Which option is better IISER, NIT or IIST and why?

June 21st, 2007

Someone asked the above question in Yahoo Answers India! Following was my answer.

Which option is better IISER, NIT or IIST and why?

It depends on what you want. The goal of IISERs and NISER Bhubaneswar is to focus on science and produce good scientists. If you have a choice between these institutes, you are a pretty good student. Whatever you do seriously you will be successful. Be confident of that. Heck, even graduates of private colleges in backwater towns get jobs.

So now, IISERs were made because India was falling behind in Science. In the past India had great scientists some of whom went on to get Nobel prizes. But with the IIT brand name and corresponding hype (I am an ex-IITian) every one, who can, now goes to IIT and most study engineering. Science departments, although exist in IITs, have a second class status. That has resulted in India falling behind in Science.

So the government’s aim in establishing IISERs and NISER Bhubaneswar was to create as good institutes as IITs but focused on Science.

One must realize that basic research in science later leads to developments in Engineering and Technology. So unless good talent also goes to science, the pipeline will become empty.

So, if you want to study science, you should go to IISERs or NISER. If your goal is to get a degree, and a job or to go for MBA (in IIMs) after that, then NITs are better for you.

Entry Filed under: Five yr integrated MSc programs,NISER, Bhubaneswar

248 Writeup

  • 1. Anurag Gupta  |  June 19th, 2011 at 8:05 pm

    Are NIIT’s as good as NIT’s or not? Are NIIT’s much popular?

  • 2. Abhishek  |  June 21st, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    Students are encouraged to do phd. No industries will be called for campus placements. If you want to do a job, IISER can help you contact the required industry. If IISER call companies for placements then it’ll be a suicide for them. So, i guess i’ve cleared the doubts.

  • 3. ANU V SUNNY  |  June 27th, 2011 at 12:40 pm

    do iiser institutes provide ncc or naval unit departments present?

  • 4. Invisible indian  |  June 29th, 2011 at 11:41 am

    hi everyone,
    I’m from kerala.can someone tell me which is a better option-MBBS or iiser.I’ve got kvpy & is a rural girl interested in research.i didn’t find anyone talking abt research in medicine or is there any such thing in India?I will have to stage a war against my family & friends to take up iiser over mbbs.but i’m ready to do it if it’s really worth of such genuine effort from my part(see,its never easy for a rual girl from an orthodox society to quarrell with every other person she meets).plz help me……somebody plz help immediately…

  • 5. anupama  |  June 29th, 2011 at 9:12 pm

    hi
    plz tell me which among the five iiser will be better for studying biology?or is it okay to consider only the geographical location?

  • 6. Chitta Baral  |  June 29th, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    @anupama One approach would be to go to the web pages of the various IISERs and look at the Biology faculty they have and use that in your decision.

  • 7. anupama  |  July 6th, 2011 at 2:04 am

    thank you.I got admitted to iiser thiruvananthapuram.& the faculty of biology department is exteamly good.But i still have a confusion.I’m interested also in medical science.but i dont like to remain merely as a doctor.I would like to research in this area or in pure biology.Sadly i was not able to write the entrance exams to institutes like AIIMS or Jipmer.i got admitted only to a local medical college.the faculty & facilities are good,but never superb.i think i should join iiser bcoz a good institute can be a good platform for research.but my parents have a different opinion.they think that my education as a doctor even in a state medical college can help me to persue my aspirations of research in medicine or biology.plz give me your advice.I’m really serious about a research career.plz respond immediately

  • 8. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 2:13 am

    @anupama

    Following are some observations related to your query. Ultimately you need to make the decision.

    In the Indian context, it is fairly easy to go into research in Biology after a medical degree; but it is rare that one goes to medical school after doing a B.Sc+MSc. (This is not the case in US though.) I think after your medical degree you can join AIIMS/JIPMER/PGIMER/the-six-new-AIIIMS-like-institutions- that-are-coming-up (see http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6597) to do medical related research and Ph.D and you should be able to join IISER/NISER to do Ph.D in Biology (see http://www.iiserpune.ac.in/footer-links/phd-programmes).

