Campus Life at IISER Kolkata

Rajarshi Roychowdhury
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata

                                                                                         

 

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”
-Rabindranath Tagore

This is brought out explicitly in IISER Kolkata's context as the campus life here allows the future scientists of India to be truly in sync with Mother Nature. The essence of IISER Kolkata’s teaching has been to develop the student's mind and to bring it to a level where understanding the fundamentals of everything is essential. And the stress is just not on the fundamentals of Science, but also on the various aspects of life that the student has lost out in today’s competitive rat-race.

The campus life at IISER Kolkata is a wonderful mix of tranquility and modernity. The campus, located among serene greenery far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, is at a place called Mohanpur, Haringhata. Simple pleasures are brought out here. The beauty of the campus is immense and we are fortunate to have most beautiful water bodies inside our campus. While giving all the pleasures of country life to us, Haringhata is only an hour journey away from the main city. Our institute gives us the perfect atmosphere for us to grow into the scientists of tomorrow.

Life at IISER Kolkata is heady mix of academics and fun. The institute is fully residential. Students are accommodated in the APC Roy Hall (Sections A and B) for boys, while girls are accommodated in the Lilavati Hall. All the Halls of Residence and Guest houses have regular catering facilities. Other eating places are the Annexe Canteen, or the numerous eating joints just outside the campus. For daily necessities and groceries, one can walk down to the Mohanpur Market, just outside gate number 2 of the campus. The market also has medicine stores, tailoring shops, bookshops and facilities for photocopying, etc.  A larger market, the Kanchrapara market is about 12 km from the Campus and is easily accessible by local bus services.

The main academic wing is housed at the J.C. Bose Building. Besides the lecture halls, classrooms and the teaching laboratories, it also houses the Central Library which offers about 100,000 volumes in an open shelf system on different fields of science and technology, humanities and social sciences. The library system is fully computerized and users can access various online journal repositories. The C.V. Raman annexe building houses the latest state-of-the-art research facilities. All the Departments are equipped with most modern instruments. The computing center provides high speed computational facilities to the students and faculty. All the institute buildings are wi-fi enabled giving access to high speed broadband internet to students 24 hours.

Sports facilities include Table Tennis, Badminton, Volleyball courts, Cricket and Football fields. We have a state of the art multi gymnasium to take care of the health conscious. The green pollution free environment ensures good health for all. However, IISER-Kolkata is well equipped to deal with medical emergencies. Besides a well equipped medical facility, there are ambulances at standby always.

 

Hostel life is exciting for the students, with all students from all the years residing together. The common room is the place to be during all important times, be it the IPL, or the World Cup or any national calamity with satellite TV getting us the latest from around the world. Table-tennis has many fans in the hostel, with someone or the other paddling away always. Or for those who intend to tone up their bodies, the gym is the place to hit after a hard day’s work. Some prefer taking a lazy swim in the numerous lakes and water bodies. For the nature lover, the campus is pure bliss, with many varieties of flora and fauna. There are over 50 resident bird species found around the campus. For the musically inclined, there is the very active Music club with regular meetings and jamming sessions at the music room. For those interested in theatrics, the IISER dramatics club is present. For the LAN-gaming enthusiasts, Counter Strike, FIFA and Need for Speed rule the intra-hostel network. The clear skies have instilled an interest in astronomy in many, and many people have made star gazing their latest hobby.

 

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Rajarshi Roychowdhury
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata