President urges IISERS to play central role in attracting more students towards science

President Pranab Mukherjee has urged Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) to play a central role in attracting more students towards science and converting this fascination into tangible career opportunities

Addressing the Second Convocation of the IISER, Bhopal, President Mukherjee said that IISERs must equip students with sound conceptual understanding and analytical foundation.

The President said he was glad to learn about the 'Research Vision Document' and other initiatives of IISER Bhopal aimed at becoming one of the top institutes in its class within the next twenty years.

The President said a good education system calls for continuous knowledge creation which can be facilitated only through high quality research.

"It is with this vision that IISERs have been established. They have been envisaged as research centres of the highest caliber in which teaching and education in basic sciences integrate totally with state-of-the-art research," said Mukherjee.

He also said that the quality of higher academic institutions in India is unfortunately below globally-acclaimed institutions.

"The cornerstone of quality up-gradation is promotion of excellence in our academic institutions, with no leniency for mediocrity. Teaching must be made a more challenging and gratifying profession to attract bright people. Faculty development must be continual given the dynamic nature of conceptual understanding in various disciplines," he added.

Mukherjee said that the youth of the country is brimming with energy and aspiration, and added that they have to be imparted quality education and requisite skills to beat competition and meet success.

The President presented Award of D.Sc. (Honoris Causa) Degree to Prof. Goverdhan Mehta and also inaugurated an Innovation Exhibition on the occasion.