Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal has taken several initiatives to achieve the key features of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 through various programmes implemented at the Institute.

By aligning with NEP 2020, IISER Bhopal aims to majorly focus on syllabus; student nurturing, well-being and performance; faculty support in research and teaching; and entrepreneurship.

“Policy framed out under NEP is timely and futuristic and the implementation requires participation of various stakeholders, including faculty, administrators, students, and the Ministry of Education. If we all have common goals many of the policy’s objectives can be achieved. There are always challenges for any new changes that we bring in but if we have proper transparent methodologies, feedback mechanisms, and periodic revisions policy’s goals can be achieved,” Siva Umapathy, director, IISER Bhopal, said.

As part of NEP 2020, IISER Bhopal has started various academic courses with interdisciplinary approach. These include Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Science – Master of Science (BS-MS) dual degree, and Integrated Ph.D in the department of Mathematics and Physics. The flexibility of these courses is in-line with the NEP 2020 implementation.

Furthermore, the institute has started courses in data science and engineering. The undergraduate BS programme in DSE is a blend of Engineering and Natural Science where 50% of the students are from science background and other 50% are from Engineering background. The fusion of domain knowledge with the scientific is in line with NEP.

The institute has further taken measures to promote physical and mental fitness of students. In its attempt to cultivate scientific attitudes in the early days of a young graduate student, the institute has started ‘Undergraduate Clubs for Research Enthusiasts in Science and Technology’ (UG-CREST).

The Institute has a dedicated “Institute Career Development and Placement Council” which conducts soft skills workshops by expert speakersto provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and gain insights into effective communication skills, interpersonal skills, stress management, conflict handling, teamwork, and Networking. The students are provided with research and industry internships opportunities in National and International level to gain practical knowledge and skills of real scenarios in workplace environment.

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To encourage the faculty to work on multidisciplinary research, the Institute has established few Centers of excellence. IISER Bhopal has the Department of Humanities and social sciences, in which the faculty members contribute to teaching and knowledge sharing in areas like critical thinking, logic, creativity, philosophy, history, literature and others. So that the science and engineering graduates become socially relevant in their work culture.

Additionally, the Institute supports entrepreneurship through its Innovation and Incubation Center (IICE) funded from the Department of Science and Technology to foster innovation and encourage faculty and students to explore their entrepreneurial potential.