amṛutaṃ aśnute) (Sanskrit)
Motto in English	Eat nectar through knowledge, i.e. be immortal through knowledge
Type	Institute of National Importance
Established	2008
Director	Vinod K. Singh
Undergraduates	750[1]
Postgraduates	200[1]
Location	Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
Campus	200 acres[2]
IISER Bhopal	IISERB
Website	www.iiserb.ac.in

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (Hindi: भारतीय विज्ञान शिक्षा और अनुसंधान संस्थान, भोपाल ; IISER-B; also referred as IISER - Bhopal) is an autonomous research and education institute in Bhauri, Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India in 2008 in order to incorporate research in basic science at undergraduate and graduate level, with equal emphasis on higher education for research and education in science. It is an autonomous institution awarding its own degrees.^[3]

Background

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) were created in 2006 through a proclamation of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India,under the category of institiutes of national importance, to promote quality education and research in basic sciences. Soon after the announcement, two of these institutes at Pune and Kolkata, respectively, were started in 2006. This was followed by an institute at Mohali (2007) and at Bhopal and Trivandrum in 2008. Each IISER is a degree granting autonomous institution with a prime focus to integrate science education and research.^[4]

Academics

IISER Bhopal offer BS-MS (Dual Degree) programme, Integrated Ph.D. programme in Mathemetics and Physics and Ph.D. programme in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics and Physics.^[5][6]

Bachelor of Science - Master of Science (BS-MS)

The five year BS-MS (Dual Degree) Programme is offered in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. All BS-MS students are eligible for either Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) or Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scholarship which amounts to Rs. 5000/- pm.

BS-MS (Dual Degree) programme consists of mandatory, common courses (core courses) for all disciplines during the first two years and discipline dependent professional courses during the remaining three years. Core courses include topics from all the four science disciplines in addition to interdisciplinary courses in earth and environmental sciences, computer science and humanities. During the final year BS-MS students are required to undertake project work with a faculty supervisor, relevant to their major discipline.

In addition to majoring in one of the five (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics) science disciplines, BS-MS students can also minor in another disciplines.

The Institute encourages and rewards academic excellence exhibited by its students. To this end, Professor C. N. R. Rao Education Foundation Prize with a prize amount of Rs. 5000/- per semester is awarded to a student scoring the highest CPI during the first year (in both the first and second semesters) of the BS-MS (Dual Degree) programme.

In addition, the Institute awards the President's Gold Medal for the best academic performance in the graduating class in all disciplines of the BS-MS program. Proficiency Medals are the awarded for the best academic performance in the each discipline of the BS-MS program to the graduating class. A Director's Gold Medal is awarded for outstanding all-round achievement and leadership in the graduating class in all disciplines.^[7]

Integrated Ph.D. program (I-Ph.D.)

The Institute offers Integrated Ph.D. programme in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. All admitted students will receive a fellowship of Rs. 10,000/- pm in the initial two years subject to satisfactory performance in their course work. Subsequently the fellowship will be revised to comply with the existing MHRD norms.

Students must successfully complete course work, qualifying examination, seminars, and a dissertation. Besides the mandatory requirements, students are encourages to participate in several professional activities such as workshops, review meetings and conferences.

Doctoral program (Ph.D.)

Admission to the doctoral program is after a Master's degree in science. Besides the students of the Integrated Master's program, postgraduate students with a Master's degree in science from other Universities/Institutes are also admitted to the doctoral program.

The Institute offers Ph.D. programmes in five disciplines. All selected candidates not receiving external fellowship will be awarded an Institute fellowship. Currently, the Institute offers Ph.D. programmes in the following disciplines: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics. All doctoral students are also expected to participate in the undergraduate teaching programme of the Institute as a part of their training.^[8] The program involve dcourse work, a qualifying examination, a state-of-the-art seminar, thesis work, open seminar and a thesis examination, leading to the award of a PhD degree.^[9]

Postdoctoral Studies

Postdoctoral studies are possible in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology and Earth Sciences.

Departments

Biological sciences

Department of Biology at IISER-Bhopal started functioning in August 2008 with the enrolment of the first batch of students for the BS-MS integrated course.

Mathematics

The Department of Mathematics at IISER Bhopal currently offers three programmes: BS-MS (Dual Degree), Integrated Ph.D. and Ph.D. programme.