    On the other hand in IISER/NISER you will be exposed to research in the other subjects (Chemistry, Physics, Maths) that will not be covered in your MBBS program. You would have an opportunity to take some of those courses when you go for Ph.D in IISER/NISER after your MBBS though.

  • 9. anupama  |  July 6th, 2011 at 9:29 am

    Thanks for your advice Mr.Baral.But i have one more question.

    What are the prospects of doing a ph.d from abroad like us or uk.In india i dont know how much importance they are giving for medical research.(sorry, if i’m wrong.Made the comment bcoz we rarely see doctors in our little state Kerala engaged in research.)I have heard that they ask to clear a GRE and TOEFL.But wouldn’nt it be hard to clear them after doing an MBBS in a small medical college of our state.(People here almost forgets abt maths.i wud have lost my touch in it as well if do mbbs)
    .And another question is abt choosing MBBS from a B-Grade college over an int.BS-MS from IISER-Triivandrum.
    I got admission to IISER through KVPY stream.and i have a doubt whether i would loose it in case i choose to go for mbbs.
    As i got opportunities only to learn in some state govt -run schools,i belive i should polish my skills & knowledge before i go seriously into research careers.Kvpy can help in that
    plz help me to gather more information abt a ph.d abroad thier websites are a little bit confusing.

  • 10. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 10:10 am

    @anupama

    I am not in this field. (For my background see http://www.public.asu.edu/~cbaral .) So I have only anecdotal data. However, one can get into biology Ph.D program in US after an MBBS.

    Also you may look at my friend’s page at http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Nihar_Nayak/ . You may write to him. He did his B. Vet Sc in Orissa and then Ph.D in AIIMS and now he is a faculty in Stanford.

    In general there are a lot more people with B.Sc-M.SC-Ph.D in Biology than people with MBBS-Ph.D (Biology); so the later may make you stand-out after your Ph.D.

    It looks like you are very interested in IISER. If you go there it will not be a bad decision.

    If you do decide to go to MBBS route, then you should use your summer holidays to come to IISER and do some research. That way you can keep up with your research while doing MBBS.

  • 11. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 10:17 am

    @anupama

    I read your comments again.

    It seems you are very interested to do research right away. If that is the case IIISER-Trivendrum will be more satisfying for you than the medical college because during your MBBS you may not be doing much research.

    best wishes

  • 12. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 10:23 am

    @anupama

    Also, there is the risk that if you pursue MBBS, if your hunger for research will remain alive and there will be again societal pressure after MBBS to be a practising doctor rather than pursuing further research.

  • 13. anupama  |  July 6th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

    Thanks again Mr.Baral for your time and advice.
    But can you help me to get a clear view in one more thing-
    I have got the kvpy scholarship.If i decide to join for MBBS,then is there a chance that i would loose the scholarship.You had suggested me to go for summer camps in iiser .If I loose KVPY I think i wont be able to attend the summer programs in iiser,right?
    plz help me.

  • 14. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 2:55 pm

    @anupama

    I am not much knowledgeable about KVPY. But looking at http://www.kvpy.org.in/main/fellowship.htm it seems one can still get KVPY if he/she is enrolled in MBBS. See also http://www.kvpy.org.in/main/faq.htm . You should double-check though.

    If you do decide to go for MBBS but with an aim for research get good books on Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics and read them on your own time. The advanced research in Biology, especially on Biology related to medical science (such as Cancer Biology) builds up on Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics. Another advanced area of research is Personalized medicine. Here Pharmacology (which is taught more in MBBS than in B.Sc-M.Sc) will come in handy.

    If you read these books on your own and maintain email correspondence with IISER faculty, they may let you come to IISER during summer regardless of whether you have KVPY or not. Then during the summer you can learn some of the experimental things with instruments at IISER which are normally not available in medical schools.

  • 15. krishnav  |  July 6th, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    Hi.. I have taken admissions in HINDU COLLEGE in bsc chem(H). If i get a chance in iiser should I change over?? What is the difference between a msc from DU as compared to that from an iiser?

