Science as a career at IISER (Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research)

Hanjabam Rajanikanta Sharma *

33rd State Level Science Exhibition for children, 2012-13 at Lamyanba Shanglen in January 2013 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

Many of the students after their 10+2 are often confused about their career option. Most of the people talks about joining an IIT/NIT or any other engineering colleges or they either go for MBBS/BDS. The Society sees that an engineering degree is followed by an IT job that is financially secured (until recently). In our country, many of the bright students who had a great potential to become a Scientist often end up in the above two options.

It is true that the Indian society did not put financial value on knowledge until recently, but things have changed now. It is to be remembered that the time is changing and gone is the era where only Medical and Engineering were considered to be the two main career options. If you are a bright student, you want to ask many questions and explore new things, Why not Join IISERs and pursue Science as a career ?

The Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) were established to carry out research in frontier areas of science and to provide quality science education at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. It is a premier science education and research institute in India. The IISERs were created by the Government of India, through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), under The National Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (an amendment of the National Institutes of Technology Act, 2007), which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 30 April 2012.Five IISERs have been established across the country, namely-

1. IISER Kolkata in West Bengal.
2. IISER Pune in Maharashtra.
3. IISER Mohali in Punjab.
4. IISER Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and
5. IISER Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

MS (Integrated) Program

The 5 yr MS (Integrated) program in Science at IISERs admits students after 10+2. The course structure is interdisciplinary & research oriented in nature, with a focus on the basic sciences. The first two years of the program constitute a common core with courses from Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Humanities & Social Sciences, as well as Interdisciplinary courses.

The MS degree is awarded in the subject in which the student opts to major in, after the core years ( i.e. after 2nd year). In the fifth year, the students will undertake a research project, and participate in state-of-the-art scientific research at IISER research labs. The graduates are expected to take up science as a career, although the diverse skills gained will equip them to pursue high-profile careers in any field, including industry.

Research Program

The major focus at IISER is to create a world class scientific institution with an intellectually alive atmosphere of research. The doctoral program at IISER involves course work, a qualifying examination, thesis work and a thesis examination, leading to the award of a Ph.D. degree. Besides research, students will be involved in several professional activities such as seminars, workshops, and review meetings. The institute has provision for a number of post-doctoral fellowships.

Faculty research spans a diverse spectrum of interests ranging from structural, cellular & molecular biology, immunology, evolutionary biology and protein folding & misfolding in Biology, theoretical inorganic, organometallic chemistry, X-ray crystallography and spectroscopy in chemistry, algebra, algebraic geometry, functional analysis, differential geometry and computational number theory in mathematics, to quantum information theory, biomolecular NMR & quantum computing, statistical mechanics, ultrafast lasers, nonlinear dynamics, astrophysics, string theory and low temperature nanoscale systems in Physics.

Research infrastructure available at IISERs includes a computing facility, a sophisticated instrumentation facility and Numerous labs. Some of the instruments includes-
1. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometers
2. Single crystal and powder X-ray diffractometers.
3. Laser Raman and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Facility.

Admission to BS-MS Dual Degree Programme 2014

Students will be admitted to the Five Year BS-MS Dual Degree programme beginning August 2014 through the following channels
Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) - Basic Science Stream: Students qualifying in SA (2012)/SX (2013)/SB (2013)
Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) 2014: Students securing a place in the rank list of Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
State and Central Boards: Those, who are eligible for INSPIRE scholarship by Department of Science and Technology (DST) on the basis of their aggregate scores in class XII may be considered for admission after clearing an aptitude test

Important Dates:

Receiving online applications
KVPY : 7th June - 7th July 2014
JEE (Advanced) : 23rd June - 7th July 2014
State and Central Boards : 15th June - 10th July 2014

Counseling/Aptitude Test
KVPY : 10th July 2014
JEE (Advanced) : 10th July 2014
State and Central Boards : 20th July 2014
Last date for receiving admission fees
KVPY : 17th July 2014
JEE (Advanced) : 17th July 2014
State and Central Boards : 29th July 2014

Percentage Cut-off Marks for various boards:
Manipur : 84.60
CBSE : 94.60
ICSE : 95.20
Kerala : 95.08
Andhra Pradesh : 97.10

Centers for Aptitude Test/Counseling for State and Central Boards Channel
Bangalore : Indian Institute of Science Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bangalore
Baroda : The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda
Bhopal : Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal
Bhubaneswar : National Institute Science Education and Research Bhubaneswar
Chennai : Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Delhi : Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Guwahati : Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Hyderabad : Kendriya Vidyalaya, Uppal No. 1, Hyderabad
Kolkata : Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Salt Lake, Kolkata
Mohali : Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali
Mumbai : Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, Mumbai
Nagpur : Laxminarayan Institute of Technology, Nagpur
Pune : Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune
Thiruvananthapuram : Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram
Varanasi : Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi

Why IISERs are so special??
* Right from the day you join in IISERs will teach you and prepare you for research.
* IISERs are brand new and they have the state-of –the –art equipment and facilities.
* There are weekly seminars and colloquia, and the students will get to meet who is who of the Indian science and Scientist all over the world.
* IISERs have the world class faculty who are committed to teaching as well as Research.
* IISERs do not cost you and your parents anything. Once you are admitted to IISERs, you will get an scholarship of RS 5000 per month for 5 year.

So, what are waiting for, Come and join IISER and be a part in this exciting world of Science.

For admission, interested students are encouraged to visit http://www.iiser-admissions.in