BENGALURU: The two pandemic years have shown the power of science to shape and understand the world, and pushed healthcare and life science professionals to the forefront.
To provide more opportunities in this sector, India’s top research institute Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is coming up with a unique Masters in Life Sciences, which has interesting options for students to design their own Masters combinations.
“We are very excited about this year. IISc is coming up with many courses. About Masters in Life Sciences, we felt we should be training more students in different ways. What is missing is a Masters programme for students who are not looking for a Ph.D, which is a long-term commitment, but to get into the job market with a Masters degree in hand,” said Associate Prof Maria Thaker to TNIE, one of the coordinators for the programme along with Prof Deepak Saini.
There is a need to create modern scientists with an opportunity for students to design their own Masters programme streams, and IISc’s MSc Life Sciences offers specialisation with a vast selection of electives like Neuroscience and Behaviour, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Cell and Developmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution, and Biochemistry and Biophysics.
Prof Thaker explains that the curriculum has been designed with everybody in mind. The IISc faculty have worked together, discussed immediate needs and how unique the course can be made. The pre-requisite for the course is a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in physical, chemical or biological sciences, qualification in JAM/GATE for native students and GRE/GATE for international students. While it will be only 50 students per year, selection for the two-year course will have merit-based ranking, written test and interview.
“The electives are coming from our existing pool of courses. We thought about what is needed in this country. There is also climate change happening. So we wanted to think of a modern scientist who can go out there in the world and make some actual discoveries, changes, research,” Prof Thaker says.