  • 16. Chitta Baral  |  July 6th, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    @krishnav

    If your goal is to pursue a research career IISER is a much better option. If your goal is to pursue IAS/MBA etc. after B.Sc/M.Sc Chemistry then Hindu College is perhaps better. IISER gives you the best exposure to research during B.Sc/M.Sc. Just compare the faculty qualifications of IISER faculty and Hindu College faculty and you will get a better idea.

  • 17. krishnav  |  July 7th, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    can i switch to technical field after doin msc from hindu college? If yes what should i do? I did not get gud enough scores in JEE. nor in EEE. SO can i get a technical job after doing an msc from hindu college?

  • 18. Sanjana Agarwal  |  July 7th, 2011 at 9:39 pm

    My jee rank is 8499. i didnt knew much about iisers . i filled bhopal as my 1 priority and have got it . does it matters much which iiser i get given dat bhopal is d latest one……… also if i get mechanical at nit bhopal n an iiser…….. which 1 is better when it comes 2 jobs

  • 19. Chitta Baral  |  July 7th, 2011 at 10:02 pm

    iiser bhopal is fine. Read the main article and the comments regarding the difference between iisers and nits in terms of job prospects.

  • 20. Antony John  |  July 8th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

    Can I take M Tech after MS from IISER..Is the MS an integrated degree? What is the difference btween DUAL DEGREE & INTEGRATED DEGREE. I have scored 98.7% marks for +2 . I will have a better rank for Kerala CEE. Im really confused between IISER& BTech

  • 21. Antony John  |  July 8th, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    I forgot 2 write1 thing. I got hte call letter for counselling from IISER. plz respond soon

  • 22. Chitta Baral  |  July 9th, 2011 at 12:03 am

    @Antony John

    Yes, one can do M.tech after M.Sc. One may need to take GATE.

    Dual degree: Getting two equivalent degrees. In some IITs and BITS Pilani (and may be some other places) one can get a B.Tech in two subjects or a B.tech in one subject and a degree in a science subject.

    Integrated degree: Two degrees one after another. Like B.Sc followed by M.Sc as in IISERs or a B.A/B.Com/BBA followed by LLB (in law) in various national law universities.

    Between IISER and B.tech: Read the posting and the comments. They may still leave you confused but you will have more points of views to help you in making a decision.

  • 23. Chitta Baral  |  July 9th, 2011 at 2:17 am

    People who have a choice between IISER/NISER and NIT/IIT/Engineering please read http://www.joiniiserpune.blogspot.com/ . (Also read http://iiserpune.wordpress.com/blog-page/ for other aspects of life in IISER Pune.)

    At this point you should join IISER/NISER only if doing research excites you. That is the goal of IISERs/NISER.

    If you join IISER/NISER with wrong expectations then you have a very high chance of being disappointed.

    Take the monthly scholarship out of your equation completely. That should not be a factor in your decision.

  • 24. Shilpa  |  July 9th, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    U guys r talking abt MTech after MS. Will it have the value and job opportunities as that of BTech + MTech? Will GATE be difficult to pass for an MS student? Is thre a chance for taking MTech after MS without passing GATE?

  • 25. neelam  |  July 9th, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    I have got call letter for counselling from iiiser. so, plz tell me how to prepare for the aptitude test.

  • 26. sanjana agarwal  |  July 12th, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    l have got iiser bhopal and nit bhopal mechanical to chose from
    i am pretty much interested in both research and enginnering
    what should ido for a good job

  • 27. Chitta Baral  |  July 12th, 2011 at 7:59 pm

    @Sanjana Do you want to be a scientist or an engineer? If your goal is to be a scientist then you may choose IISER, if your goal is to be an engineer then you may choose NIT.

