Today morning, while working through some calculations done
by a PhD student towards her project, I rewound 10 years ago to the end of
2005, when I was in the final year of PhD. I had my task cut out that winter: start
writing the first draft of thesis, prepare CV and research statement and
apply to about a 100 places for postdoctoral positions. As I carried package after package to the
post office in the dreary winter (many places were still not accepting online applications),
I speculated about where I would go next, next after the next and where in
India could one apply. I liked my grad
school very much and hoped to eventually work at such an
institution, one that is not just a (research) institute or a (teaching)
university, but a combination of both [1].
At around the same time, the scientific advisory committee
to the Prime Minister of India and the Ministry of Human Resource Development
in India were taking concrete steps to lay the foundations of five such science
institutes in India, namely the IISERs. Two
among these IISERs, IISER Kolkata and IISER Pune, started their academic programmes in
August 2006 and are now in their tenth year.
Thanks, therefore, to a perfect combination of right opportunities and
right timing, I am now based at IISER Pune, an institute that has given me everything I hoped for in a faculty position [2].
For a young institute, a decade is a good time to celebrate
its accomplishments, reflect on future directions and engage with the larger public
about its values, purposes, science and education. My colleagues (especially the ones who joined
in the very early years) have seen the development of our campus from a
desolate, unused piece of land into a beautiful, fully residential campus,
whose view they can enjoy every morning from their balconies with a cup of
coffee.
In a series of upcoming blog posts, I hope to document
various important milestones in the growth of IISER Pune, memories of
colleagues, alumni and current students from earlier years as well as perspectives on
where we are headed. I will also update
you about various programmes that we are organizing in the coming year to
celebrate our tenth birthday. Stay tuned.
[Update: the first post in the 10 year series can be found here]
[1] A place with mild winters would be an added bonus.
[2] This includes life in a city with not just mild winters, but also mild summers.
[Update: the first post in the 10 year series can be found here]
[1] A place with mild winters would be an added bonus.
[2] This includes life in a city with not just mild winters, but also mild summers.
2 comments:
If it has not been planned already, an open day could be a nice addition to the 10 years celebrations. It would give the public a chance to know and feel proud about how their tax money is being used. would also serve as an inspiration to school, college kids to take up research in the future. my 2 cents.
Great idea. We have in fact planned an open day (along with a surprise) :-)
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