National Institute of Science Education and Research

Academics

The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) is dedicated to graduate education and research only. It offers a five-year integrated MSc as well as PhD degrees in pure and applied sciences. Those performing well in MSc have a chance to be absorbed in R&D units and autonomous research institutions of the Department of Atomic Energy.

NISER is in the process of starting an Integrated post-BSc PhD programme.

NEST

The National Entrance Screening Test or NEST is a compulsory test for admission to the 5-year Integrated MSc programme in basic sciences - Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics - at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and University of Mumbai - Department of Atomic Energy Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CBS), Mumbai. Both NISER and CBS are autonomous institutions established by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, in 2007.

Integrated MSc Program

Students get selected for integrated M.Sc. programs through a competitive annual examination, the National Entrance Screening Test (NEST). The first batch was admitted in September 2007. From 45,000 applicants nationwide in 2015, 100 were qualified for admission.

Curriculum

To broaden the intellectual horizon of the students, there are compulsory liberal arts courses drawing from Humanities and Social Sciences areas such as; Technical Communication, Sociology, Economics, Psychology, Philosophy, etc. Each of the undergraduate students carries out research projects that last more than a year. The training makes them ready to embark on a research career by the time they graduate from NISER.

Scholarships

NISER has been included in the list of a selected few institutions where students directly qualify to receive a scholarship under the Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE) category of the INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research) programme launched by Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

All admitted students receive a scholarship of ₹5,000 (US$74) per month which should be sufficient to meet the course fees and boarding costs. Students also receive a contingency grant of ₹20,000 (US$300) per year to facilitate their academic pursuits.

PhD Program

In 2010 January, NISER started offering a Doctoral Programme under the guidance of faculty members of NISER to students with a Master degree in basic sciences, e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. To get admission, students have to qualify the - NET (CSIR/UGC) / GATE / NBHM or equivalent examination valid for the current year in the relevant area of research.

List of schools and departments

NISER has seven schools. They are:

Logo

The logo of the institute symbolises important aspects of the four major sciences. The DNA in the centre acknowledges the discovery of its double helix structure by Watson and Crick as a major breakthrough in biology, perhaps "the most important step forward in life sciences after Darwin's theory of evolution". The benzene ring on the left represents Kekule's radical ideas that revolutionised organic chemistry and stimulated the growth of quantum chemistry and quantum optics. The object on the right depicts a black hole's event horizon, representative of the major challenges presented by the black hole to the conceptual foundations of physics, and serves as a reminder of Chandrasekhar's seminal work based on the general theory of relativity. The ornamental fractal-like structure on the boundary portrays a genus-2 compact Riemann surface of constant negative curvature, meant to reflect the beauty and elegance of mathematics, the theory of Riemann surfaces having led to significant advances in physics and neuroimaging.

Campus

The Odisha government had provided 300 acres (1.2 km²) for the permanent campus near Barunei Hills, between Bhubaneswar, the state capital and Khurda. This location is a few km southwest of Bhubaneswar. The institute is located at Jatani, about 20 km away from Biju Patnaik International Airport.

The campus has been built on 298 acres of land and houses both academic and residential complexes. The academic complex consists of a total built up area of 72700 m² spread in 11 buildings, major amongst which are the Administrative block, Schools of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology and Humanities and Social Sciences, Library, Auditorium and Meditation Centre. The residential township has a built up area of 102000 m² comprising nine buildings for hostels, adequate numbers of faculty and staff quarters and one Director’s bungalow.

NISER started shifting to the new campus during the summer vacation after 2014-15 academic session. The new batch of students joined the permanent campus at Jatni and academic activities for the session 2015-16 have started from the permanent campus. A separate 3-acre (12,000 m²) campus near the Bhubaneswar city center is also being contemplated.

Education hub

Several other universities and research institutions are present in the vicinity, including IIT Bhubaneswar, XIMB, IIIT, AIIMS Bhubaneswar and one of the Indian government's proposed National Universities of international calibre, Institute of Mathematics and Applications and the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar. In fact NISER's campus is located 2 km away from the IIT Bhubaneswar. An advantage of this institution is its location at Bhubaneswar, an emerging education hub, that is being promoted as an Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) by the government. A total of 40 km² of land has been allocated for the purpose, out of which about 60% will be devoted to research and development. An estimated INR 7.8 billion will be invested by the Indian government within the next few years in order to develop the institute.

Annual festival

The students of NISER hold an annual cultural festival called Udbhava, usually in the months of September/October. Many activities like fashion show, Abhivyakti a street dance competition where some of the best dancer and dancing group take part from all over Odisha, General Quiz show, debates and discussion on current issues are held.