Honourable Union Minister of State for Education Dr. Subhas Sarkar visited IISER Pune today and interacted with some of our institute members to learn about ongoing activities at the institute. Mr. P.K. Singh and Mr. Shuvam from the Minister’s office and Mr. Rajesh Kshirsagar (Deputy Director in Education from the Maharashtra state government) accompanied the Minister on his visit.
In a meeting attended by the Deans and Department Chairpersons, Dean R&D of IISER Pune Prof. Anjan Banerjee presented to the Minister details on the research, teaching, and outreach activities of IISER Pune, along with progress made by the institute on these fronts.
In the context of patents granted by faculty members at the institute, Dr. Sarkar expressed interest in learning more about the potential applications of the proposed products. Dr. Sarkar spoke about the importance of extracurricular activities in providing a holistic and enriching learning experience at higher education institutions, and was appreciative of the various activities carried out by the student clubs at the institute. He pointed out the benefits of participating in sports and cultural activities in our mental health and wellness. Dr. Sarkar also spoke about the importance of developing and creating awareness in the area of Indian knowledge systems, the importance of internationalisation, and that of engaging with our alumni.
The Minister was then given a tour of some of the research facilities on campus. At each of these facilities the staff and faculty members in-charge of the facility described what the facility is used for and how it functions. The research facilities that the Minister visited included the supercomputer, PARAM Brahma, the NMR Facility, Single Crystal X-ray diffraction facility, and Microscopy Facility. The Minister also visited the Science Activity Centre on campus.
Dr. Sarkar took note of the several research scholars who have secured the Prime Minister’s Research Scholarship and expressed an interest in interacting with them. In this session, the Minister discussed the challenges before India as a country and how each of us can contribute towards meeting them. He sought ideas and opinions from research scholars on what measures from the government can support researchers now and in the future in order to be able to contribute in a meaningful way to advancing knowledge and thereby to the society.
The IISER Pune community thanks Dr. Sarkar for his time and for his suggestions and inputs during the interaction sessions today.
