Bengaluru: The Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union Government, R Chidambaram, has exhorted the scientists to work towards development of India and called for greater cooperation between industry and academia.
While delivering the convocation address at J.N. Tata Auditorium at IISc campus on Saturday he said, “I have always admired the role of IISc in advancement of science and technology in India. With the global IISc alumni link getting stronger, I want India to be at the top of the pyramid in the near future. India should not just be a developed economy, but also be a knowledge country. Also it is my privilege to give convocation address at an institute where I pursued my career in BSc and later Phd.”
Chidambaram said that India needs an excellent environment with good students, high quality faculty, sound infrastructure, strong academia and international collaborations with best emerging technology to be successful. This plan is followed by MIT and other prestigious institutions, including IISc, and the students have to make use of their learning for the development of the country. “Even if you go abroad for higher education, come back to India to serve the country. Young generation like you all should always look on the important problems pertaining to science and society,” he said.
He pointed out that in developed countries the industries wait for new knowledge to come out from institutions and the same should happen in India. Currently we are at the top in some areas, but should maintain the equilibrium. Interaction between academia and industries should continue to happen. I am extremely happy that IISc now ranks 18th in the world in terms of number of research works produced, he added.
Anurag Kumar, Director of IISc said that it's hard to get into IISc and hardest to get out as more and more students are taking up their Phd after their masters degree. Prof T.N. Guru Row, Dean Faculty of Science told the graduating students to main simplicity like R. Chidambaram and achieve great heights.
As many as 593 students were awarded PhD, ME, MTech, MS, MDes and Management degrees, while additional 120 students were awarded with Bachelors of Science degree. As many as 56 students, five from undergraduate and 51 from masters and Phd, received medals for their outstanding performance.
Umashankar Das, a graduate in Masters in Atmospheric Science at IISc told Deccan Chronicle, “For my masters degree, I worked on a research project pertaining to a area where the sea surface temperature is much lower than the surroundings at Bay of Bengal and its impact on Indian Monsoon. After my research got approved, I got a job offer from the Indian Meteorological Department, I will heading to Pune to take it up.”
Kapil Sachan, a graduate in Masters in Aerospace Engineering said he was interested in pursuing PhD at IISc and he has successfully got admission to the course he was interested in. His classmate Debashish got a job in a private aerospace company.