  • 28. Abhishek  |  July 12th, 2011 at 10:34 pm

    1st batch of IISER Kol (some students)

    name-univ-major

    arghya-oxford ( commonwealth fellow)-c
    abhinav-IITB(MBA)-c
    sunil-SPM fellow-c
    RITESH-IIM Indore(MBA)-c
    vipin-BARC( scientist c)-c
    dharam-Shell India(7.2 lac)-c
    Ujani-cornell-b
    subhasm dipt-Max plank-b
    salman-john hopkins-b
    kaushik-NUS-b
    ashish-NUS-b
    abhishek-warwick-m
    anish mu-IMSc-m
    gorvi seal-boston-m
    nishant-fms,delhi(mba)-m
    challanger mishra-oxford(Rhodes fellow)-p
    sambit-NUS(CQC)-p
    abhishek das gupta-oxford(phd computer science)-p
    sayan-cornell-p
    aabham-tifr/iisc/NUS(spm fellow)-p
    ebad kamil-gottingen-p
    bradraj pandey-NCL pune-p
    arijit haldar-IISc/tifr-p
    ipshita-max plank-p

    source- IISER M students fb page posted by Mayank Mishra

  • 29. Jeeva  |  July 13th, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Are the above mentioned persons are still studying? Or did they got any jobs? Director of IISER Mohali says that- ‘after MS U can get a job that an IIT graduate can get ‘. Then why are the students aiumini at IISER-P said that they are getting only the jobs that a normal M Sc holder can have . Why is there different comments and opinions in terms of jobs. What is actually the truth????????????/

  • 30. siddharth vats  |  July 15th, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    wow!!!!!
    very happy to see a very serious discussion. I have carried out my btech with university rankings with 80%, mtech with 93% and Kalpana chawala scholorship.I also have 5 international research publications in (science direct, academic journals, springer and two others.) and one review in indian science congress association journal : everyman’s science”, with a paper presentation in international conference held in china last year. i have gate but no Jrf. being an engineering student i have same respect for science. but because i had not 60 percent marks in my 12th no iiser called me. i been called by iits( delhi, kanpur, bombay) and nits( calicut, warangal, allahbad, rourkela) just on the basis of gate and mtech percentages. and only and only ONE IISER AND THAT IS IISER TVM send me the call letter. when only marks of 12th at this stage judge my capabilities than the hard work which i started doing after learning the lesson from the 12th setback was of no use. when even research papers with good impact factors cant impress iiser’s than i m sorry . I AM HAPPY TO GO FOR ENGINEERING. AND THANKS TO NIT ALLAHABAD WHERE I GOT IN TO PHD IN BIOPROCESS ENGINEERING (I FOUGHT FOR THE ONE SEAT IN BIOTECH AND GOT IT) AT LEAST FAIR CHANCE TO APPEAR FOR THE ENTRANCE TEST AND INTERVIEW. SO FINALLY MY ENGINEERING FIELD CAME TO RESCUE ME. is there any one who can give me a solid reason y iiser denied me to persue science if i am keen after my mtech.
    iiser shuld also be logical not just mere factory of ms/phd products

  • 31. Utkarsh  |  July 23rd, 2011 at 6:28 pm

    Hi everyone,
    Well the debate on whether to go for engineering or reseach apparently is haunting every +2 student since time immemorial and apparently…… I stand no exception. I know that the general advice being showered is if u want to do engineering then rather go for an engineering college and vice versae…..but with all due respect that advice is really not helping much…..I mean what bout that pool of the Indian society that loves science but are scared to do so cause all MNC\’s come hands down for Btech graduates…….I got selected in the Merit list fr Central Board candidates went for the aptitude test and have received an offer letter to join IISER Mohali campus…….a dream come true definitely……and if the words of the Director be borne in mind I WILL NOT BE UNEMPLOYED……..correctly so yes fr me its a career in science ,to be a global citizen ,to take part in International Science Conferences ; a dream………but it is definitely not my FAULT that my affection for science should be given any second rate treatement in contrast to the money mindedness of a B tech graduate(not all but quite a few) by all organisations pvt or public……..so now i ask with all sincerity is IISER….. THE THING to be in……no doubts that I have but am in great need of some strong advice.
    THANK YOU

  • 32. Chitta Baral  |  July 23rd, 2011 at 8:35 pm

    @Utkarsh: See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/19/science/19google.html . Does discovering something as mentioned in this article excites you? IISER is meant to train you to make such discoveries. You got to choose between such excitement vs being offered a good pay package after your B.Tech from an engineering college. Its your choice in terms of what excites you more.

