Honourable Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited IISER Pune today.
Shri Pradhan laid the Foundation Stone towards construction of the research and office space for the Department of Data Science, which has been newly established at IISER Pune. He then inaugurated the National Facility for Gene Function in Health and Disease, which has been set up with funding from the Department of Biotechnology for animal model maintenance and development for research purpose.
As part of the visit, Shri Pradhan interacted with various faculty members at the institute, who gave an overview of the research and academic activities at the institute. The meeting was also attended by Ministry of Education's Additional Secretary (TE) Shri Rakesh Ranjan, IISER Pune Board of Governors Shri Sudhir Mehta, Director Prof. Jayant Udgaonkar, and Registrar Col. Raja Sekhar.
During the interaction session with the faculty members, Shri Pradhan noted the work being carried out at the institute and the potential for the institute to develop some of these activities to further increase the reach to many more students across the country and to address issues such as water and waste management. He encouraged the institute members to explore ways to create alternative energy options and inculcate an awareness for sustainable living among students who represent our future generation. Shri Pradhan also suggested that we incentivize the participation in sports among students at the same level as we do academics.
Shri Pradhan also visited the PARAM Brahma Supercomputer facility at the institute. He noted the immense contributions being made by this facility in scaling up research on national priorities and addressing complex scientific problems in diverse fields.
IISER Pune thanks Shri Pradhan and Shri Ranjan for their time, inputs, and suggestions!
