Foreign universities are not a threat, says new IISER chief Sunil Bhagwat

His remarks were echoed by the outgoing director, Jayant Udgaonkar.

Bhagwat said his mission at IISER would be to ensure that it becomes “one of the top scientific institutes of the world”. “Science should be used to ensure the welfare of society… An institution like IISER should have teachers who teach students the latest instead of what was in vogue 20 years ago. Cutting-edge research is the hallmark of the institution,” he said.

Asked about the National Education Policy, Bhagwat said institutions like IISER had already been implementing many of its recommendations. “Our integrated programme and interdisciplinary approach have been there for a long time,” he said.

Udgaonkar said researchers were working on gene sequencing of the coronavirus as well as co-relating the severity of the disease to its mutations. “At present, we have a huge sea of data about the virus and we need data scientists to make sense of the same,” he said.

Evolution should be taught and accepted: ex-director Udgaonkar

Joining a chorus of voices from the scientific community against the NCERT’s decision to move the theory of biological evolution from the science syllabus of Class 10 to that of Class 12, Udgaonkar, the outgoing IISER director, said that Charles Darwin’s theory “should be taught” and “accepted”.

“Some people in the US question the theory of evolution based on misinformation. Evolution should be taught as it has happened and needs to be accepted,” Udgaonkar said. Misinformation, he said, “has to be fought with right information”.

His remarks come days after 1,800 scientists, science teachers and educators wrote an open letter raising serious concern about the NCERT’s decision.