Physics

Department of Physics of IISER Bhopal offers BS-MS dual-degree, Ph.D. degree as well post-doctoral positions. The BS-MS course is a five-year program.

Engineering sciences

The Institute recently established a Department of Engineering Sciences. To start with the Department will offer a Ph.D. programme and a ‘minor’ in Engineering Sciences to BS-MS students. The ‘minor’ will enable them to engage in translational curriculum and research, where knowledge gained in pure science subjects will be interfaced with engineering science fundamentals. Initially, an Engineering Sciences curriculum focused on Computer Science, Material Science, and Electrical, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering will be offered.

Admissions

BS-MS

Students are admitted to the programme through the following channels^[10]

• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY): Basic Science Stream: Students qualifying in SA /SX /SB streams.
• Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced): Students securing a place in the rank list of Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
• Joint Aptitude Test: Students, who on the basis of their aggregate scores in class XII, are eligible for INSPIRE scholarship by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) can apply for the IISER Aptitude Test.

I-Ph.D.

Admission to the Integrated Ph.D. programme will be made once a year during May/June. Advertisement would be floated between March/April. Candidates must have a Bachelor's Degree. A written or oral exam will be conducted at the campus. A prospective candidate should have completed a graduate programme (B.Sc./B.Tech./B.E.) in a discipline relevant to his/her choice of Integrated Ph.D. programme. Candidates seeking admission in Chemistry should have a valid JAM score.

Ph.D.

Applications are invited twice a year.A prospective candidate should have completed a postgraduate programme (M.S./M.Sc./M.Tech./MBBS) in a discipline relevant to his/her choice of Ph.D. programme along with qualifying a national entrance exam. Students should have a valid rank in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and/or have qualified the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)/University Grants Commission (UGC)/National Eligibility Test – Junior Research Fellowship (NET-JRF), or other equivalent examinations. All selected candidates not receiving external fellowship will be awarded an Institute fellowship.

Student life

Students Activity Council

Students Activity Council (SAC) is a union of the students for organization of extracurricular activities in the Institute and to address their concerns. It is totally managed, organized and maintained by the students themselves. SAC contains 6 different Activity Councils:

• Computing and Networking Council
• Career Development Council
• Cultural Council.
• Fine Arts and Literary Council.
• Science Council.
• Sports Council.

And a Representative Council. The Activity Councils manage the extracurricular affairs that come under their realm, while the Representatives Council works as the channel to address all the issues of the students related to academics, hostels and student life in general. The Students Senate is the overall governing body of SAC; all the decision-making regarding the students is done here. SAC Elections are conducted once a year to appoint the President, Vice-President, Treasurer of SAC and the Secretaries of the respective Councils. All the students except those in their first year are eligible to take part in these elections. Students are also appointed for various other responsibilities in SAC. SAC ensures smooth and continuous conduct of student activities in the Institute. It also aims at quick and proper resolution of the issues of the students. SAC also provides an opportunity to the students to be engaged in the extracurricular activities apart from their regular curriculum, and present and enhance their creativity, technical and managerial skills.

IISER Bhopal has hosted the 4th INTRA IISER SPORTS MEET (IISM 2015), 9 institutes participated in this event ( 6 IISERs, IISc, NISER, CBS Mumbai).

Fests

Enthuzia

Enthuzia is the cultural festival of IISER Bhopal. It was started in 2010. Three editions were conducted till now and the third edition was in October 2014. Ishwar Venugopal is the current Secretary of the Cultural council of Student Activity Council, IISER Bhopal

Singularity

Singularity is the science festival of IISER Bhopal. It was started as a science club by a group of Science enthusiasts in IISER Bhopal to promote scientific thinking and rationale. Many science activities, talks were organized by this club in their initial years. In 2014, a step ahead was taken to promote science not only in the institute but beyond, in colleges and schools of India by conducting a Science fest of the same name. It witnessed students of all ages, who got inspired and excited about pure science through workshops, talks by eminent scientists of India, competitions, and other science related events. Singularity'14 was inaugurated by then Governor of Chhattisgarh, Shekhar Dutt. Singularity'15 was organized from April 3-5. Singularity'16, the third edition of annual science festival witnessed K. Radhakrishnan as Keynote Speaker and Chief Guest. Students from IIT's, IISER's and various other institutions participated in various competitions held from 3-5 September 2016.

References