The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Chennai, an institution of national importance, was established in 2010. Funded by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, it conducts research in Statistics, Game Theory, Graph Theory, Logic, Cryptogaphy, Physics and Mathematics.
ISI offers a Master’s programme in Statistics and Doctoral programmes in Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics and Statistical Quality Control. It also offers Management Development programmes (MDPs) in Six Sigma and Business Analytics. Headquartered in Kolkata with centres in New Delhi, Bangalore and Tezpur, it has smaller units in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Giridih (Jharkhand), Pune and Vadodara.
“The research conducted here is both theoretical and applied. Apart from this, our Six Sigma Black Belt and Business Analytics programmes are popular with the industry,” says Prof S Ponnusamy, Centre Head, ISI Chennai.
“We interact with academics and industry professionals. Renowned statistician Prof Hannu Oja from University of Turku, Finland, recently visited us. Others include Prof Starkov Victor Vasil’evich from Petrosavodsk State University and Graf Sergey Yur’evich from Tver State University, both from Russia, who lectured students on applications of Mathematical analysis,” says Ponnusamy.
The institute currently has 10 Master’s students, two PhD students and four visiting postdoctoral students. Students pursue the first year of MStat in Chennai and head to ISI Delhi or Kolkata for the second year to specialise. ISI recently signed an MoU with University of Roningen, Netherlands, for student and faculty exchange. It also provides summer internships for students at UG and PG levels.
Eligibility
Students with a three-year Bachelor’s degree in Statistics as the main subject are eligible to apply for the MStat programme. Students will be shortlisted based on their past academic record, performance in the entrance test and interview.
For PhD aspirants, the Junior Research Fellow selection test is conducted by ISI followed by an interview. This is mandatory for those requiring financial support from the institute. Students with UGC/CSIR NET, National Board for Higher Mathematics or equivalent fellowships are also eligible. A written test followed by an interview is conducted for such candidates.
Hostel
Hostel accommodation is given on a merit-cum-need basis subject to availability. At present accommodation is available to all admitted students. A stipend of `5,000 per month is offered to all students initially in the first semester. For subsequent semesters the stipend depends on academic performance and conduct. “The students have to pay a small amount for accommodation and food is provided at subsidised rates,” says Ponnusamy.
Research
“We provide quantitative and qualitative analyses for the schemes instituted by the State Government, for example the mid-day meal scheme. We provide them with statistical tools like sampling techniques and a method of evaluation for the development projects undertaken. The Department of Evaluation and Applied Research, for example, have a large number of schemes; we provide them with the modern methods to evaluate them so they can be modified accordingly to get better outputs,” Ponnusamy says.
The Statistical Quality Control and Operations Research (SQ & OR) unit of ISI located in Aminjikarai, Chennai, was founded in 1959. It has served a variety of manufacturing and service organisations across the country through training and consultancy in the fields of Statistics and Operations Research.
Amit K Biswas from the SQ & OR unit says, “As a result of the MDPs, we solve industry problems. Six sigma case studies are conducted by the industry. Those case studies need some statistical analysis and experiments too, on its products and services. That is the function of the SQ & CR. The analytics sector in the country is expanding. There is a lot of buzz about Big Data.”
He goes on to say that ISI assists these participants from the industry in modelling their systems and processes. “The financial sectors and banks use this data on the implementation side. Ford has an analytics wing that handles data from their US clients in medical sciences and other service sectors. Those data sets also need analysis. These are the kind of participants in MDPs,” Biswas says.
The professors lament that in the past few years not a single student from the South has qualified in the entrance test for ISI. “Possibly the education here is different from other parts of the country from where we receive students. In Tamil Nadu, the cream of the crop goes to Medical, Dental or Engineering. Good students hesitate to take up courses in basic sciences. The students in the Maths, Physics and Economics departments of colleges are not the best ones, which is not the case in States like West Bengal. Colleges there like Presidency and St Xaviers’ basic science students are top class students of the State. They could as well be in an IIT or a medical institution but they have chosen to be in basic science. That trend is missing in this part of the country,” Biswas says.
He emphasises that only 30 per cent of those who appear for interviews are admitted to ISI. “In the past few years we have received about 300 applications for MStat out of which 25 were admitted finally. The minimum salary that our MStat students receive is to the tune of `75,000 a month,” he points out.
Students from ISI Chennai hold analytical positions in companies like Deloitte, Barclays Shared Services, Standard Chartered Bank, Ernst and Young, American International Group, Walmart, Genpact India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Tata Consultancy Service, the Reserve Bank of India and Novaritis Haealthcare.
ISI’s only two PhD students Muthukumar P, 24, pursuing research in Functional Analysis and Arnab Chakrabarti, 25, pursuing research in Statistical Finance who chose ISI over a job in Global Analytics Group, Chennai, regret the herd mentality present in the State. “There are excellent opportunities available in the Pharmaceutical, IT and Biomedical sectors. Companies employ statisticians for risk management too. Many are unaware of such avenues,” says Arnab.
suraksha@newindianexpress.com