  • 33. iistian  |  August 2nd, 2011 at 5:25 pm

    Well, throughout this lively discussion, I have noticed IIST at the receiving end of flaks. As an IIStian let me make some things clear:
    1.IIST bond has a payout clause ,meaning if you pay a sufficient amount of money you are relived from the bond. this amount comes out reasonable if you consider the fact that IIST offers FREE education(no tution fees), boarding(no hostel fees), food(no mess fees) and has a per semester book grant, effectively translating to free books. so the net expenditure of paying out the IIST bond and paying for all these things in a normal college comes out in the same range.
    2.The above mentioned report about de recognisation was made when the institute was merely 2 years old and was functioning in a makeshift campus in VSSC making use of VSSC labs(i personally dont know what prompted that report because firsthand experience of many of my freinds in so called new IITs were much worse). Now the college has moved to a fully fledged campus with excellent state of art labs, wi-fii and admirable library facility
    3.IIST offers oppurtunity to interact with the best of ISRO’s scientists and engineers and provides facility to intern with them to provide firsthand industry experience
    4.Faculty at the institute is first class, especially in the aerospace and physical science strems, with many former ISRO scientists. institute also routinely invites guest lecturers from VSSC and LPSC to give students a feel of ground situations in relevant areas
    5. curriculum of IIST is tailor made to cater the industry demands, which once again is a Plus point.
    6. A general trend that has been observed among students is that even the students who initialy came with no intention of joining ISRO are later appreciating the organisation as one of the world’s best in their relevent fields and re-thinking their decisions i.e if u are coming to the “Indian institute of SPACESCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY” with genuine interest in “SPACESCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY” you will find that iist and isro offers you one of the best routes forward..
    7. But if your primary intrest is something else, mostly money, you might feel the the ISRO payscale as not in par. In dat case you have option of paying yourself out and joining the n number of private firms in the aerospace industry.

  • 34. Avi  |  August 3rd, 2011 at 3:19 pm

    Department of Physical Sciences

    Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata

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    email-ID: director
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  • 35. Avi  |  August 3rd, 2011 at 3:22 pm

    FIND YOURSELF ABOUT IISER/KOLKATA

    http://www.iiserkol.ac.in/index.html

  • 36. Arindam  |  February 7th, 2012 at 6:33 am

    I felt really jubilant to see discussions in this forum. I had talked to my friend pursuing a PhD from IISER Pune and I gathered that the atmosphere (research as well as social) is good and he seemed satisfied. I liked Prof. Chitta Baral’s replies especially as he was not encouraging a particular school. When I was in my +2, I wanted to go for science but there was no top-notch institute to join. So, based on my father’s advice to go to a top-notch institute in engineering and then pursue research, I joined BITS Pilani and now almost at the verge of completing my B.E. and M.E. there, I am looking towards getting an admit it some US university for PhD in Computer Science. BITS Pilani is a good institute and especially if one is not so sure what to do as one has options in engineering as well as science. Especially in biology, chemistry and pharmacy, very good research is going on. Currently, lot is being done to encourage research in general for all disciplines. Having said that, it has lot of distractions (like IITs) and one can get carried away into going for immediate money. If someone wants to dedicate to science and research, I feel IISER is a better place. I agree that some people come from low income families and they need a good job after 4-5 years of studying. But, its best to do a research-oriented job and remain motivated for PhD. From what experience I have gathered, in a research career, you need time to get settled (as some people call it) whether it be science or engineering. It is true in US/EU as well as in India. A career in research requires patience and the first step is having that for the career you want to choose.. Having said this, a career in research and academics is not cut out for everyone. So, decide and take your call. Had I been able to rollback 6 years of my life, I would have personally chosen IISER. And, let me tell you do not worry about what others say. Your only consideration should be your interest (and in some cases economic situation of immediate family). Some people may say why leave a good discipline in IITs/BITS/top NITs and go for IISER. If you have a passion for basic sciences, this is the place to be. I know it from experience. I had enrolled in Chemical Engineering at BITS Pilani as I was not getting CS and I wanted to study in a good university. But, I struggled as my passion was CS. So, follow your passion and then I can tell you, you will be happy if you do not earn handsomely till you are 27-28, you will not be disappointed. At the end of the day, we are looking for satisfaction. So, when we do not get it in our profession, we try to look for in money. Again I say, take your own call. All the best (to anyone deciding on what to do).

