Harsh's Review On Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research - [IISER], Mohali

IISERs are the state of art institutes for learning and practicing research in basic sciences in India. The facilities and the atmosphere provided here for nurturing someone's career as a researcher are ubiquitous. Advanced Research Labs and equipments, along with a group of motivated researchers, it gives a plethora of opportunities to someone starting off early in their career itself.

BS-MS course structure is organized as such to give someone a 'essential minimum' of all the basic fields of sciences in their core years, i.e. (first two) It gives a first hand experience to students to find as well as make sure of their interests if already determined. The thing that stands out at IISER is the exposure to the practical skills in the laboratory where a student is expected to put in as much efforts if not less, in gaining their skills in labs compared to theory classes.

Even though BS-MS degree opens up a lot of opprtunities for you in R&D sector of Industry, along with many other profiles that people choose to opt for as per their skills, many continue their career in Academia, pursuing PhDs at the best universities worldwide. I've come to know of product-based start ups from labs in IISER Mohali, and also we have a Entrepreneur Cell with a good share of members reaching out to bring opportunites to the students at IISER.

Campus Life has a large share of how interactions are between the students, faculties, and peers. Fortunately, this is the another great aspect of IISER. Being a close knit group of people, you can always find someone who shares your interests and organise talks, workshops, or a Club Meeting. Foundation Day is organised at IISER, where students from nearby schools come and attend the demos and workshops, giving them an exposure to life at IISER Mohali.Conferences are held at IISER, where people from nearby universities come to attend the talks. Insomnia is the official fest of IISER Mohali, but I am yet to have a first hand experience of it, due to the pandemic crashing all the plans. Yet, from the hearsay and stories the seniors share, it sounds great!

Library at IISER Mohali, is no doubt the best among all. (Even though I have not visited every single library in India, yet I dare say this because of the collection of books, e-books, access to infamous Journals and solid WiFi) The teaching labs stand next to any researcher's lab with advanced equipments, so they never compromise with a student's reach to practical knowledge.