‘Science as a profession comparable to music in beauty’

The first batch of 26 students in the BS-MS dual degree programme of theIndian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) Mohali have graduated and the convocation was held in the campus on Wednesday.

Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal was the chief guest and the ceremony was marked by an honorary doctorate being conferred to C N R Rao, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

"I have been a professor for 61 years and even then I think that science is a profession which is only comparable to music in its beauty and its power to absorb one, so that one completely forgets oneself and then there's no place for any other love," said Rao while receiving the honour.

R A Mashelkar, National Resident Professor and chairman of the Board of Governors, IISER Mohali motivated the students by saying that there is no limit to the imagination and achievement of a person, except those that he puts on himself.

Chief guest for the ceremony, Sibal, however said he had little advice to give to the students except that in th efuture, they have to strive to be self-appointed leaders in th eir chosen fields.

He said that there is a widening discrepancy between economic developments and technological advancements. The pace of economic development has reinforced the technological advancement processed by those already in the lead, he said.

"A degree will fetch you a living, but education will give you a life," said Kapil Sibal at convocation.

"I see only three girls in the batch of twenty-six, which is a complete imbalance and unacceptable," he added.

The Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) Mohali was established in 2007 by the Government of India, through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), to carry out research in the frontier areas of science and to provide quality science education to students at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

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