  • 37. NIKITA AGRAWAL  |  March 29th, 2012 at 11:32 am

    I AM NIKITA i am going 2 prepare for ISEET2014 then what should i do to take admission in iiser or iist is it better than b tech? what will be criteria for admission in it as iit will not be conducted from 2013?
    does iiser admisson test requires same knowledge in biology as in maths.

  • 38. shantanu phadke  |  April 30th, 2012 at 11:25 am

    I m hopiing a rank around 5500 in jee12
    I m interested inresearch in nanotechnology
    is there any serious scope for research in nanotech in iiser?
    and what jobi may get in iiser ms degree?

  • 39. Shaktimaan  |  June 2nd, 2012 at 7:37 pm

    To anyone with interest in science, please read this, it is essential for you:

    Currently I am a student of IISER Mohali in the first year.Last year , I gave the jee after much preparation and was confident of getting rank below 500 ( didnt have any coaching, therefore it was very very tough as u all might know, but I was quite sure and extremely confident of getting so) and so getting a seat in the IIT kanpur in msc physics, for the only love in my life is physics .just before one week, I was affected by jaundice and still somehow I gave the jee(doctors told me to rest and give it the next yr).Somehow I managed to get a rank of around 8000, not at all eligible for msc in IIT. Although my AIEEE rank was sufficient for me to get admission in any of the NITs or IIITs in any stream (in fact,I could have got admission to any of the colleges in the country except the IITs yet I decided that the best option for me could only be IISER), So inspite of repeated arguments given by my well wishers to take up engineering, I took up science..I WISH THAT IF U TOO HAVE AN INTEREST IN SCIENCE ,DON’T LET IT GO. As said by Richard Feynman, the child should be allowed to pursue his interest without keeping in mind the job insecurities, parental pressures etc..

    Meanwhile, my situation was quite different from all of yours. Being diagnosed as an autism- affected child at the age of two years, I could not share the amount of depression and frustation which was inside me during the three months after the JEE. My dream of getting into the IIT with the course of my choice(physics)was shattered and that too for which I was not at all responsible(one is the illness, the second being my impaired autistic brain, due to which I cant communicate and interact properly, the reason for my not going to any coaching).I believed that I did not get what I deserved ,for I was there in the top 5 in many state science olympiads, 4th in Delhi in class 10th boards (2009),12th rank in KVPY yet I was deceived at the point at which I needed my fate the MOST.At this point I reached IISER ,TOTALLY WORRIED THAT WHETHER MY DEPRESSION WOULD EVER ALLOW ME TO STUDY AGAIN, for now I totally hated studying for I believed study corresponded to getting good ranks and marks.

    But gradually I came that this was not true..I finally appreciated the sayings of gita- karma kiye jaa ,fal ki chinta mat kar.. How was this thing which I could not understand in my whole life, could be understood by me within 2 weeks of my coming?? It was because IISER gave me the FREEDOM to think in this direction, something I hadn’t (in fact, any of my friends) experienced before…

    Yes , the freedom.. It is often said that freedom curbs the potential of a man to grow. But in my view, it doesn’t ,if utilised properly. I then for the next 10 months tried to harness my full potential and today I can do what I can do best. This freedom helped me so much that when I went to home ,I taught all of my engineering friends all the physics and the mathematics they had in the syllabus in the first and second year, bcoz I had already studied them in my first semester.I have finally reunited with my ex-gfs(physics and mathematics) and as a result in the first year itself have learnt the einstein’s general relativity, cosmology,astrophysics, particle physics,quantum mechanics, chaos theory, partial differential equations, lagrangian formulation of mechanics and some non linear dynamics. Most of these topics are taught in M.Sc courses. I believe that the only reason why this was possible is the fact that I am in IISER and not somewhere else.These thigs are not taught in classes, for I am known here as the biggest class bunker, some1 who even bunks his kvpy summer lectures(only reason being my brain impairment), but are taught in the atmosphere provided by the institute, by seeing some of the greatest scientific minds in the country (our professors) roaming about you.But by not attending my classes it is not that I am not learning.I can now just look into any random physics textbook , see the equations and figure out all the physics behind them. I now crave for my original ideas and try to make theories of myself and then look into the textbooks.Often they are incorrect, but now I have realised that every failure is a stepping stone to success One of the examples of my recent failures is the fact that I was trying to apply some chaos theory to einsteins field equations but I found the problem a hell lot difficult and I have to learn a lot more physics and mathematics, which are ,a lot more interesting, courtesy IISERM.Such is the interest that this place creates in our day to day life.This year,I cleared KVPY- SB with a very good rank and was eligible for a seat in IISC Bangalore, but I am not going there, for I now believe THAT U SHOULD CHOOSE THE COLLEGE THAT IS THE BEST FOR U, AND DONT CARE ABOUT WHAT IS THE BEST FOR OTHERS.The fun of doing some serious science for the sake of science and no one else is an altogether different experience.

