The full-fledged campus of National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER)-Bhubaneswar, a centre of excellence under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy, is expected to be operational by the end of 2013.
NISER-Bhubaneswar is being developed on 300 acres of land at Jatni, about 20 km from the city and once the institute is fully operational, it would have total student strength of about 2,000.
The new campus of NISER would have a pool of 200 faculty members and 500 technical and non-technical staff. The total cost of setting up the new campus is Rs 770 crore. Construction work on the new campus is expected to commence by February 2010.
At present, NISER-Bhubaneswar is operating out of the campus of Institute of Physics in the city.
Addressing media persons here, TK Chandrashekhar, director, NISER-Bhubaneswar said, “Our new campus would be fully operational by the end of 2013. Once the campus is fully operational, NISER would offer courses in earth science, environment science and computer science.”
NISER-Bhubaneswar which started functioning from August 2007 offers a five-year integrated MSc programme in four basic sciences- physics chemistry, biology and mathematics. A scholarship of Rs 5,000 per month is being provided to all the students of this programme.The institute is set to introduce PHD programmes in the four basic science streams from December this year. The PHD programme in each basic science would have an intake of 15 seats.
NISER-Bhubaneswar would be a Centre of Excellence for teaching and research in four basic areas of science. Apart from separate academic blocks for different areas of science education and research, the NISER-Bhubaneswar campus will have planned academic and residential townships with all modern amenities and recreational facilities.
In the beginning NISER would be affiliated to Homi Bhabha National Institute, a deemed university within the Department of Atomic Energy, for the award of degrees. At a later stage it will seek UGC approval to get the status of a deemed university for awarding degrees on its own. NISER will utilise its privileged position to foster, nurture and encourage teaching and research in all academic institutions. It will have an in-built cell for organising seminars, workshops, symposia and conferences to enable wide interaction among the students and academicians.