First and second year students of Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences decided to choose research, a career option that doesn’t rank very high among the youth, over the more attractive option of studying engineering or medicine. The University of Mumbai and Department of Atomic Energy had jointly set up the autonomous Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences in Mumbai in 2007 offering a 5-year MSc (Integrated) programme in basic sciences .

Many first year students chose to study Physics at CBS out of choice. Pious Padmakar, a first year student had obtained admission in the prestigious Dhirubai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT) for civil engineering but decided against it when she heard about CBS.  Another student Sharath Sankar let go of an opportunity to study at the reputed National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut, to study Physics at CBS . Prakash, a first year student who got admission in a private engineering college in Karnataka says, “The fascination for the IITs is because of the packages offered. Otherwise it is only a name. Research may not pay as much but it still fascinates me.”

Deepak Mathur, Director of CBS says, “In India, the situation is such that parents still want their children to do engineering because they feel these are more intellectually challenging and offer better paying jobs.” Shoumi Roy, who secured a seat for both engineering and medicine in West Bengal but opted for CBS says, “Most people have a certain image about a researcher but they don’t really know what research is about. To be good at research, you have to be original and interesting.” Amritansh Vats, who chose CBS over Manipal University adds, “CBS is the best place to do Basic Sciences, since the exposure is tremendous and we have teachers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).”

Mathur is happy with the progress of the institute so far, with students beginning to question the rationale of choosing seats at premier institutes instead of research- based work. Roy said that while everywhere else the focus was on how to crack exams and clear the board, at CBS the approach is completely different. “The interest factor is completely ignored everywhere” says Roy.  She adds, “If you do something you like, then the amount you get paid doesn’t matter.”