    I conclude by saying that if u believe THAT U HAVE SOME CURIOUSITY ABOUT THE NATURE AND HOW IT WORKS, IISER MOHALI is the best place for you..

    Good luck and all the very best!!!!!

    And SPECIAL THANKS to Mr. Chitta Baral for this wonderful blog…

    Contact me at ms11010@iisermohali.ac.in if u need ….

  • 40. sakshi  |  June 22nd, 2012 at 7:42 am

    What are your views about TIFR, Bangalore for doing an integrated phd in maths? Which one’s better IISER mohali or TIFR ?

  • 41. chimalaprathyusha  |  June 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 am

    what are the placements after IISER

  • 42. Chitta Baral  |  June 23rd, 2012 at 12:27 am

    TIFR Bangalore Math faculty is listed at http://math.tifrbng.res.in/faculty .
    IISER Mohali faculty is at http://www.iisermohali.ac.in/html/faculty/faculty_subject.html .
    Based on those two lists I would say that for doing a program in Maths, TIFR Bangalore is a better choice.

  • 43. Chitta Baral  |  June 23rd, 2012 at 12:28 am

    IISER students are expected to pursue higher studies and research after their graduation from IISER. So they did not focus on job placement. I don’t know if this has changed recently.

  • 44. Rajhans  |  July 5th, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    Such an interesting discussion for years on the admission at NISER/IISER is unexpectedly silent this year. Some more nurturing is required, Prof Baral. Sir, you need to support a few more years. It is encouraging that many people are taking up Science. NISER has become increasingly popular. But, Sir will it not be possible call at leat 250 general Category students for counselling with a rider that if the seats are filled than they will have to return. At least I would have seen NISER campus!

  • 45. chemroun  |  October 27th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    i’m currently in my +2 and always had a keen interest in science. After going through such an informative and serious years long debate, i’m very much inspired and motivated now to do my very best in the few months left because it will solely decide my career and my entire life.
    i’m very thankfull to all those who shared their experences and views because of them i got many doubts cleared and very valuable informations about iiser’s and science.
    i’m very fortunate that i got an opportunity to visit an iiser under the ‘outreach programme’ and the whole 7 days experience is unforgetable and divine. i realised that science gives me true joy of life and i have decided to learn science and make my life worth living,therefore for the next year my sole aim is to get admission at iiser and i will work very hard and give my 100% for that. i know i can do a lot in this field. wish me luck.

    thank you all

  • 46. Sachendra Singh  |  November 26th, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    Please provide me some information on PhD from iiser-Kolkata in Bioscience because i have been selected for PhD programme at IISER-K so from where I have to do PhD from CSIR institutes or iiser kolkata. What is the situation of publications and labs there.

  • 47. Amita  |  March 28th, 2013 at 1:04 am

    sir, can u provide me some information abt int-PhD from iiser-pune in chemical science because i have been selected for intPhD programme there.. What is the current situation of teaching, research, environment, labs and publications there.. is it worthwhile to do int-phd in iiser if have option for NCBS bangalore..

  • 48. Chitta Baral  |  April 3rd, 2013 at 5:50 am

    Both IISER Pune and NCBS Bangalore are excellent institutions. You may look at their faculty and see how their interest matches with yours.


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