Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Review By Piya Ganguly

When I took admission in the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur, I saw it taking its baby steps towards becoming one of the premier institutes to indulge in good quality research and inculcating the scientific temperament among students. IISER Berhampur like any other IISER offers admission through the KVPY channel, IIT Advanced examination, NEET as well as through its own entrance exam named as IISER Aptitude Test (IAT). Having cracked the KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana) exam, one of the most difficult scholarship exams serving as an entrance exam in any Indian science institute, I got my admission to this scientific institute. It does face its own hardships, being a new institution, established in 2016 and having to operate from a transit campus. However, it provides an amazing college life to its students, both in academics and non-academics, coming from all parts of the country. A pan Indian institute like this celebrates various festivals of the country and enables its students to enjoy good facilities in terms of games, the gym, cafeteria computer lab, medical center, etc. The variety of courses offered here makes it easier for a student to pursue a career of their choice in a more flexible manner.

This is one of those places where you grow as a person and can gain efficiency in a specific stream as well as explore interdisciplinary fields that you like. What more to go? We also have the annual Inter-IISER Cultural Meet (IICM) and Inter-IISER Sports Meet (IISM). It is where the IISERs all over India come together and compete in various cultural and sports events. This is what I and everyone else wait for all year round. Besides the strong yet healthy competition, we have a lot of fun and get to interact with a lot of other people studying in other IISERs.

It provides a dual degree in basic sciences of physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology for duration of five years. This course, commonly known as the BS-MS Integrated Dual Degree, teaches all four above-mentioned subjects in the first two years along with other subjects like English, computer science, earth science, and humanities. In the third year, students are allowed to choose their major subject as well as minor, elective, or any interdisciplinary subjects they fancy. The fifth/last year is dedicated to the project which a student wishes to perform under any supervisor of any institute in India. Ph.D. and post-doctorate courses are also offered. From this year onwards, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur has started its Integrated Ph.D. course for students who have a B.Sc degree in the above fields. The students of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur are almost single-handedly responsible for making it what it is today.

This institute is a home for a huge bunch of science enthusiasts who indulge in academic activities other than earning a degree or cracking an examination, by forming clubs separately for Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, and Ecology. STREAM (Science To Reach Everyone And Motivate) is an annual outreach event in which all the above clubs namely 137 Inverse, Project Spiral, Chemshala, La Vida, NAXATRA, and Oasis come together and conduct a science exhibition for 9th to 12th standard students from the local schools. This extravagant event goes on for almost half a day, with demonstrators (the BS-MS students) explaining their cool scientific kinds of stuff to curious kids. The institute officially conducts colloquiums and invites scientists and researchers from other renowned institutions for delivering talks and seminars.

The instructor panel of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Berhampur is something this institute can brag about. The faculties not only have diverse contributions to their own research areas but also are good teachers. Most of our teachers are interactive, approachable and friendly. In fact, we have sports instructors too. They can also turn out to be super fun during our cultural events conducted during almost every Indian festival. Some of them dance and sing with during these events and also mimic each other during Teacher’s Day or such times.

You can catch hold of any of them on the corridors or knock them in their office anytime and get a doubt cleared which had been bugging you real hard. Yet, it is nothing to be ecstatic about. They can get real pissed with us if certain rules are disobeyed. They can also give real tough questionnaire during exams. Hence teachers here will give you a ride on the cyclone-coaster during your college life. We also have visiting faculties from other premier institutes like National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), NIST, to teach a few separate courses.

Studying in IISER, you would never develop a job or business mindset. Bad as it sounds, this is the perfect institute which provides a great exposure and all the support to an avid researcher. Hence there exists no placement cell in our college. As an Indian Institute of Science Education and Research graduate there are quite a few options available to us after the end of five years. A student can apply for PhD to any institution of the world. Obviously, admission in any institute for a doctorate degree will require us to crack entrance exams like GATE, JEST, TOEFEL, GRE, etc. IISER gets a student ready to opt for all such options.

You can anyways also apply for any administrative service exam like UPSC after graduating from this college and get a job there. People also tend to start their own businesses in a variety of fields. This is due to the rich knowledge they develop in the first two years in a variety of subjects. Notwithstanding the non-research-based career after IISER, it provides a national level exposure which can be of great help when we prepare our curriculum-vitae. The support it provides to a research enthusiast in terms of knowledge, good connections, etc. makes it a vital place for anyone who wants to pursue a career in basic sciences.

Talking about the hostel, initially, it was not at all a good experience. Since it is a new institute, everything in the hostel was under construction when I first entered this college hostel. Our faculties were the hostel wardens themselves. Starting from the bedroom to bathroom to every appliance in the hostel, they were not complete. In fact, I entered a room with only a bed and a cupboard on the first day. The wooden tables and chairs were all provided a few days later. Also the water filters along with the geyser and washing machine.

Not to be disappointed about it. It is well furnished now with a huge common TV in the dining hall where we get all the meals. We have a washing machine, water filters on all floors, and mosquito nets on all windows. What more? We have attached a bathroom in our twin sharing rooms. It is getting furnished too with marble floors and walls with tiles. Our terrace remains closed due to security issues but otherwise, it’s a beautiful hostel. Facing away from the sun, it is usually cool during the hottest times.

We have pretty good infrastructure in the transit campus we are currently studying in. It is situated in the ITI building. Our classes occur in a different building though named North Star Berhampur. It is located at a little distance from the main building. The main building holds multiple laboratories, a library, our favorite place which is the computer laboratory, cafeteria, and the offices of various academic and non-academic staff. The gymnasium and some teachers’ offices are present in the North Star building. The laboratory and library infrastructure are pretty good. There are multiple labs for a specific subject dedicated to undergrads, grads, and PhDs. We have access to most books, journals, and research papers. We have the freedom to photocopy any book for free and also take a printout of any stuff in the library.

Sometimes hard copies of books are not enough in number but all students have access to e-copies of most books. We have medical staff in our college who can be approached anytime and for any issue. Besides, we also have the MKCG hospital just a few meters away from us. We do not have a great cafeteria but we do get to buy some snacks like tea, coffee, Maggi, sandwiches, and bhurji. Notwithstanding these, we do have a lot of snacks shop outside, so do not worry about it. We also have an auditorium where most of the academic and non-academic events are conducted. Our gym is pretty huge and amazing possessing all the modern equipment to keep you fit and in shape. Our instructors are always present there to help you out.

We do not have a campus presently but it is under construction. It would soon be completed and would cover around 200 acres of land. It would be the first Indian Institute of Science Education and Research to possess its own beach. Being built on the banks of the Bay of Bengal, our permanent campus would have multiple high-story hostel buildings, super air-conditioned audio-video classrooms, top-notch scientific laboratories, auditorium, dining hall, gymnasium, library, e-library, huge computer lab, teachers’ building containing their apartments and offices, guest house for our guardians, our own stadium and so on.