...

IISc, India’s lone science gem that keeps topping global rankings, leaving IITs, IIMs behind

Other News Materials 1 August 2022 16:12 (UTC +04:00)

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru was named the top Indian institution in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2023 in June. QS, a higher education analyst, said that the institute is the “fastest-rising South Asian university among the QS World University Rankings top-200, having gained 31 places year on year”.

It was also rated as having the highest citations per faculty member in the world.

In the Ministry of Education’s 2022 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings, released on 15 July, IISc was ranked the No. 1 university as well as the top research institution in India.

In QS’s overall rankings, IISc climbed to No. 155 from the 185th spot it got last year. The institute has consistently ranked between 150 and 200 since 2017. It’s also ranked as the top institute in India, and was put in the 301-350 bracket globally by the UK’s Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

IISc is by no means the only Indian institute to make it to global rankings. But in a sea of IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and their multiple branches, the standalone research institute excels and holds its own consistently.

For the 113-year-old institution, which is today a leafy green island amid the hustle and bustle of Bengaluru, it’s a long-running story of scientific rigour, academic excellence, a unique mix of the two, and, significantly, competing with the advantage enjoyed by similar institutions and universities in the West.

Govindan Rangarajan, director of IISc, however, makes it all sound simple and easy.

“IISc is renowned for its emphasis on basic and fundamental research in science and engineering,” Rangarajan said. “We have been continuously striving to ramp up our education and research infrastructure, and incentivising our researchers to push the boundaries in their fields.”

During the pandemic, too, IISc researchers shifted their focus to a variety of applied science and engineering products to help keep pace with the virus. They developed RT-PCR tests, oxygen concentrators and generators, low-cost ventilators, mobile testing labs, contact tracing apps, and even a vaccine candidate.

“Many of our faculty members and students chose to pursue Covid-19-related research — both basic and applied,” said Rangarajan. “Till date, they have undertaken over 40 projects in diverse areas: diagnostics and surveillance, hospital assistive devices, modelling and simulation, sanitation and disinfection, and vaccine development.”

Tags:
Latest

Latest